Club Puebla had a historic performance in the 2025 Leagues Cup first round, exceeding expectations to become one of four Liga MX sides to reach the quarterfinals.
Advancing past the first round for the first time, their journey was far from easy, being full of moments of resilience and surprises that made them the "Cinderella" of the competition.
Group Stage:
Puebla's performance in the first phase was remarkable, finishing with 6 points and a record of two wins and one loss. Their matches were as follows:
Puebla 3-0 New York City FC:
A surprising and dominant debut for La Franja. They opened the scoring just two minutes in and controlled the match, securing their first win by three or more goals since 2023. The young Uruguayan Emiliano Gómez was the mastermind behind the performance, leading the charge with a goal and an assist.
Columbus Crew 3-1 Puebla:
In their second match, Puebla suffered a defeat to the Columbus Crew. Despite the result, they showed plenty of positives to show they were still in contention to qualify for the next round.
CF Montréal 1-2 Puebla:
A crucial match with a great comeback. After going down on the scoreboard, Puebla showed character and came back to win, sealing a victory that brought them closer to the knockout stage. Emiliano Gómez scored again, and Ricardo Marín, coming off the bench, netted the all-important winning goal.
Quarterfinals Qualification
With 6 points, Puebla ended Phase One in fourth place in the Liga MX table, but their qualification for the quarterfinals depended on the result of the match between FC Juárez and New York Red Bulls.
The tension lasted until the end, as the match went to penalties. A double save by goalkeeper Anthony Marcucci on Rodolfo Pizarro of Juárez sealed the elimination of Los Bravos and, with it, Puebla's historic pass to the next round.
Quarterfinals
As the fourth-best team from Liga MX, Puebla will face Seattle Sounders FC, the best team from MLS, in the group stage.
The match will be played on Wednesday 20 of August at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Puebla's run in this edition of the Leagues Cup has been considered a "Cinderella" story, as their good performance in the tournament contrasts with their results in the 2024-25 Liga MX season, where they finished in 15th and 17th place in the Apertura and Clausura, respectively.
Emiliano Gómez and Ricardo Marín have been key players, with the former leading the team with two goals and one assist.
Do you believe they can continue this momentum in the Quarterfinals against the top-seeded Seattle Sounders? Let us know