CONCACAF history not on LAFC and Carlos Vela's side
In the history of the CONCACAF Champions League, no Major League Soccer team has been able to come back after losing by two or more goals in the first leg.
LAFC had an amazing season last year. They set many records and won the Supporters' Shield, the first title in the history of the team, but they were unable to win the MLS Cup in 2019. After a historic season many thought they could make a difference against Club León in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Carlos Vela’s team lost 2-0 against León in Mexico last Tuesday in the first leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League. In the history of the tournament no MLS team has come back after losing by two or more goals in the first leg when facing a Liga MX team.
In the past, five teams from Liga MX have won at home during the first leg by a difference of two or more goals to seal their passage to the next round. In the second leg, Major League Soccer teams have tried to overcome that deficit but have failed to do so.
The last time a team from Mexico defeated an MLS team 2-0 was in 2017, when Tigres hosted Real Salt Lake. Last year, Monterrey hosted Atlanta United and in the first leg they won 3-0, but in the second leg the MLS team defeated them 1-0.
Only two teams in MLS have come back after losing in the first leg
Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City are the only two teams in the history of the tournament that have eliminated a Liga MX team out of the 19 times they have faced each other.
In 2013, the Sounders visited Tigres in the first leg of the quarter-finals and lost 1-0. The second leg was played in Seattle and they were able to beat the Liga MX team 3-1 to advance to the next round.
The other team that did it was Sporting Kansas City back in 2002, when they lost against Santos 2-1 in the first leg and in the second leg they won 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.