Guadalajara, Mexico's most popular club, won its first title in nine
years when it came from behind to beat Toluca, 2-1, away in the second
leg of the Torneo Apertura final.
Second-half goals from defender Francisco
Rodriguez and striker Adolfo
Bautista gave Chivas a record 11th title and its first since
flamboyant businessman Jorge Vergara
bought the club in 2002.
Toluca, which held Chivas to a 1-1 tie in the first leg on Thursday,
looked set to win the Torneo Apertura when Argentine Bruno Marioni opened the scoring
with his 14th goal of the competition in the 18th minute.
Guadalajara, the only Mexican club to not field foreign players, evened
the score seven minutes after halftime when Ramon Morales floated over a free
kick from the right, and Rodriguez scored with a flying header at the
near post. Bautista scored the winner with a shot from outside the
penalty area in the 69th minute.
ARGENTINA. The Bombonera
fell silent Sunday as home team Boca Juniors, needing only a tie to
clinch the Torneo Apertura, lost to Lanus, 2-1, and must meet
Estudiantes in a playoff to decide the first half of the First Division
season. Boca appeared to be on its way to its third straight title when
Martin
Palermo scored from the penalty spot in the 31st minute, but
Lanus
rallied on goals by Claudio Graf
and Rodrigo Archubi. Boca
still looked
safe until Estudiantes, coached by former Argentine star Diego Simoene,
struck twice in the last five minutes on goals by Agustin Alayes (off a
cross from Juan Sebastian Veron)
and Mariano Pavone to beat
Arsenal,
2-0.
ENGLAND. Manchester United
extended its lead in the Premiership to eight points when it beat
Manchester City, 3-1, and second-place Chelsea struggled to earn a 1-1
tie at home against London rival Arsenal. Goals by strike trio of Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo won the Old
Trafford derby. Ghanaian Michael
Essien's late goal earned the Blues a point after Mathieu Flamini's 78th-minute goal
appeared to end Chelsea's league unbeaten streak at Stamford Bridge
dating back to February 2004.
GERMANY. Werder Bremen and
Schalke 04 remained 1-2 with big wins over the weekend in Bundesliga
action. Brazilian center back Naldo
had a hat trick for Werder its its 6-2 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Schalke came out ahead in its Ruhr derby against Borussia Dortmund,
winning, 3-1, on goals by Christian
Pander, Kevin Kuranyi and
Peter Lovenkrands.
ITALY. Inter Milan
tied a
club record when it beat Empoli, 3-0, on Sunday to win its eighth Serie
A game in a row and open a seven-point lead.
Second-half goals from Hernan Crespo,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Walter Samuel helped Inter equal its
club record winning streak set in the 1939-40 season. Second-place Roma
lost to Lazio, 3-0, on goals by Cristian
Ledesma, Massimo Oddo
and Massimo Mutarelli in the
Rome derby.
SPAIN. Barcelona increased
its lead at the top of La Liga to two points after earning a 1-0 win at
home against Real Sociedad on Ronaldinho's
11th league goal of the
season, while Sevilla beat second-place Real Madrid, 2-1, in a highly
charged encounter at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla kept its perfect
record at home thanks to a goal from Franco-Malian Frederic Kanoute and a spectacular
overhead kick from Uruguayan Ernesto
Chevanton after a David Beckham
free kick put Real Madrid ahead.



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