Francisco Meza struck the winning goal of the match as Tigres beat Monterrey 2-1 to win the Liga MX title at Estadio BBVA Bancomer on Sunday.
After the two sides drew 1-1 just three days ago, Monterrey made the brighter start and took an immediate lead when a chested down pass from Rogelio Funes Mori finished with Dorlan Pabon firing the ball past Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman.
Rayados carved open the Tigres defense again moments later, but Pabon’s effort just went inches wide of doubling the lead.
However, Tigres finished the half strongly, and equalized in the 30th minute when Eduardo Vargas steered a low effort into the back of the net.
Things went from bad to worse for Monterrey, and five minutes later, Francisco Meza appeared unmarked inside the box, after being set up by Rafael Carioca, to give Tigres a 2-1 lead.
There was still a whole half of work to do for Tigres, and as expected, Monterrey piled forward in search of the equalizer. In the 55th minute, Nahuel Guzman executed a superb close range save to keep the score in Tigres’ favor.
A glut of Rayados goalscoring chances followed and were eventually rewarded when a penalty was called. Aviles Hurtado stepped up, and sent the spot kick soaring over the bar, as Monterrey’s best chance of equalizing went begging.
Frustration soon took over the Monterrey players and Neri Cardozo was sent off for a tackle on Javier Aquino.
As the referee blew the final whistle, Tigres wrote their name into the history books, winning the first Clasico Regio Final and earning their sixth league title in club history.