The third time was the charm for Municipal. After losing the finals of the Clausura and Apertura 2025 against Antigua GFC, Mario Acevedo’s Reds won the 33rd title in their history by beating Xelajú MC 2-1 at the Mario Camposeco. With an aggregate score of 6-2, the Scarlets were crowned champions and surpassed Comunicaciones as the winningest club in Guatemalan soccer.
Xelajú started the match better and found the 1-0 lead in the 14th minute thanks to Manuel Romero, who took advantage of a free kick to ignite the superchiva illusion. The superchivos dominated much of the first half and were even close to the second, but Braulio Linares saved Municipal on the line in one of the clearest plays of the game.
When Xelajú was playing best, the blow came that changed the final. In the 45th minute, Manuel Romero scored an own goal after trying to clear a free kick from Cristian Hernández and declared the score 1-1 before the break. The own goal affected the locals emotionally and gave Municipal confidence for the complement.
In the second half, Municipal took control and sealed the series in the 57th minute with a goal from José Alfredo Morales for the final 2-1. Xelajú tried to react with offensive variants, but never found space against a solid red defense. Thus, the Scarlets celebrated a historic crown in Quetzaltenango.
“33 has arrived”
With this championship, Municipal reached 33 National League crowns and 21 in short tournaments, officially becoming the winningest club in Guatemalan soccer above Comunicaciones, which has 32. Los Escarlatas return to the top after a campaign marked by regularity and prominence from the first days.
Mario Acevedo also wrote his name in red history by joining the list of champion coaches with Municipal. The coach managed to consolidate a solid and effective team that responded in the decisive moments of the tournament and ended up lifting the long-awaited 33rd title in its second consecutive final.
The historic crown came at the Mario Camposeco stadium, one of the most complicated fields in the country and in front of a super-chiva fan base that supported until the last minute. The night of the Clausura 2026 final will be marked as one of the most euphoric in the recent history of Guatemalan soccer.
