Soccer

The Aztec women’s rugby team won the gold medal at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) championship after defeating Jamaica by a score of 19-12. With this victory in Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico secured its pass to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025. Likewise, the tricolor team positioned itself as the best team in the region with this success.  You may be interested in: Mexico closed with 10 medals at the 2024 Pan American Deaf Games in Brazil Cover photo: CONADE

Xolos de Tijuana advanced to the quarterfinals of the Apertura 2024 after a 3-0 victory over Atlas in the final Play-In match. After their defeat to América, coach Juan Carlos Osorio made seven changes, and the strategy paid off, with an unstoppable offensive leaving Atlas with no options. Raúl Zúñiga was the standout player, scoring a brace in the first 15 minutes, while Kevin Castañeda sealed the win in the 84th minute. This result marked the return to the playoffs for the “border” team after nearly five years and also represents Osorio’s achievement in his first tournament with the club, guiding Xolos to this stage. With this victory, Tijuana will face Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals. You might also like: América secured its playoff spot after defeating Xolos in penalties

Fernando Ortiz has been announced as the new head coach of Santos Laguna for the Clausura 2025, following the departure of Ignacio “Nacho” Ambriz. Santos finished in last place in the Apertura 2024 with just 10 points, leading to Ambriz’s dismissal. This announcement marks Ortiz’s return to Mexican football after stints with Rayados and América, where he posted strong results but was unable to win titles. It also signifies the return of the Argentine coach to Santos, where he played between 2007 and 2009, and was part of the team that won the league title in Clausura 2008.  You might also like: Chivas announces the dismissal of coach Arturo Ortega after elimination from the Play-In Liverpool líder Premier League

Liverpool gained an eight-point lead in the Premier League after coming from behind to beat Southampton 3-2, with a brace from Mohamed Salah, while Manchester City suffered a 4-0 loss to Tottenham, widening the gap at the top of the table. For the first time in a long while, the Premier League leader has a “cushion” over its closest competitor. This is due to Liverpool’s comeback victory against Southampton by 3-2, combined with Manchester City’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, creating an eight-point gap between the two teams. Liverpool now has 31 points, while Manchester City remains at 23. Southampton surprised the leaders At St Mary’s Stadium, the Premier League’s bottom team caused significant trouble for the league leaders. The first goal of the match came from Dominik Szoboszlai, who put Liverpool ahead in the 30th minute. With high pressing, the “Reds” recovered the ball following a defensive error by Southampton. Szoboszlai capitalized on the opportunity and shot into an unguarded goal, as both the defenders and the goalkeeper were caught out of position.     Following this, the home side woke up and imposed themselves on the match. In the 42nd minute, Adam Armstrong took a penalty. While Liverpool’s goalkeeper initially saved the shot, fortune favored the “Saints,” as the rebound fell perfectly for Armstrong, who made no mistake the second time. In the second half, at the 56th minute, a quick attack by Southampton ended in a “moving penalty” for Mateus Fernandes, who unleashed a powerful shot to the bottom right corner of the net, leaving the “Reds” goalkeeper motionless. You may be interested in: Crisis at City? They already have five consecutive defeats Mohamed Salah was the hero for the “Reds” In the 64th minute, the “Pharaoh” began his show. After receiving a through ball and with an overly aggressive challenge from the rival goalkeeper, Liverpool’s number 11 simply redirected the ball, which slowly rolled into the unguarded net to level the game.     Liverpool kept pushing for the winning goal. It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that a penalty was awarded to the visitors after a handball by Yukinari Sugawara. Mohamed Salah took the penalty with perfection. Although the goalkeeper guessed the direction of Salah’s shot, the Egyptian’s superb strike ensured Liverpool’s comeback and eventual victory. Cover photo: X (@LFC)  

Italy became Davis Cup champions for the second consecutive year by defeating the Netherlands with singles victories from Berrettini and Sinner. The latter, team leader and world number one, shone in a season full of successes. The Italian Davis Cup team clinched the title Italy secured the championship by beating the Netherlands in both singles matches, automatically earning the 2023 and now 2024 crown. Undoubtedly, the main figure of this tournament was world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who led his team to the trophy.     Berrettini struck the first blow In the first match of the final, Matteo Berrettini faced Botic van de Zandschulp. The Italian displayed determination throughout the two sets and comfortably defeated Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2. With this win, Berrettini set the stage for Sinner to seal the coveted title. Moreover, Matteo completed the tournament undefeated, with victories in two singles matches and one doubles. Related article: https://titansports.mx/se-acabo-rafael-nadal-disputo-su-ultimo-partido-como-profesional/ Sinner’s racket sealed Italy’s triumph With Italy leading 1-0, the outcome hinged on the match between Jannik Sinner and Tallon Griekspoor. It would determine whether Italy would become two-time champions or if the Netherlands, the dark horse that had previously eliminated Spain and Germany, could pull off another upset. Unfortunately for the Netherlands, Jannik left nothing to chance and demonstrated why he is the best player in the world this year. In straight sets, Sinner defeated Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2 in the tiebreak) and 6-2.     Thus, Sinner and Italy were crowned champions. The 23-year-old wrapped up an incredible year with 73 wins in 79 matches, eight titles (including two Grand Slams), and a Davis Cup title, along with an 18-match winning streak. Cover photo: X (@janniksin)  

