LAFC and Guadalajara opened their Leagues Cup campaign against each other at BMO Stadium on Wednesday, and neither side treated it like a routine first match. Marc Dos Santos said the opener could decide a lot of what comes next for LAFC, while Gabriel Milito and José Castillo framed the game as one that leaves little room for mistakes.
The match was set for 7:30 p.m. PT and to stream on Apple TV, which gave the search around LAFC vs Guadalajara a clear answer on Wednesday: this was the first step in a tournament where one result can shape the rest of the group stage. Dos Santos said LAFC’s focus was on Chivas, getting three points, and then turning to Toluca, while Ryan Hollingshead said the team would fight and give everything it can to get them.
That urgency is not just about pride. Dos Santos said the first result is crucial if LAFC wants to classify, and he called the group with Chivas, Toluca and Querétaro the most demanding in the tournament. In that setting, an opening win does more than add points; it keeps the path forward from narrowing before the group has even settled.
For Guadalajara, Milito said the tournament does not forgive mistakes and that his side must give its maximum effort to win matches. Castillo pushed the message into simpler terms, saying Guadalajara needed to be patient, organized and very solid defensively against a rival that stands out for speed and for punishing any lapse. He said Chivas was approaching the Leagues Cup with the same importance as any other competition, and Milito added that the team arrives with the hope of competing for the title.
The contrast is in how each side is trying to manage the same pressure. LAFC is asking whether it has enough depth and health to survive a packed stretch, and Dos Santos said the club has lost players who have not been replaced and is dealing with several injuries. Chivas, meanwhile, is being told not to lean on travel or fixture congestion as an explanation if the results do not come.
That leaves LAFC’s next step straightforward and unforgiving. Dos Santos said the group would first try to beat Chivas, then analyze what to do against Toluca, a reminder that the opener was only the start of a short route where the standings can change quickly and every point matters from the first whistle.
