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-Chaos in Kolkata, confetti in Delhi: Messi wraps up eventful India tour
Soccer-Scarred by ethnic violence, Manipur's clubs continue to fight for survival
Soccer-Man Utd boss Amorim accepts criticism from former players
Soccer-Rodrygo's winner lifts Real Madrid past Alaves to end losing streak
Soccer-Calvert-Lewin one of England's best strikers, says Leeds boss Farke
Soccer-St Mirren stun Celtic 3-1 to win Scottish League Cup
Soccer-Inter edge Genoa to claim Serie A top spot
Soccer-Bayern need late Kane penalty to rescue 2-2 home draw against strugglers Mainz
Soccer-Frank angry as Tottenham take a step back in defeat at Forest
Soccer-Sunderland exact sweet derby revenge with 'visitors' jibe at Newcastle

Others Also Read