Alexis Vega, unstoppable; he scores a double and puts Toluca in the final.

From the editorial staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, May 18, 2025, p. 9

With Alexis Vega on fire in attack, Toluca celebrated their return to a Liga MX final at home with their fans after nearly three years. In a match where the Mexican refereeing team looked to demonstrate their quality, the Scarlets routed Tigres 3-0 (4-1 aggregate) and reiterated their potential after finishing as the overall leader by becoming the first finalist in the 2025 Clausura tournament.

If there's one thing that defines Vega, it's his ability to respond in key moments. Now, he unsparingly displayed his potential as a striker, scoring a brace—the first from a penalty—and providing an assist for Édgar López to complete the victory.

In his first tournament at the helm of the Diablos, Antonio Turco Mohamed is tasked with leading the team to the final, where they will seek to break a 15-year streak without a crown. With the victory, the Scarlets secured home-field advantage for the decisive match, having held the overall lead. The opponent will be determined this Sunday when América and Cruz Azul decide a series in which the Sky Blues hold a mere 1-0 lead.

While the Devils celebrate, the felines face the failure of being eliminated in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive tournament, now under the direction of Guido Pizarro, who took over the bench midway through the tournament after retiring as a player and immediately becoming a coach.

The game hadn't even started yet, and the Nemesio Diez Stadium was in full swing. The fans unfurled a banner to support the home team, who arrived with the mission of not throwing away a tournament in which they had been nearly perfect in the regular season.

In the eyes of Argentine Horacio Elizondo, who had recently been appointed technical director and instructor of the Referee Commission and was attending a Liga MX match for the first time, the performance of the refereeing team, headed by Fernando Hernández, had to be perfect.

If the pressure was on both clubs to secure a place in the final, the referee's was to make no mistakes. Thus, a mistake by the felines provided the opportunity for the Scarlets to take a vital lead, while the refereeing team could demonstrate their precision in executing the rules.

▲ The Scarlet forward was the star of the attack, leading the offense with two goals and an assist. Photo AFP

In an attempt to stop the opponent, Joaquim Pereira hauled Paulinho, who received a yellow card for demanding that the referee use VAR to confirm the foul.

From the video referee booth, Yair Miranda indicated that the play should be reviewed; thus, Fernando Hernández had to resort to the VAR screens and, after analyzing the scene—and admitting his error—reversed the decision to award a penalty in favor of the Devils, while also removing the Portuguese player's yellow card.

It was then that Vega emerged (in the 17th minute) as the hero for the Scarlets. With complete confidence, precision, and power, the striker converted the penalty to beat goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán and spark a celebration in the stands.

Tigres responded ferociously in attack, although once again certain errors and refereeing decisions frustrated their strategy to shake the nets.

Nicolás Ibáñez managed to send the ball into the net, but the referee called for an offside. Cautiously, and fearing another mistake, this time the referee waited for VAR to make a judgment and ultimately disallowed the goal after determining, with the help of digital vectors, that the player had fallen on the foul by just a few millimeters off his left foot.

The game was decided with a great performance from Vega himself. The home side's second goal came after the striker slipped the ball through for López (79th minute) to finish with a cross from inside the box.

Almost immediately, Vega executed a play that would end in a standing ovation. With a daring attitude, he broke through the defense alone to beat Guzmán again and score the goal that secured their championship contention.

From the editorial staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, May 18, 2025, p. 9

La Jaiba Brava took a big step toward their second Expansion League title after defeating the Leones Negros of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) 2-1 in the first leg of the 2025 Clausura tournament final, held yesterday at the Tamaulipas stadium.

The goals for Tampico Madero, which won its first title in this circuit in the 2020 Guardianes tournament, came from Omar Soto in the 36th minute and Rubén Domínguez in the 45-8 minute. Alejandro Organista scored for the Guadalajara team in the 85th minute.

The felines, which finished as the top team in the regular season, tried to impose their influence in the opening minutes, feinting long-range shots; however, home goalkeeper Gerardo Ruiz held off the attacks.

The team led by former Tigres coach Marco Antonio Chima Ruiz responded with some dangerous attempts, but they were unable to breach Felipe López's goal.

It wasn't until the 36th minute that Jaiba Brava managed to open the scoring, after a series of rebounds in the area, Soto took control of the ball to define with his right foot and put the score at 1-0.

The goal motivated the Tampico Madero team, who extended their lead just minutes later. In the final stretch of the first half, at 45+8, following a corner kick, Domínguez headed the ball, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper. However, the ball remained alive in the box, which the same player took advantage of to send it into the back of the net and make it 2-0 before halftime.

In the second half, the team led by the experienced Luis Alfonso Sosa, former coach of Necaxa and Atlético de San Luis, tried to close the gap; however, they were unable to do any damage to their opponent.

With the lack of goals, both coaches decided to make several changes to their lineups. UdeG benefited the most from the modifications, taking the lead 2-1 in the 85th minute through Alejandro Organista, who capitalized on a rebound from goalkeeper Gerardo Ruiz to slot the ball into the opponent's net and keep his team in the finals, where they will try to secure their first Liga de Expansión title.

