Seattle Sounders win MLS' first ever Concacaf Champions League title | OneFootball

The long wait is finally over as the Seattle Sounders defeated Pumas 3-0 (5-2 on aggregate) to become the first ever MLS club to win the Concacaf Champions League title.

Raúl Ruidíaz scored a brace each side of half-time while Nicolás Lodeiro delivered a late exclamation point to help the Sounders make history.

Scorers: Ruidíaz 45′, 80′, Lodeiro 88′

In front of a CCL-record crowd of 68,741 at Lumen Field, Seattle became the first Concacaf champions from the United States since 2000 and just the third time in the country’s history (Los Angeles Galaxy 2000, D.C. United 1998).

The two teams engaged in a rough, hard-fought battle from the get-go, which saw Seattle lose starters Nouhou Tolo and João Paulo within the first half-hour of play.

Between several scuffles, the football provided ample opportunities for each side and the Sounders made the breakthrough just before the half-time whistle.

After the ball was played back to him, Ruidíaz’s shot from the top of the box took a wicked deflection off the hand of Diogo and went into the back of the net. The referee acknowledged it would have otherwise been a penalty.

Just after the hour-mark, Stefan Frei made a big-time save to keep the score at 1-0, denying Diogo’s header from six yards.

Seattle kept pushing for a second goal and found it in the 80th minute, when Ruidíaz supplied a cool finish into the bottom corner, sending Lumen Field into an absolute frenzy.

Pumas were officially finished off in the 88th minute as Nicolás Lodeiro tapped home a rebound into the empty net.

With the victory, there will be an MLS club in the Fifa Club World Cup for the first time in the history of the tournament.