If there was a team that needed the 2025 Leagues Cup the most, it was the LA Galaxy.
Amid one of the worst seasons in club history, which saw them end with just three wins in 24 MLS regular-season games, they found something to play for, even as they sit last in the Western Conference with 16 points in 24 matches.
While many past MLS seasons would have likely seen them play no consequential games after a poor start, they grabbed the lifeline that the Leagues Cup offered, and are now just two wins away from the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Needing a win by more than three goals against Liga MX’s Santos Laguna on Thursday, the Galaxy scored in the first minute, on their way to a 4–0 win. The victory brought them to seven points in three matches, with a previous win against Club Tijuana and a penalty shootout loss to Cruz Azul, placing them third among 18 MLS teams.
The top four of the participating MLS teams qualified for the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, and the Galaxy now look ahead to a knockout match against Liga MX’s CF Pachuca, with a chance at a semifinal and either a third-place match—with Champions Cup spot on the line—or a final.
“This tournament is an opportunity. We were at home and we had done enough work in the first two games to put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny,” head coach Greg Vanney said after the defending MLS Cup champions qualified. “I think as we’ve navigated this tournament, it’s shown what we knew that we had some of this capability inside of our group.”
