Seattle Sounders, con los Colombians Yéimar Gómez and Fredy Montero on court, beat Pumas UNAM 3-0 on Wednesday night and became champion of the Concacaf Champions League by winning 5-2 on aggregate (2-2 in the first leg in Mexico City). End to Mexican rule!
The Peruvian Raúl Ruidíaz with a brace and the Uruguayan Nicolás Lodeiro with a goal were the heroes of the Sounders, who thus became the first MLS team to win the Concacaf Champions League since in 2008 this tournament replaced the Concacaf Champions Cup.
For their part, the Pumas lost their second consecutive final after the one they let slip in 2005 (still the Champions Cup) when they were defeated by Costa Rican Saprissa. The Mexican team was thus unable to lift its fourth title after winning the Champions Cup in 1980, 1982 and 1989.
Since the final loss by the Pumas in 2005, Mexican soccer had chained 16 consecutive wins in the Concacaf Champions League, a streak that came to an end with this victory for Seattle.
The final was also historic because the Lumen Field stadium in Seattle registered the highest attendance for a match in this competition with 68,741 people (the previous record was 66,208 spectators at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for a match between the Águilas del América and the Costa Rican Herediano).
After a first leg match in which they equalized 2-0 against, Seattle was much more effective and compact in the second leg than some Pumas that were too weak in both areas. The Sounders thus avenged the defeats of the four MLS teams that had reached the final without winning it: Real Salt Lake (2011), Montreal Impact (2015), Toronto FC (2018), and LAFC (2020).
Before the appearance of the Champions League, two American teams were proclaimed winners of the Champions Cup: DC United (1998) and LA Galaxy (2000). In addition to the title, the Sounders qualified with this victory for the FIFA Club World Cup.
EFE
