Clouds are sparse, the sun is shining this morning in Los Angeles, and while chillier than normal, it’s far from the freezing temperatures we saw in the first leg of this matchup. LAFC host Colorado Rapids tonight in the second leg of the Champions Cup, where they come in down a goal after coming up short in their 2025 opener on the road, 2-1. With an away goal in hand, and home field advantage on their side, LAFC look to overcome the deficit and avoid an early exit in a competition they desperately want to win.
Tuesday Plans ✅
⚽️ @TheChampions Cup
📅Tues, Feb 25
⏰ 7:00 PM
🏟️ @BMOStadium
🎟️ https://t.co/XEbWr0SAp1 pic.twitter.com/MVbna7xgaT— LAFC (@LAFC) February 24, 2025
Tonight marks the 15th matchup between these two clubs with LAFC holding the overall advantage with a record of 8-1-5 (W-D-L). Colorado has done an excellent job at using their home field advantages to their benefit, making last time’s loss, especially in the freezing cold of single-digit temperatures, far less surprising. That said, when it comes to playing in Los Angeles, LAFC are just levels above most opponents and Rapids are no different. The black & gold are 7-0-0 when taking on Colorado at home, winning by a combined 21-2. So it’s no surprise the team feel extremely confident coming into this second leg only down a goal. “We’ve been in these moments before, having to get a specific scoreline” said LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead when talking to media ahead of tonight’s match. “Really, we just need to go out and play our game, playing at home, in front of our fans, is where we want to be. We put ourselves in a spot to go win the game, and move on, and that’s the goal.”
This will be the third match in seven days for the home side, after opening up their MLS campaign with a home win over Minnesota United just this past weekend. As we mentioned in our review of that win, LAFC Head Coach Steve Cherundolo told media the slight bit of squad rotation for that match was done with eyes on today’s Champions Cup matchup, meaning we should see a very strong squad sent out tonight.
For those who need a refresher, or those unaware, Concacaf Champions Cup still uses the ‘away goals rule’ that has been removed from a handful of other top competitions around the world, notably, the UEFA Champions League. In short, the rule is more of a tiebreaker, should the two sides finish regulation tied on aggregate, the first tiebreaker will be whichever team has scored more goals away from home across the two legs. If that fails to produce a winner, then we move to extra time and possibly penalty kicks. That means, should LAFC win tonight 1-0, they will be tied on aggregate at 2-2, but having scored in Colorado, they will advance on away goals. Should they win, but the score is 2-1, aggregate will be 3-3, with Rapids also scoring an away goal, giving us an extra 30 minutes of play to decide a winner before we move to penalty kicks if needed. Whew, got all that?
Chances we see any away goals tiebreaker are slim. You have to go all the way back to 2021 to find a time where Rapids not only last scored in Los Angeles against LAFC, but it was also the last time they suffered a loss by only a single goal. All the portents, tea leaves, and trends say LAFC will advance tonight, setting up a meeting with their current bogey team, Columbus Crew.
How To Watch
Tonight’s match is set to kickoff at 7:00pm PT, from BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Ca. The match will be broadcast live and can be seen on FS2.
Thoughts ahead of the second leg? Leave a comment below!