Toluca defeats Columbus on penalties and Puebla thrashes New York in the Leagues Cup opener.

With a brace from Portuguese player Paulinho, Toluca drew 2-2 with Columbus Crew before winning 4-2 on penalties on Tuesday in the start of the Leagues Cup, in which Puebla thrashed New York 3-0 and James Rodríguez's León lost on penalty kicks to Montreal.

Uruguayan striker Diego Rossi put Columbus ahead 1-0 at Lower.com Field in Ohio in the 11th minute with a penalty kick to the left of goalkeeper Luis García, who dived to the opposite side.

Defender Maximilian Arfsten made it 2-0 with a finish in the penalty area in the 48th minute of the match, kicking off the first matchday of the competition, which pits 36 teams from the Mexican league and MLS against each other in American and Canadian stadiums.

But Paulinho brought Toluca , the reigning league champion and newly crowned Champion of Champions of Mexican football, closer, finishing off a ball blocked by goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. The Portuguese then sealed the 2-2 tie with a header in the 80th minute.

In the penalty shootout, Alexis Vega, Brazilians Luan Garcia and Helinho, and Jesús Gallardo scored for the Red Devils; only Uruguayan Bruno Méndez missed.

For the Crew, the defending Leagues Cup champions, Taha Habroune and Finland's Lassi Lappalainen were on target, while Rossi and Amar Sejdic missed their first two shots.

Unlike most soccer competitions, a tie in the North American tournament takes the contest to a penalty shootout, where the winner earns an additional point.

James gives an assist

At home at Saputo Stadium in Montreal, Canada's CF Montreal drew 1-1 with León, but then won 7-6 on penalties.

It was in the 11th minute when Rodríguez sent a left-footed pass from the right flank to allow Argentine Rogelio Funes Mori to make it 1-0 for the Mexicans.

But German Prince Osei Owusu equalized for the home side with a low cross from inside the area in the 62nd minute.

In the penalty shootout, the only missed penalty for La Fiera was Sebastián Santos's.

Meanwhile, at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey, Puebla earned three points with a 3-0 victory over New York.

Argentine defender Juan Manuel Fedorco scored the first goal with a point-blank shot in the 2nd minute.

Uruguayan attacking midfielder Emiliano Gómez extended the lead with a shot from the front in the box in the 38th minute. And at the end of the game, in the 88th minute, midfielder Owen González sealed the rout by finishing off a long sequence of passes that began on Puebla's half in the New York area.

The Leagues Cup , which will award a ticket to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions League to the winner, runner-up, and third-place finishers, runs until August 31.