Soccer-Toluca sink Tigres 9-8 on penalties to win Mexico's Apertura title


Soccer Football - Liga MX - Final - Second Leg - Toluca v Tigres UANL - Estadio Nemesio Diez, Toluca, Mexico - December 14, 2025 Toluca's Alexis Vega and teammates celebrate with the trophy after winning Liga MX REUTERS/Henry Romero

Dec 15 (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.

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 missed, 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.

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Football

Soccer-Ronaldo scores twice on return as Al Nassr thumps Al Najma
Soccer-Canadian clubs and officials get ready for FIFA offside experiment
Pan-gon eyes Kuching danger men in Malaysia Cup semis
JDT thrash KL for comfy cushion in Malaysia Cup semis
Soccer-Arteta keeps cards close to chest as injury-hit Arsenal eye FA Cup semis
Soccer-Guardiola eyes record eighth straight FA Cup semi-final for Man City
Soccer-Gattuso leaves Italy job after missing out on World Cup again
Soccer-'Unbelievable' Salah can win more trophies before Liverpool exit, says Slot
Pan-gon wary of Kuching threat ahead of Malaysia Cup semis
Soccer-Chelsea drop Fernandez for two games for comments on his future

Others Also Read