Paulinho crowned champion with Toluca, sends message to Martínez | OneFootball

Toluca claimed, in the early hours of this Monday, the Mexican championship for the second time by defeating Tigres in a final played over two legs and decided only by penalty shootout. After losing 1-0 in the first match, the team featuring Paulinho won the second leg 2-1, taking the decision to a penalty shootout.

For the former Sporting striker, this completes a treble at the Mexican club, following their Liga Clausura victory in May and the Campeón de Campeones in July. In fact, Paulinho even 'showed his teeth' to secure this triumph by scoring the goal that leveled the tie.

The national champion with the Lions, who had already been substituted in stoppage time, at 90+3 minutes, watched the shootout from the sidelines. After a long sequence of 24 penalties, it was Toluca who emerged victorious, with Alexis Vega scoring the decisive penalty and sealing the champions' celebration.

At the end of the match, already celebrating, the Portuguese striker was naturally pleased with the win and set his sights on the 2026 World Cup, sending a message to Roberto Martínez: "The best decision of my life. Thank you all. I will do everything to play the World Cup with my country. If they let me play a game here for Portugal..."

"A lot of hard work and a lot of unity. The group worked very hard throughout the year. We knew that finishing in first place would help us play the second game at home with our fans. We are all very happy and now we are going to celebrate," Paulinho highlighted to TUDN's microphones.

Check out Paulinho's statements during Toluca's celebrations:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.