Tigers confirmed an unprecedented final in the history of the Liga MX when meeting Toluca for the tournament title Opening 2025.
The Monterrey team eliminated Blue Cross in the semifinals, after tying 2-2 on aggregate after the second leg held this Saturday night at the Universitario de Nuevo León stadium.
Both in the first leg (last Thursday in CU) and in the second leg, the score was 1-1, but Tigres’ best position in the regular phase table, second compared to Cruz Azul’s third, helped them advance after the aggregate tie.
Argentine Juan Brunetta scored the only goal for the cats at home in the 27th minute, taking advantage of an assist inside the area from French forward André-Pierre Gignac.
Cruz Azul tied in injury time with an own goal by Juan Sánchez Purata at 90+5′, deflecting a cross from Luka Romero when goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán was preparing to take the ball with complete calm. That revived cement hopes.
Previously, the Machine had a clear opportunity to get closer on the scoreboard, remembering that it needed to win at all costs in ‘El Volcán’ to advance to the final, but it missed. It was a penalty awarded before the 70th minute that Guzmán saved from Uruguayan striker Gabriel ‘Toro’ Fernández.
Already at the end of the match, the Machine suffered another hard news due to the injury of Mexican defender Jesús Orozco Chiquete, who accidentally bent his right ankle while blocking a shot from Fernando Gorriarán. He had to leave in the popular ‘cart of misfortunes’ before the sad eyes of his teammates and rivals.
Tigres was second in the regular phase with 36 points, just one more than Cruz Azul. For this reason, they had the advantage of advancing to the final with a tie on aggregate.
It was enough for him to defend the 1-1 obtained on Thursday in Mexico City with scores from Ángel Correa and ‘Toro’ Fernández himself, who had tied for the cement team precisely via penalty.
Previously this Saturday, Toluca eliminated Monterrey with an aggregate score of 3-3. The Diablos were leaders in the regular phase and took advantage of that position to eliminate the Rayados, after winning 3-2 at the Nemesio Diez stadium.
Tigres and Toluca have faced each other in the Liguilla seven times since the establishment of short tournaments in Liga MX in 1996. However, this history includes clashes only in repechages, quarterfinals and semifinals.
Those from Nuevo León have a clear advantage over those from the State of Mexico, as they have won six of those seven matches between 2003 and 2025. However, the only victory for the Diablos was the most recent: in the semifinals of Clausura 2025 with a 4-1 aggregate score.
In the final the advantage due to position in the table is no longer valid, so in the event of a tie on the aggregate score the champion would be defined by extra time or penalties.
The first leg will be played at the Universitario stadium (‘El Volcán’) this Thursday, December 11, with a time to be determined. The return leg will be at the Nemesio Diez on Sunday the 14th, as stipulated by the official Apertura 2025 calendar and due to the positions of both teams in the regular phase.
On their way to the final, Tigres eliminated Tijuana in the quarterfinals 5-3 on aggregate and then beat Cruz Azul with the aforementioned 2-2 draw and the advantage by position in the table.
In the case of Toluca, they beat Bravos de Juárez in the quarterfinals 2-1 on aggregate and then eliminated Monterrey with the same advantage in the table after drawing 3-3.
Toluca aspires to tie Chivas as the second most winning team in the history of the MX League with 12 titles, only behind America’s 16, while Tigres will try to reach nine to get into the top 5.
