Soccer Monday: New Liga MX champion crowned, Messi jerseys and UCL draw preview
Kick the week off with all the action from this weekend
Christmas may be just a week away, but there were plenty of gifts for fans to open over the past few days.
The biggest is yet to come: Monday’s Champions League draw that will determine the eight matchups for the round of 16.
With an eye towards the draw, here are three storylines to ponder:
3. Club America wins Liga MX final
Club America defeated Tigres UANL 3-0 in extra time to win Sunday’s Liga MX final at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Las Aguilas extended their record tally of Liga MX titles to 14, while Tigres had been aiming to win back-to-back titles after capturing the 2023 Clausura trophy.
The first leg, played this past Thursday, had ended 1-1 at a sold-out Estadio Universitario.
The game ended scoreless after 90 minutes, but Club America had an edge after Tigres was reduced to nine men. Raymundo Fulgencio was red carded with 10 minutes left to play in regulation for violent conduct. Nahuel Guzman was ejected in extra time after receiving a second yellow for a foul.
Club America, under new manager Andre Jardine, finished the regular season with the league’s best record. After charging into the playoffs with a 16-game undefeated run, the club defeated Leon 4-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals and Atletico San Luis 5-2 in the semifinals.
2. Messi World Cup jerseys sell for $7.8 million
Six jerseys worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina’s title run at last year’s World Cup sold for $7.8 million.
The final price for the shirts, sold this past Thursday by Sotheby’s in New York, were each worn during the first half of one of Argentina’s games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The jerseys are the highest price for an item of sports memorabilia sold this year. No details were released regarding the winning bidder.
“These historic shirts are not only a tangible reminder of one of the most important moments in the history of sports, but are principally connected to the pinnacle moment in the career of the most decorated football player in history,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectibles.
The record for a game-worn piece of sports memorabilia remains Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which sold for $10.1 million last year.
Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout a year ago Monday following an epic 3-3 draw in the final.
1. Champions League draw preview
As mentioned, the Champions League draw scheduled for Monday features the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage.
The eight seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded ones.
Here is a recap of the group winners and the unseeded teams:
Group winners: Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.
Group runners-up: Copenhagen, Inter Milan, Lazio, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto and PSV Eindhoven.
The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com starting at 6 a.m. ET.
The round of 16 will be played over the course of four weeks. The first legs will occur on Feb. 13-14 and 20-21. The second legs will follow on March 5-6 and 12-13.
In other news: Liverpool missed out on reclaiming top spot in the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, ending their perfect home record this season. Arsenal remains first — a point ahead of Liverpool — following a 2-0 win at home against Brighton. … Bayer Leverkusen remained undefeated atop the Bundesliga table following Sunday’s 3-0 hime win against Eintracht Frankfurt. Victor Boniface scored once and assisted on two others. … MLS will not send its teams to compete in the U.S. Open Cup in 2024 — instead opting to enter teams from MLS Next Pro, the league’s development league, to participate in the country's oldest soccer tournament. The decision comes after MLS Commissioner Don Garber criticized the state of the tournament during the open session of U.S. Soccer’s board of directors meeting last May, calling it “a very poor reflection on what it is that we're trying to do with soccer at the highest level.”