28 MLS teams and 17 Liga MX clubs battled to progress to the round of 32, where LAFC and Pachuca enter the competition.
Roddy ConsRoddyConsUpdate: Aug 2nd, 2023 04:35 EDT
MIKE EHRMANNAFP
Which is the better league? MLS or Liga MX? A question that many have been asking themselves for the last little while but one which has always been incredibly difficult to answer. While still not being able to give us a definitive response, the new Leagues Cup has, however, given us the chance to go at least some way to assessing which is the stronger of the two competitions.
With the group stage now over, the round of 32 will get underway on Wednesday, with Inter Miami and Lionel Messi (who else?) headlining the first night of knockout action against Orlando City, while 2022 MLS Cup winners LAFC will finally join the Leagues Cup party when they host Juárez.
Watch the Leagues Cup on AppleTV (free trial available)
🎯 GOLAZOS de tiro libre en la fase de grupos🥅 ¿Con cuál te quedas? 🔥 pic.twitter.com/G0nISYsGIT
— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 1, 2023
How many MLS and Liga MX teams qualified for Leagues Cup round of 32?
There are 20 MLS teams left in the competition (a 71.4% progression rate from 27 clubs) compared to 12 from Liga MX (70.6% from 17). Teams from south of the border made up only 37.8% of all group stage participants (17 of 45) but accounted for 47.7% of group winners (seven of 15), which may well please fans of the Mexican top flight.
MLS vs Liga MX head-to-head record in
But perhaps the most interesting statistics come from head-to-head matches between teams from the two leagues. 13 of the 15 groups contained two MLS sides and one from Liga MX, while the reverse was true for the remaining two.
A total of 30 inter-league matches were played, which resulted in 13 wins for Liga MX clubs, 12 for MLS teams and five draws (for the purpose of this exercise, we’re not counting penalty shootouts as victories). So, all in all, there was very little to choose between them.
Tigres, Monterrey, Toluca and Atlas all posted two victories against American opposition, while Columbus Crew, Inter Miami and Philadelphia Union won both of their fixtures against Mexican adversaries.
Así quedaron los Grupos de #LeaguesCup2023:12 Clubes de la Liga MX clasificaron a la siguiente ronda del Torneo.#MásAcciónMásDiversión pic.twitter.com/AQm65wCbta
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) August 1, 2023
