The 2019 Leagues Cup was the inaugural edition of Leagues Cup, a club soccer competition featuring four clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in an eight-team single-elimination tournament hosted in the United States. It began on July 23, 2019, with the first set of quarterfinals, and culminated in a final match played in Whitney, Nevada, near Las Vegas, on September 18, 2019. Cruz Azul won the final, defeating UANL 2–1.

2019 Leagues Cup
Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesJuly 23 – September 18
Teams8 (from 2 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsMexico Cruz Azul
(1st title)
Runners-upMexico UANL
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored19 (2.71 per match)
Attendance122,884 (17,555 per match)
Top scorer(s)Colombia Andrés Ibargüen
(2 goals)
2020

Qualification

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The inaugural edition of the Leagues Cup featured eight teams—four invitees from Major League Soccer and four Liga MX clubs chosen based on competitive results.[1]

Teams

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The following 8 teams (from two associations) participated in the tournament.

Association Team
  Mexico (4 teams) América
Cruz Azul
UANL
Tijuana
  United States (4 teams) Chicago Fire
Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy
Real Salt Lake

Bracket

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
July 23 – Carson, CA
 
 
  LA Galaxy (p)2 (3)
 
August 20 – Carson, CA
 
  Tijuana2 (1)
 
  LA Galaxy1
 
July 23 – Bridgeview, IL
 
  Cruz Azul2
 
  Chicago Fire0
 
September 18 – Whitney, NV
 
  Cruz Azul2
 
  Cruz Azul2
 
July 24 – Houston, TX
 
  UANL1
 
  Houston Dynamo1 (5)
 
August 20 – Houston, TX
 
  América (p)1 (6)
 
  América2 (3)
 
July 24 – Sandy, UT
 
  UANL (p)2 (5)
 
  Real Salt Lake0
 
 
  UANL1
 

Quarterfinals

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Chicago Fire  0–2  Cruz Azul
Report
Attendance: 14,213
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

LA Galaxy  2–2  Tijuana
Report
Penalties
3–1
Attendance: 10,421
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Houston Dynamo  1–1  América
Beasley   85' Report Benedetti   73'
Penalties
5–6

Real Salt Lake  0–1  UANL
Report
Attendance: 15,136
Referee: John Pitti (Panama)

Semifinals

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América  2–2  UANL
Report
Penalties
3–5
Attendance: 22,532
Referee: Diego Montaño Robles (Mexico)

LA Galaxy  1–2  Cruz Azul
Report
Attendance: 20,135
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

Final

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Cruz Azul  2–1  UANL
Report
Attendance: 20,132
Referee: Marco Antonio Ortíz Nava (Mexico)

Top goalscorers

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  Club eliminated for this round.
Rank Player Club Goals By round
QF SF F
1   Andrés Ibargüen   América 2 2
2   Roberto Alvarado   Cruz Azul 1 1
  DaMarcus Beasley   Houston Dynamo 1
  Nicolás Benedetti   América 1
  Emmanuel Boateng   LA Galaxy 1
  Washington Camacho   Tijuana 1
  Emil Cuello   LA Galaxy 1
  Elías Hernández   Cruz Azul 1
  José Madueña   Cruz Azul 1
  Ariel Nahuelpán   Tijuana 1
  Orbelín Pineda   Cruz Azul 1
  Guido Pizarro   UANL 1
  Jonathan Rodríguez   Cruz Azul 1
  David Romney   LA Galaxy 1
  Eduardo Vargas   UANL 1
  Yoshimar Yotún   Cruz Azul 1

References

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  1. ^ Santaromita, Dan (May 29, 2019). "MLS, Liga MX announce Leagues Cup 8-team tournament". Pro Soccer USA. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.