Real Madrid achieved an important victory against Leganés by a score of 3-0. Thanks to this victory, Los Merengues shortened the gap between themselves and first place Barcelona. Thanks to these three points and the draw of Los Blaugranas against Celta de Vigo, Madrid has 30 points and one game less, while Barcelona has 34 points with all its games played so far. Thus, it looks very likely that for the second round of LaLiga, we will have a very exciting title race. You may be interested in: El Celta rescató el empate ante el Barcelona In the game, goals were scored by Kylian Mbappé at 43′, Federico Valverde 66′ and Judge Bellingham at 85′. Cover Photo: X (@realmadrid) 

Tapatío became the Liga de Expansión MX champions for the second time in its history, defeating Celaya 5-3 on aggregate, securing their second title in Mexico’s second-tier football division. The match started off difficult for the hosts, as despite Celaya playing with one less man after Lucas Paul De los Santos was sent off, they took a 2-0 lead with goals from José Muñoz and Daniel Cervantes.  Tapatío responded in the second half, leveling the aggregate score at 3-3 with a goal from Benjamín Sánchez. Then, Teun Wilke capitalized on a defensive mistake by Celaya to make it 2-2 in the match and 4-3 on aggregate. With the lead, Tapatío sealed the championship five minutes before the final whistle when Saul Zamora scored the decisive 5-3 after a great team play. You may also be interested in: Incredible! Chivas announced the firing of coach Arturo Ortega after losing title hopes Foto de portada: X(@TapatioCD)

Celta de Vigo ruined Barcelona’s celebration. In the match corresponding to the 14th LaLiga matchday, the Culés lost a two-goal lead that they held for most of the second half, but in the last 10 minutes of the match, Celta tied the game with goals by Alfonso González at 84′ and Hugo Álvarez Antúnez at 86′. The Blaugranas’ goals were scored by Raphinha at 15′ and Robert Lewandowski at 61′. It is worth mentioning that at 82′, Marc Casadó was shown the red card, leaving Barcelona with 10 men on the pitch, which ended up taking its toll. Barcelona remains first in Spain, with 34 points, but in the event that Real Madrid wins, they will now be 4 points behind.  You may be interested in: ¿Crisis en el City? Ya suman cinco derrotas consecutivas Cover photo: X (@FCBarcelona).

Manchester City is in a tailspin, in the match against Tottenham, corresponding to the 12th round of the Premier League, the “Spurs” thrashed the “Cityzens” 4-0, which meant their fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions for City, the worst run since Pep Guardiola arrived at the “Sky Blue” bench 8 years ago. Faced with the bad moment, the Spanish coach mentioned that “they will come back” from this bad streak, and at the same time highlighted the fact that they had never experienced it, and now, it was their turn. Manchester City has not won since October 26, that is, almost a month.  You may be interested in: Julián Quiñones superó a Cristiano Ronaldo en Arabia Cover photo: X (@ManCity)

Julián Quiñones shone in Al-Qadisiya’s 2-1 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the Arab League. Quiñones scored a goal and assisted Aubameyang for the win, overshadowing the Portuguese star. In Matchday 11 of the Arab League, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr hosted the newly established Al-Qadisiya, featuring players like Nacho, Aubameyang, and Mexican naturalized star Julián Quiñones. Thanks to an outstanding performance by Quiñones, Al-Qadisiya secured the 2-1 victory against the yellow-clad team.     At Al-Awwal Park, both teams started attacking in search of a goal. The best early chance came for the home side when Abdulrahman Ghareeb had a clear shot at an open net after a deflected cross. However, he missed spectacularly, sending the ball over the bar. By the 32nd minute, after Quiñones had narrowly missed a bicycle kick minutes earlier, Al-Nassr took the lead. Following a corner, the Al-Qadisiya goalkeeper failed to secure the ball, leaving a rebound that Cristiano Ronaldo tapped in for the first goal. The visitors quickly responded five minutes later, in the 37th minute. Turki Al Ammar sent a high cross into the box, where Quiñones expertly controlled the ball with his chest, set himself up, and fired it through a crowd of defenders into the net, leveling the score. The winning goal came in the second half. A deep cross to the far post found Quiñones, who acrobatically redirected the ball back into the box with a scissor kick. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finished the play with a diving header to seal the 2-1 victory.     You may be interested in: https://titansports.mx/triplete-de-kane-para-que-el-bayern-siga-como-lider-absoluto-de-alemania/ Despite Al-Nassr’s efforts to equalize, the final whistle confirmed Al-Qadisiya’s triumph in a match where the former Club América and Atlas player outperformed the former Real Madrid, Juventus, and United star. Cover photo: X (@Alqadsiah)