Overview
- LA Galaxy overwhelmed Santos Laguna at Dignity Health Sports Park on August 7, with Joseph Paintsil opening the scoring inside the first minute.
- Two red cards for Santos Laguna and goals from Matheus Nascimento and Maya Yoshida compounded the Liga MX side’s woes.
- The Galaxy’s third-place finish in Group Phase One sets up a quarterfinal clash with Pachuca on August 19–20.
- Cruz Azul’s campaign effectively ended after a 7-0 loss to Seattle Sounders and a penalty shootout draw with LA Galaxy.
- Colorado Rapids remain the only team with a live path to the knockout rounds, needing a regulation win and tiebreaker help in their final match.