CF Montréal entered Leagues Cup 2025 as underdogs, but they’re walking away from Tuesday's opener against star-studded Club León as surprise winners.
With Prince Owusu scoring a second-half equalizer, followed by a dramatic 7-6 penalty-kick shootout triumph after a 1-1 draw, Montréal took two out of a possible three points to begin Phase One play.
“Today was one of our best games of the season,” interim head coach Marco Donadel said of CFMTL's shock result.
Inspired comeback
Rogelio Funes Mori opened the scoring at Stade Saputo, heading home a cross from superstar Colombian international James Rodríguez in the 11th minute. But Montréal responded, peppering the León goal until their second-half breakthrough by Owusu.
In the ensuing PK shootout, both clubs exchanged goals until León’s Sebastián Santos was denied by the crossbar in the seventh round, handing CFMTL the additional point.
“I’m very happy with the performance,” Donadel said. “We always wanted to keep the pace very high, and they did a great job.”
Owusu on a roll
Owusu, amid a sparkling debut campaign for Montréal, got on the end of a lovely through ball from Dante Sealy to slip home the tying goal in the 62nd minute.
The former Toronto FC striker has 10 goals in his past 10 matches across all competitions, emerging as a bright spot during a difficult MLS season for Montréal.
Currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, CFMTL have been managed on an interim basis by Donadel since parting ways with Laurent Courtois in March.
However, three of their four total league wins have come in their last eight games. Additionally, Tuesday's positive performance against a legitimate LIGA MX powerhouse provides a further boost.
“It’s about the details because the level is so high,” Donadel said. “We need to continue to improve.”
All to play for
Tuesday's PK shootout win stands as one of Montréal's most impressive results of 2025. It also puts them in position to navigate through Phase One of Leagues Cup and qualify for the knockout stages. Only four teams in the 18-team MLS table advance.
“Our goal was to keep [our Leagues Cup journey] alive after tonight, and I think we reached our goal,” Donadel said.
Montréal head to Sports Illustrated Stadium, home of the New York Red Bulls, on Friday to face Toluca (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). The reigning LIGA MX champions rallied for an opening night PK shootout win at the Columbus Crew.
Donadel is optimistic his team's form will carry over.
“I’m sure next game, if we have the first chance, we are going to score," he said.
