"I don’t know how I have legs": LA Galaxy's fighting spirt aids Leagues Cup Run
LA moves into the semifinals, with both a trophy and a Champions Cup berth now within reach.
The LA Galaxy’s season has been defined by inconsistency and frustration, but Wednesday night offered a reminder of what this team can look like when everything clicks.
A 2-1 win over Pachuca sent the Galaxy into the Leagues Cup semifinals, leaving them just one victory away from securing a place in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup. For a club that has struggled to meet expectations in league play, the importance of this tournament is impossible to overstate.
Midfielder Diego Fagundez reiterated his stance on this competition. “It’s our playoffs, to be honest, I had said that we’re three games away, and now we’re even closer. A trophy for this team is something that we all want this year, and there’s another opportunity later on, but what we have right now in front of us is, let’s go for it.”
That urgency showed against Pachuca. The Galaxy were sharp in the first half, with Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil combining to threaten repeatedly down the wings. Reus’s set-piece delivery helped force the opener, while his finish in the 37th minute proved to be the difference. The performance wasn’t flawless — the late Pachuca goal ensured a nervy ending — but the Galaxy looked like a team fully invested in the moment.
For players like Fagundez, the effort required was draining. “I’m dead to be honest. I don’t know how I have legs,” he admitted postgame. “But it shows I wanted to win this game, and I didn’t care what was on the other side. Once that whistle blew, it was nice to say, hey, you know what? I accomplished.”
That sense of accomplishment is fleeting in a season that’s otherwise disappointing. The Galaxy sit bottom of the table in MLS, and by their own standards, have fallen short of expectations. But advancing in Leagues Cup brings both a chance at silverware and a path back into continental competition.
Edwin Cerrillo, who anchored the midfield against Pachuca, emphasized the weight of that opportunity. “We have resilience. We had an opportunity to get something out of the year. Our season hasn’t been going the way we all expected, but we knew within this cup we had a great opportunity, and here we are.”
A trophy may not erase the league struggles — both Cerrillo and Fagundez were clear on that — but it would reframe the year as one that still yielded something meaningful. More importantly, it would give the club momentum heading into the offseason and show a pathway back toward the expectations of Galaxy supporters.
The next hurdle, though, couldn’t be more daunting: the Seattle Sounders. Just last week, the Sounders humbled LA with a 4-0 win at Dignity Health Sports Park. Now, in the same stadium, the two sides will meet again, this time with a spot in the Leagues Cup final on the line.
For the Galaxy, that lopsided defeat lingers, but it also motivates. “I always say you want to play those teams again in your favor,” Fagundez said. “I want to take them again and this time, hopefully the results are different.”
The Galaxy know what’s at stake. Beat Seattle, and they’ll secure a Champions Cup berth and a spot in a final despite the disappointment this season has been. “We’re putting all our eggs in one basket to save our season,” said Cerrillo.
One step closer to silverware, one step closer to redemption — that’s the Galaxy’s focus now.