If football was like boxing, Club Tijuana would be the lineal world champions. Three months after Corinthians beat Chelsea in the Club World Cup to earn the title of world champions for a year, Tijuana became the first team to beat them in a continental or intercontinental competition since they claimed that title. The Xolos are now lineal world champions, though they're not being recognized by the WBC.
There were other games on Wednesday, too. They included a hilarious loss for Palmeiras and stunning away draws for Sporting Cristal and Huachipato that kept the group stage wide open. We start with a more predictable draw, in Mexico.
Toluca 1-1 Barcelona
The wildly unpredictable Group 1 got a little predictable on Wednesday night. A very solid Barcelona team took an early lead through Damian Diaz, but couldn't hold on to all three points. Luis Tejada headed in a late equalizer to split the points. Barcelona only have two points in the group, and look like the most likely team to finish last, despite this solid result.
Libertad 2-2 Sporting Cristal
Paraguayan giants Libertad are still on top of Group 2, but they'll be a bit stunned by their failure to beat Sporting Cristal at home. This is a big result for the Peruvians, who are holding off Palmeiras and Tigre for second in this group. Related: This group is terrible.
Tigre 1-0 Palmeiras
Palmeiras looked like the better team for most of this game and appeared to be heading for a draw, at worst. Then Vilson got sent off in the 87th minute and the wheels came flying off. Gabriel Peñalba scored with the last kick of the ball for Tigre. The goal, heartbreakingly, came mere moments after Palmeiras squandered a two-on-one chance for a winner of their own.
Tijuana 1-0 Corinthians
It took until the 66th minute for Tijuana to score -- and the goal was a lucky one, off a mad scramble -- but they should have scored well before that. This was an absolutely bonkers game, featuring missed sitters and goal-line clearances at both ends. Javier Gandolfi broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, creatively backheeling in after Pablo Aguilar failed to finish off a good chance on a set piece. Tijuana defended brilliantly in the closing minutes, and Corinthians never truly looked like scoring.
Fluminense 1-1 Huachipato
Through some sort of odd magic, Huachipato get blasted at home but look like they belong in this competition when they go to Brazil. They've lost both of their home games, but followed up their away win against Gremio with a draw against one of the favorites to win the Libertadores, Fluminense. Fred converted a penalty in the first half to put the Brazilians ahead, but Nicolas Nunez stunned everyone in the ground with a 70th minute equalizer.