By DAN KARELL
Down a man early and trailing by two goals to Cruz Azul on aggregate in the 89th minute of the Liga MX Final second-leg, it seemed that all hope was lost for Club America.
What happened next could only have been written by Hollywood screen-writers.
America defender Aquvaldo Mosquera sent in a header in the 89th minute, and three minutes later in stoppage time, America goalkeeper Moises Muñoz, pushing all the way into the box, headed in a corner kick that beat Cruz Azul goalkeeper Jesus Corona to tie the match on aggregate, 2-2. The goals canceled out Teofilo Gutierrez’s 20th minute strike to put the visitors in a commanding position.
After two scoreless overtime periods, the match went to penalties, where America prevailed, 4-2, Miguel Layun scoring the final goal to send the capacity crowd at a rainy Azteca Stadium on Sunday night into celebration.
The title is the Mexico City club’s 11th league championship in their history, and first since winning the Clausura tournament in 2005.
Here are some more stories to start your Monday:
LULIC GOAL LEADS LAZIO OVER ROMA IN COPPA ITALIA FINAL
Playing in the first ever Derby della Capitale in the Coppa Italia final, Lazio defeated arch rivals A.S. Roma, 1-0, to take home their sixth Italian Cup.
Lazio winger Senad Lulic scored the only goal of the match in the 71st minute, taking a cross from the right foot of Antonio Candreva that fell kindly to Lulic, who scored into an empty net. Despite a late push from Roma forwards Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Francesco Totti, the Giallorossi couldn’t find the goal needed to send the match to extra time.
The victory ends Lazio’s season on a positive note, that despite finishing behind Roma in the league standings, the cup win means Lazio will be playing in the Europa League next season while Roma are denied a place in European competition for a second year running.
LEWANDOWSKI NEARS MOVE TO BAYERN
Bayern Munich have reclaimed their place above Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League, and they are making sure it stays that way.
According to reports out of Poland, the agent of Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski has confirmed that his client will be moving to Bayern this summer, though stated that nothing had been signed yet. Bayern have already signed Dortmund midfielder Mario Götze, who missed out on the Champions League final to injury.
Lewandowski has been rumored for a move away from Signal Iduna Park since last winter, with Manchester United among those teams being mentioned. This season, Lewandowski scored 36 goals in all competitions, including 10 in the Champions League.
TORRES, INIESTA, XAVI HEADLINE SPAIN CONFEDERATIONS CUP SQUAD
Spain national team manager Vicente Del Bosque has selected a strong squad for the upcoming Confederations Cup in Brazil.
Regulars such as Andres Iniesta, Xabi Hernandez, and Fernando Torres have all been called into the squad, while second-leading La Liga scorer, Alvaro Negredo, was left out. Despite losing his starting place at Real Madrid, goalkeeper Iker Casillas was chosen as part of a 26-player provisional squad. Three players will be removed prior to the start of the tournament on June 15.
La Roja has another busy summer ahead, starting with two friendly matches in the United States against Haiti on June 8 and the Republic of Ireland on June 11, followed by their first Confederations Cup match on June 16 against Uruguay.
QUICK KICKS
Paris Saint-Germain’s backup goalkeeper Ronan Le Crom was shown a red card on his debut for the club, at age 38, in their final match against Lorient. (REPORT)
Celtic completed the Scottish double on Saturday, defeating Hibernian, 3-0, to win the Scottish Cup. (REPORT)
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverly has been ruled out of England’s two senior national friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil in June. (REPORT)
Just two weeks after potentially winning three trophies this season, Benfica has ended up with none, losing the Europa League final, the Portuguese league, and on Sunday the Portuguese Cup final to Vitoria de Guimaraes. (REPORT)
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What do you make of these reports? Did you believe that America could pull off the win? Did you see Lazio winning the Italian Cup? Do you see Lewandowski fitting in at Bayern?
Share your thoughts below.