Tigres defeats America on penalties to lift 5th LIGA MX title

A penalty shootout, a 119th-minute equaliser, an extra-time brawl that left both sides with nine players, and five red cards.

Feliz Navidad from the Estadio Universitario.

On Christmas Day, in the second leg of the LIGA MX Torneo Apertura 2016’s final, Tigres UANL and Club America went to war before Ricardo Ferretti’s side finally shot down Las Aguilas on penalty kicks.

For Tigres, the victory marked its fifth LIGA MX title and came one year after the club hoisted the trophy from the Torneo Apertura 2015.

As the final approached the dying minutes of extra time, it looked as though America would be celebrating its centennial season with a trophy. The first leg ended 1-1 and, after 90 minutes of football failed to produce a goal at the Estadio Universitario, a 95th-minute header from 19-year-old Edson Alvarez was set to add another star to Las Aguilas’ shirt.

Things then took a violent turn, as a skirmish in the 105th minute resulted in a downpour of red cards. Tigres, already down to 10 players because of Jorge Torres Nilo’s sending-off, lost Jose Arturo Rivas. America, already down to 10 men because of Rubens Sambueza’s expulsion, lost Paolo Goltz and Ventura Alvarado. As a result, the remainder of the fixture was a nine-on-eight.