The second leg will be played next Saturday at the Jalisco Stadium.

▲ Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson's spectacular save from Omar Marmoush's penalty. Photo AFP

Miguel Delaney

The Independent

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, May 18, 2025, p. a10

London. Glory everywhere. After 119 years and two final defeats, Crystal Palace's name is finally on the cup. A 1-0 victory over Manchester City gave them their first major title in their history in the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world, 152 years old. A first-ever victory will give them a unique experience, as the modest club will now also compete in the Europa League for the first time.

Scenes of euphoria and romance are precisely what's supposed to happen in moments like this. The anguish felt by fans in the final 10 minutes of added time was transformed into unprecedented joy. And there was a touch of classic FA Cup magic in this victory over Pep Guardiola's team, which will undoubtedly be a huge upset.

That name on the cup didn't just involve the tangible act of Crystal Palace being engraved on that famous trophy. From the start of the match, it looked like it would finally be the club's day.

They were presented with plenty of opportunities. All of this season's best players in this surging squad stepped up and exceeded expectations. If Palace's name was on the cup, Dean Henderson's will likely be synonymous with the 2025 final. His penalty save from Omar Marmoush in the 36th minute was the best of a series of brilliant interventions.

Guardiola looked extremely agitated, his frustration evident as he confronted Henderson when the latter tried to shake his hand at the end of the match. He might as well complain that the goalkeeper shouldn't have been on the field at all. Henderson's apparent handball outside the box as Erling Haaland closed in on goal wasn't called by the referees. It was just another moment that went in Palace's favor, the kind of controversy that only fuels the lore of the moment.

Likewise, Henderson wasn't even named man of the match. Surprisingly, the award went to Daniel Muñoz, although he was also sensational. A late interception to stop Nico O'Reilly's chance following a superb through ball from Kevin de Bruyne encapsulated Palace's superb effort. This was one of those performances that translates to a victory based on sheer willpower and desire, which amplified Oliver Glasner's tactical masterclass. They thrashed City, even if it was by a single goal.

There was the player who scored that timely goal in the 16th minute. Palace's historic winner was scored by their star player, this season's FA Cup player of the year, Eberechi Eze. It came after a spectacular breakaway and, in retrospect, seems like the only way this match could have been decided.

Eze burst into the space where Guardiola would normally deploy a defensive midfielder, but this time he chose not to. The brilliant Muñoz crossed and Eze finished, creating an unforgettable moment. City blamed each other, for scenes that would be repeated throughout an emotional match. That surprising lineup was, in a way, classic Guardiola, although it may well accentuate the increasingly frequent criticism of his decisions.

If City were to get through, Henderson was there, also playing the hand of his life.

It was just another detail of the day that Palace's victory was based on their solidity and what could well be one of the best defenses in the Premier League; even one of the best counterattacks on the continent, where they will now, also for the first time in their history, compete in the Europa League.

From the editorial staff and Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, May 18, 2025, p. a10

Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) remains in the top five of the Giro d'Italia, despite finishing 13th in the eighth stage. The Baja California native now finished 4 minutes 50 seconds behind Australian Lucas Plapp (Team Jayco Alula), who surprisingly won the stage.

While Del Toro achieved a historic second-place podium finish in just the seventh stage, he had a more challenging day. However, the tricolor remains among the top positions, 0.29 seconds behind Italian Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team), who took the lead yesterday.

Spaniard Juan Ayuso, the Mexican's teammate and with whom he competes for the white jersey , finished in 11th place, while in the general standings he is in fourth place.

Ulissi managed to jump to the top after finishing Saturday in third place, behind only Plapp and Dutchman Wilco Kelderman, who was second.

Ulissi thus became the first Italian to lead the race since 2021. The achievement is even more special because the race route now heads towards his home region of Tuscany.

His compatriot Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) moved into second place in the general classification, while Slovenian Primoz Roglic moved up to third.

Plapp attacked from a breakaway with about 45 kilometers remaining and had a lead of about a minute on the final climb. The Australian then used his time trial skills to hold off his pursuers.

“I knew I couldn't beat any of them in a sprint , so I had to get away as soon as possible,” Plapp said. “I just thought I'd give it a go, and to be honest, I just wanted a little bit of an advantage on the descent, too .”

Plapp had plenty of time to celebrate, standing up and raising his arms as he crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of the Dutchman and Ulissi at the end of the tricky 97-kilometer route from Giulianova to Castelraimondo.

▲ The narrow and tricky Imola circuit was the scene of two serious accidents during qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The most serious involved Yuki Tsunoda and his Red Bull (pictured), which overturned after hitting the barriers. The Japanese driver was able to walk off and was then checked at the medical center before returning to the paddock . Another driver who suffered an accident was Franco Colapinto (Alpine), who got off to a poor start when he crashed into the wall, causing severe damage to his car. The Argentine driver was uninjured and qualified 15th, but was later relegated one place for a pit lane infringement. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) fought for pole position , Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second, and George Russell (Mercedes) took third. Photo @F1

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, May 18, 2025, p. a10