LAFC suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew in the 2024 Leagues Cup Final. Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for LAFC, tying the score at 1-1 early in the second half, but the Crew scored twice in second-half stoppage time to claim the title.
Columbus took the lead just before halftime when Cucho Hernández, who was named the Best Player of 2024 Leagues Cup, headed a short Mo Farsi cross past Hugo Lloris to give the home side a 1-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
LAFC equalized just before the hour mark with Giroud, who was making his first ever start for the club, scoring for the first time in an LAFC shirt. A Denis Bouanga shot was deflected out for a corner kick, and Mateusz Bogusz found Giroud at the far post with the resulting corner. Giroud’s header snuck past the dive of Columbus goalkeeper Nicho Hagen and inside the post, tying the score at 1-1.
The score would stay that way until the second minute of second-half stoppage time when Hernández would strike again. The Colombian striker collected the ball on the left wing and curled a cross into the center of the six-yard box that found its way into the net to put Columbus back in front.
Columbus added a third goal two minutes later, with Hernández feeding Jacen Russell-Rowe to finish a two-on-one break and give the Crew a 3-1 victory.
LAFC is back in action on Wednesday, August 28, when it will look to qualify for a second final of 2024 by taking on the Seattle Sounders in the Semifinals of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. That game, which will be played at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. PT and can be seen for free on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass.
NEWS & NOTES
- LAFC is now 7-2-1 all-time in Leagues Cup. LAFC is 7-0-0 when allowing one or fewer goals in Leagues Cup play, and 0-2-1 when allowing multiple goals.
- All-time in Leagues Cup, LAFC has outscored opponents 32-10.
- This was the fifth final that LAFC has played in since its MLS debut in 2018. The club played in MLS Cup 2022 and 2023, the Concacaf Champions League Final in 2020 and 2023 and now Leagues Cup 2024.
- LAFC is now 22-6-6 in all competitions in 2024. The club is 14-5-5 in MLS play, 3-0-0 in the U.S. Open Cup and 5-1-1 in Leagues Cup.
- Since suffering a 3-1 loss to San Jose on May 4, LAFC has compiled an 18-2-3 record in all competitions with both losses coming against the Crew.
- Olivier Giroud, who appeared in LAFC’s last three games as a substitute, made his first start for LAFC.
- Mateusz Bogusz was credited with the assist on Giroud’s goal. That was his second assist of the competition and eighth in all competitions.
- Hugo Lloris finished the game with two saves. In six Leagues Cup appearances, Lloris made 17 saves and conceded just four goals while keeping four clean sheets.
- Denis Bouanga, the all-time leading scorer in Leagues Cup with 12 goals and six assists in 10 games, has contributed to 18 of the 32 goals that LAFC has scored all-time in Leagues Cup.
- Five LAFC players, Denis Bouanga, Aaron Long, Jesús Murillo, Sergi Palencia and Ilie Sánchez, started all seven games in Leagues Cup 2024.
