River Plate has ascended to the top of South American club soccer for the first time in nearly two decades.
River Plate defeated Tigres 3-0 on Wednesday at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires in the second leg of the 2015 Copa Libertadores final. Lucas Alario, Carlos Sanchez and Ramiro Funes Mori scored goals to clinch victory for the Argentinian giant, which celebrates its first Copa Libertadores title since 1996.
River Plate and Tigres played to a goal-less draw last week in Monterrey, Mexico, and the return leg was shaping up to be another cagey affair. The teams played physically amid a heavy downpour, and quality attacking play was in short supply for most of the contest.
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But Alario stunned Tigres by scoring late in the first half. Sanchez floored the Mexican side with a 75th-minute goal from the penalty spot, and Funes Mori sealed the result with a header four minutes later.
River Plate now has won three Copa Libertadores titles in its 114-year history. This group of River Plate players joined their predecessors from 1986 and 1996 as winners of South American club soccer’s biggest prize by adopting the tried and true formula.
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River Plate will be COMNEBOL’s representative in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, which takes place in December in Japan.
Mexican soccer’s wait for a Copa Libertadores winner continues for at least another year. Tigres joins Cruz Azul (2001) and Chivas (2010) among Mexican clubs which have fallen at the final hurdle.
Thumbnail photo via Ivan Fernandez/The Associated Press
