Tribal Football

Toluca clinch back-to-back titles after Tigres shootout

Toluca's Alexis Vega and teammates celebrate with the trophy
Toluca's Alexis Vega and teammates celebrate with the trophyHenry Romero / Reuters

Toluca won their second straight Mexican ‍league title after beating Tigres UANL 9-8 in a ​penalty shootout on Sunday, after the two-legged Apertura tournament final ‌ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Tigres, who ‌won the first leg 1-0, took an early lead in the second through Fernando Gorriaran, but ⁠Toluca fought back on home soil, ‌with Helinho and Paulinho finding the ​net to secure a 2-1 win, and the ‍tie remained deadlocked at 2-2 after extra time.

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The visitors started ‍the shootout ‌poorly when Nicolas Ibanez fired over the crossbar before Toluca's Federico Pereira also missed the ⁠target.

The shootout went into sudden death, and after Tigres player Luis Manuel Garcia became the fifth player in a row to miss, Alexis Vega scored past keeper Nahuel Guzman to secure victory for Toluca.

"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," said coach Antonio Mohamed, who also led Toluca to victory in this year's ⁠Clausura tournament.

Click here for more on the match

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