Rapids freeze LAFC and steal leg one of the Concacaf Champions Cup’s opening round
COMMERCE CITY, Co– The Rapids opened up their 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign in below freezing conditions. Colorado outplayed Los Angeles for most of the game and ended up victorious, winning 2-1. The temperature at kickoff was zero degrees Fahrenheit, the second coldest in Cup history.
Colorado's first chance came when forward Omir Fernandez received the ball at the top of LA’s box. Fernandez unleashed a shot off his left foot, which flew straight into the arms of Los Angeles goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
The Rapids kept the pressure on. Striker Rafael Navarro continued to push the box and open himself up for his teammates to feed him. Midfielders Cole Bassett and Djordje Mihailovic constantly missed Navarro on his runs, leaving much needed points off the board.
Los Angeles started the game off cold, but they would receive their first chance of the game at the 19 minute mark.
Star winger Denis Bouanga pickpocketed the Rapid midfield, and made the Colorado backline miss on his way to the box. The winger played the ball to his fellow Frenchman Olivier Giroud who immediately relayed the ball back to Bouanga. The winger would miss his shot, leaving LAFC empty after a very promising run.
The burgundy boys and the black and gold spent the rest of the first half matching each other's moves. At the end of the half, the teams were at a standstill. Both teams failed to produce constant attacks.
Colorado started off the second half extremely hot. Winger Kevin Cabral had a run up the right side of the pitch, and when he cut in the box, he was chopped down by a LAFC defender. Suddenly, the Rapids had a golden opportunity to steal the lead a minute into the half.
Mihailovic stepped up to the spot and was the coolest guy in the stadium. The midfielder brilliantly shot the ball right up the middle, sending Lloris the wrong way giving Colorado the lead.
In the 54th minute, Cabral had another amazing run up the left side of the field which resulted in a point-blank shot that was saved by Lloris. The ball squirted away after the save and arrived at the feet of Fernandez, who had a wide-open net. Somehow the forward lost the ball, and it was recaptured by the Los Angeles shot stopper
Bouanga and the LA offense seemed to be awakened after the Colorado chance, and had back to back opportunities that nearly resulted in goals. Both chances were halted by Colorado keeper Zack Steffen.
In the 78th minute, Bassett won a free kick a couple of yards above the penalty box. The free kick was in a dangerous area, especially with a free kick specialist like Mihailovic.
The midfielder took a couple of steps back and unleashed a beautiful ball that curled into the top left bin, past the outstretched arms of Lloris and into the back of the net. Mihailovic had now extended the Rapids lead to two with under 15 minutes left of regular time.
“Not every team has that 10 … We have a pure playmaker in Djordje. He can finish attacks, He's deadly on set pieces,” Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas said after the game. “ He’s one of those guys that makes guys around him better.”
The final 10 minutes saw LAFC squirm to try and make a goal to put them in a better position for leg two.
Three minutes before the end of regulation, Bouanga received the ball at the left corner of the box and played a dangerous curling ball that was heading for the back post. Defender Aaron Long gave the ball the slight touch it needed to end up in the back of the net.
LAFC now has an away goal in their back pocket, which is extremely critical.
“The goal was really important for us. It was a real momentum swing.” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo. “Away goals do count in this competition. One nil on Tuesday puts us through.”
The Rapids will need to make sure not to take their foot off the gas. Their defense and offense must play as good as they did Tuesday night.
Colorado won the first leg beh
ind the inspired play of the defense. Though the team conceded a costly goal in the final minutes, the defense did well against the star power of Bouanga and Giroud.
“I thought they were rock solid. Defending crosses, playing out, their movement. I thought they were great.” Said Steffen. “They made my job easy tonight.”
Los Angeles will host the final leg of the first round series at BMO Stadium next Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on FS2.
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