MLS vs. Liga MX: Lessons from Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals

The Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals are set with two teams from MLS — Los Angeles FC and Nashville SC — and two from Liga MX — Tigres and Toluca — moving into the final four.

Liga MX teams have won all but one of the continental club championships in the modern era, but both MLS teams were convincing in their quarterfinal wins. The bracket sees another pair of interleague semifinals, with Nashville meeting Tigres and LAFC coming up against Toluca.

Before the semifinals begin the week of April 28, USA TODAY Sports looks back with three thoughts from the quarterfinals:

Is Liga MX or MLS stronger in Concacaf Champions Cup?

The historical debate will rage on, and we'll get more data points. While Tuesday was an historic night for MLS teams, eliminating two Mexican grandes in one fell swoop, Wednesday saw both Liga MX teams in action get through despite being on the road in the second leg.

But perhaps the debate shouldn't rage at all? At least, that was the perspective of LAFC manager Marc dos Santos after eliminating reigning champion Cruz Azul.

"There shouldn’t be rivalry. There should be respect for two leagues that are strong," Dos Santos said in Spanish. "MLS has grown a lot in recent years. I remember 15 years ago when MLS teams would play against Liga MX opponents, the difference was really big. Today, it’s not like that. It’s closer."

Yet, Dos Santos' team is an example of how "the gap" that is often debated between Liga MX and MLS often comes down to individual teams. LAFC not only has the talents of Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga in its attack and a world champion goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was key to the Black and Gold's second-leg success, but also has an intimidating home-field advantage and since its inception has operated like one of the top clubs in the Americas.

Seattle Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer's team experienced the most difficult group in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with the reigning champions of Europe, of South America and consistent contenders Atlético Madrid in the group.

"We weren’t playing Paris Saint-Germain or Botafogo or Atletico, but Tigres is up there. That is a tremendous team," he said. "I credit Guido (Pizarro, Tigres manager) again, wish him the best of luck in the tournament. That was a good team. The guys played well against a very, very top opponent."

At times, it's an on-fire MLS team that can make a deep run. Other times, it seems that the lack of form from a Liga MX team makes the difference. Taking nothing away from Nashville SC becoming the first MLS team to win a competitive game at the Estadio Azteca — and doing it without injured forward Sam Surridge, Nashville faced an América team far from its recent peak.

After becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles in Liga MX's short tournament era, América has struggled this season, sitting just above the playoff line with four games to go.

"We want to pursue trophies and be able to compete against the elite. We knew getting to this round, you’re going to be matching up against really good teams, and if you want to be able to continue to pursue those, you have to go on the road and go to historic stadiums like Azteca in difficult conditions and get results," Nashville manager BJ Callaghan said. "For us, it’s a great step forward, but it’s just one more step forward to the semifinal where we’re going to have more work to do if we’re going to continue to pursue our ambitions."

That is where teams from both leagues find themselves: Near a trophy that would be a serious landmark in their club's history, but knowing nothing has been won yet and no long-standing narrative has been shifted.

Will away goals continue to be used as a tiebreaker in the Concacaf Champions Cup?

In other top soccer competitions, using away goals to determine the winner of a two-legged tie has gone the way of the dodo. Neither Europe's UEFA Champions League or South America's Copa Libertadores puts extra weight on where the goals are scored.

Concacaf is still a holdout, though, and the Seattle Sounders know it all too well. Despite rallying for a 3-1 win over Tigres on Wednesday to knot the aggregate series at 3-3, the Sounders bow out because of their 2-0 loss at El Volcan last week.

Everyone knows the rules heading into the competition, but it led to a jarring swing when the Sounders conceded to Tigres center back Joaquim on a corner kick just after the half-hour mark. After opening the game with an early goal, the Sounders went from needing one more goal to send the series to extra time to needing three more to have a chance to win.

"Obviously it was disappointing to give up that goal, but our guys fought back, got ourselves back in the game and had numerous chances to score that fourth goal," Schmetzer said.

Just two other series in this year's CCC were decided on away goals — the LA Galaxy winning their first round series over Sporting San Miguelito and Nashville SC getting past Inter Miami in the Round of 16 — but when it does happen, it can start to feel strange.

Concacaf shouldn't feel pressured to make a change just because everyone else is doing it, but it is worth asking if the away goals tiebreaker is the best way to determine a winner. Both the Sounders and Tigres certainly had their moments in the series.

"It was a tough game, typical of this competition. I think the tie was really even. We were better there, and here they found goals at the right moments to push the game," Tigres manager Guido Pizarro said in Seattle. "It was really even, so I put a lot into going through."

Maybe extra time to let them decide it on the field would've been even better (though after the 8:30 p.m. Pacific start time Wednesday, it would've led to plenty of tired eyes Thursday morning.)

CONCACAFed returns?

For all the grief Concacaf has received about the quality of officiating over the years, the top center referees have generally shown big improvement in the last several years.

This week, however, was a jarring throwback to the days of botched calls and strange decisions.

Salvadoran native Ivan Barton started the Cruz Azul v. LAFC match tossing cards into the air at nearly every opportunity, but then allowed Carlos Rotondi to put an American football move on Denis Bouanga and stay on the field despite having gone into the book in the 13th minute. Finally, Gonzalo Piovi was sent off in stoppage time, but that moment of frustration from a dangerous tackle indicated a game that already had gotten out of the official's control.

The next day in Seattle, it was another Salvadoran in the middle, with Ismael Cornejo administering justice. He was put in a difficult spot by his crew and their bosses, being asked to wait on the field for a review while Albert Rusnák's position on the Sounders' opening goal in the win over Tigres (that still saw them dumped out) was evaluated for onside or offside.

It was a tight decision, but the line drawing later produced was hardly irrefutable evidence to overturn the play — even if it made for better soccer for the neutrals as the Sounders started to believe they could pull off the comeback.

As this competition continues to grow, it should match the standard of the best leagues taking part in it. Even in the often colorful Liga MX, we quickly see the semi-automated offside technology diagrams. Concacaf needs to empower its referees with the best possible tools as quickly as possible.