(Reuters) — Seattle Sounders of the United States won the Concacaf Champions League for the first time in its history after beating Pumas UNAM of Mexico 3-0 at home on Wednesday with a double by Peruvian Raúl Ruidíaz in the second leg of the final.
The Major League Soccer (MLS) club won the title with an aggregate score of 5-2 after drawing an agonizing 2-2 away draw in the first leg.
“There are no words to describe what I’m feeling right now, the club made history and deserved it, now enjoy it,” Ruidíaz told Fox Sports.
In the game played at Lumen Field, the Seattle Sounders scored the first goal in the 45th minute with a shot by Ruidíaz that was deflected by Brazilian Diogo de Oliveira, so goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera could no longer react.
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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Pumas tried to tie the match with crosses sent from both flanks that they could not finish, in part due to the wise interventions of the Swiss goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Ruidíaz scored his second goal in the 80th minute with a shot inside the area after receiving a pass from Uruguayan Nicolás Lodeiro on a counterattack play led by Jordan Morris.
Seattle Sounders scored the third goal in the 87th minute when Lodeiro scored inside the area after the ball hit the right post after a deflection by Talavera to a shot by Morris.
“I am happy, I dedicate it to my family and my children, to all those who trusted me, it is the most important title of my career. The MLS deserved the continental title, and this will go down in history, we put Seattle in the world and we hit the table putting an end to the hegemony of the Mexican teams,” Lodeiro told the Fox Sports network.
In this way, Seattle Sounders will be the first MLS club to represent Concacaf in the Club World Cup.
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