Who tops the Leagues Cup penalty shootout stats: Liga MX or MLS?
A total of 13 games in this year Leagues Cup have been decided from the penalty spot, so how have the teams from both leagues fared so far?
The Leagues Cup, the tournament that brings together clubs from Mexico, the United States and Canada (Liga MX-MLS) has now entered the final stage, where all of the ties are instant knockout, in other words, you have to win to stay alive.
That said, with just half of the Mexican clubs remaining in the competition heading into the Last 16, it’s a good a moment as any to take stock of how many ties were decided by a penalty shootout and who fared better - Liga MX teams or those from Major League Soccer. All games that end level in the Leagues Cup are decided from the spot - without the need for extra-time. With 29 MLS teams and 18 from the Liga MX taking part in the tournament, it is interesting to see which league has been most successful in shootouts.
So far, a total of 13 games in the 2023 Leagues Cup have ended level and been decided by a penalty shootout - and out of those, eight were games between teams from different leagues.
MLS vs Liga MX in penalty shootouts
Just three Liga MX clubs won their penalty shootouts, either in the group stage or the first Round of 16 games, with six MLS winning the other games that were decided from 12 yards:
Group stage
- Club León 2-2 Vancouver Whitecaps (16-15)
- Puebla 1-1 Chicago Fire (10-9)
- Santos Laguna 2-2 Houston Dynamo (4-5)
- Cruz Azul 1-1 Atlanta United (5-4)
- Montréal 2-2 Pumas (4-2)
Round of 16
- Atlas 2-2 New England Revolution (7-8)
- Charlotte FC 0-0 Cruz Azul (4-3)
- Pachuca 0-0 Houston Dynamo (3-5)
The stats could change in the remaining Round of 16 ties, with fives games between Liga MX and MLS teams: Tigres UANL vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Portland Timbers vs. Monterrey, Toluca vs. Sporting Kansas City; Chicago Fire vs. America; and León vs. Real Salt Lake.