Last night I watched the first leg of the finals match between Real Salt Lake and Monterrey on Fox Soccer Channel and Univision (I don't understand or speak Spanish, but my HD cable package includes Univision while FSC is still in standard def). It ended in a 2-2 draw and was an entertaining and hard-fought match with both sides trading goals. Real tied up the match in the 89th minute on a nice strike from Javier Morales. Things got a little feisty in the second-half after a scramble in Monterrey's goal. Jesus Zavala of Monterrey actually had his hands around the neck of Real's Alvaro Saborio and only received a yellow card! This should have been a red card.
The next leg is Wednesday April 27th at Real Salt Lake. The champion will be determined by most total goals scored over the two legs of the match. First tiebreaker is away goals and Real has two of those. So here are the possible title scenarios for next week's match:
Real wins: Real is champion
Monterrey wins: Monterrey is champion
Match ends in 0-0 or 1-1 draw: Real wins due to more away goals
Match ends in 3-3 or higher scoring draw: Monterrey wins due to more away goals
Match ends in 2-2 draw: match goes to extra time and then penalty shootout if still tied.
The league champion will qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup in December which features the winners of each continental confederation's club tournament. If Real Salt Lake wins they will become the very first MLS team to qualify for this prestigious tournament.
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