Former Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama came on in the second half and helped his CF Montreal side to a 4-2 post-match penalty shootout victory against Mexican outfit UNAM Pumas in their first match in the 2023 Leagues Cup.This is after the two sides had played out to a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the Saputo Stadium following Pumas’ late fightback as they scored two goals in the last three minutes to force the match into the shootouts.💙#CFMTL | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/J1kOyShim6— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) July 23, 2023 Montréal’s bell was tolling, and it wasn’t to be good news for Pumas as the home team were comfortable in the first 45 minutes of the match in which they managed to take a 2-0 lead.22 year old midfielder Bryce Duke opened the scoring for the hosts after combining with Ariel Lassiter in the 23rd minute.Mathieu Choiniere ensured Montreal went into the half time break with a comfortable lead as he doubled the team’s advantage just two minutes into the breather.##NAJAVA_MECA_7383279##But in the second half, coach Turco Mohamed adjusted his tactics, and Pumas managed to tie the game in the final moments to take the match to penalties.Gabriel Fernandez pulled one back on the 88th minute after an assist from Adrian Aldrete before Emmanuel Montejano struck three minutes later to force the draw.Official: Harambee Stars ace Joseph Okumu joins French Ligue 1 sideAldrete quickly turned from hero to villain as he missed the first penalty to put his side at a disadvantage.Montreal took the chance and converted all four of their penalties to win 4-2 after Jorge Ruvalcaba also missed for Pumas.The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America.It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league. The first edition was a single-elimination tournament hosted in the United States with a final played in Las Vegas on September 18, 2019.How AFC Leopards got slapped with 20 million fine, three window transfer ban over Aussems contract sagaIn 2023, the tournament was expanded to include all clubs from MLS and Liga MX, and now functions as a regional cup for these leagues. The top three Leagues Cup teams qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup with the champion receiving a bye to the Round of 16.The top 15 teams from each league are seeded into 15 groups based on their league standings from the previous season, while the remaining teams are drawn based on geographic proximity.Gor Mahia complete signing of combative City Stars defenderThe group stage will have three matches in a round-robin format and the top two teams qualify for the knockout stage.Two teams also receive byes to the knockout stage: the reigning MLS Cup champion and highest-ranked Liga MX champion from either the previous Clausura and Apertura.The knockout stage will be single-elimination on a fixed bracket.
