TOLUCA claimed their second consecutive Mexican league title by defeating Tigres UANL 9-8 in a penalty shootout on Sunday. The two-leg Apertura final ended 2-2 on aggregate.
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| Henry Romero / Reuters |
Tigres had won the first leg 1-0, but they trailed early in the second match when Fernando Gorriaran scored. Toluca bounced back on home ground, with Helinho and Paulinho scoring to win 2-1. The match ended 2-2 after extra time, sending it to penalties.
Tigres struggled in the shootout, as Nicolas Ibanez missed his first kick, and Toluca's Federico Pereira also missed.
The shootout went into sudden death, where Tigres' Luis Manuel Garcia missed his fifth consecutive attempt. Finally, Alexis Vega scored past Tigres' goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman to give Toluca the win.
Coach Antonio Mohamed said, "We faced a very prestigious opponent with a rich history. We took penalties against the league's best goalkeeper, and the guys showed tremendous composure." Mohamed also guided Toluca to victory in this year's Clausura tournament.