Monterrey claim Apertura title with shoot-out victory over América | OneFootball

Leonal Vangioni was the shoot-out hero as Monterrey claimed the Liga MX Apertura title 4-2 on penalties after an enthralling encounter against América at the Azteca Stadium.

The Rayados came into the game with a 2-1 lead after the first leg win at home on Thursday.

América went looking to wipe out the deficit early on, and – whipped into a frenzy by the raucous home crowd – they simply blitzed the visitors in the opening stages.

It looked like they would be rewarded as early as the third minute when Bruno Valdez forced the ball over the line.

However, the goal was correctly disallowed as Valdez handled the ball before it dropped at his feet.

Las Águilas didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough as just three minutes later they had taken the lead on the night and levelled the tie at 2-2.

Renato Ibarra played a simple ball into Federico Viñas who created just enough space to crack a left-footed shot off the inside of the upright.

The goal seemed to jolt Monterrey into action and they subsequently gained a foothold in the game.

But it was only a temporary respite as América were soon on top again and they looked to have doubled their advantage in the 25th minute when Ibarra’s low cross was met by Roger Martinez who applied an excellent finish.

The referee was alerted to a possible infringement in the build-up and after reviewing the video he correctly chalked off the goal for a handball by Richard Sánchez.

Sánchez managed to atone for the transgression three minutes before the break. Again the danger was created down América’s right flank.

This time it was Nicolás Benedetti, who had replaced the injured Ibarra, who turned provider. The substitute’s cross was cleared by Miguel Layun, but the ball fell to Sánchez who curled a beautiful effort beyond the reach of Rayados goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero.

The second half was a more even affair and as it progressed América seemed increasingly willing to sit and defend their lead.

Monterrey blew that plan out of the water with a quarter of an hour remaining. América’s left-back Jorge Sánchez made a complete hash of an attempted clearance.

Dorlan Pabón capitalised on the error by squaring a perfect pass across the face of goal for Rogelio Funes Mori to sweep the ball home and make it 3-3 on aggregate.

Carlos Rodríguez almost snatched a winner late on in normal time but his snapshot from close range was expertly tipped over by an superb reflex save by Guillermo Ochoa.

The hosts came had two glorious opportunities to claim victory in the closing stages of extra time.

First, Viñas saw a header crash off the top of the upright in the 117th minute. And Giovani Dos Santos was inches from glory moments later when he sent a rebound from his initial saved shot inches wide of the post.

Miguel Herrera’s men would pay the price for those misses when the shoot-out came.

The drama continued right to the end as both teams had to contend with a penalty spot that was cutting up and making placing the ball a difficult task.

Nicolás Castillo had his shot saved and Guido Rodríguez skied his effort, which set the stage for Vangioni to step up and side-foot his name into the Radayos’ annals.