Xavier Arreaga’s Seattle Sounders will face Washington Corozo’s Pumas in the Concachampions final

With a goal from Peruvian Raúl Ruidíaz, the Seattle Sounders, where Ecuadorian defender Xavier Arreaga plays, sealed their qualification for the Concacaf Champions League final by drawing 1-1 on Wednesday against New York City FC (4- 2 overall).

The former BarcelonaSC defender started for 90 minutes and in the final he will have his compatriot Washington Corozo, from UNAM Pumas, as his rival.

The Sounders will face Mexico’s Pumas in the final of Concacaf’s main team tournament, which offers a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Mexican squad will host the first leg on April 26 and Seattle the second leg on May 5.

Raúl Ruidíaz, striker for the Peruvian national team, opened the scoring for Seattle in the 28th minute at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison (New Jersey), while New York City FC was barely able to discount through Uruguayan Santiago Rodríguez in the 51st.

It will be Seattle’s first final at this tournament after several successful years in MLS, with a championship in 2019 and a runner-up finish in 2020.

The team led by Ruidíaz and the Uruguayan Nicolás Lodeiro also aspires to put an end to the hegemony that Mexican football has maintained in this tournament since its reformulation in 2009.

For its part, New York City had the strategic objective of fighting for its first international title after winning its first MLS trophy last year.

The New York franchise is owned by City Football Club, owner of numerous clubs on different continents, such as Manchester City.

Their star, Argentine striker Valentín Castellanos, did not find the net on Wednesday, but he played a key role in Rodríguez’s goal.

Swiss goalkeeper Stefan Frei had several saving saves down the stretch as New York City poured into the Sounders’ area in search of a comeback.

The ‘Taty’ Castellanos was the protagonist of the start of the game when he saw a yellow card with only 10 seconds of play.

New York City, who had to come back from 3-1 in the first leg, pressed from the start with long shots from Castellanos and Brazilian Talles Magno when Ruidíaz’s first goal came.

With a spectacular first shot in the area, the Peruvian brought silence to the half-empty stands of the Red Bull Arena, where New York City had to emigrate as it did not have authorization from Concacaf for its Yankee Stadium.

The local team, which went into the break needing to come back from three goals, regained some hope with a goal from Uruguayan Rodríguez in the 51st minute.

After a great run down the left, Thiago Andrade sent a low serve into the area that ‘Taty’ Castellanos let go under his legs and Rodríguez finished off the net first.

New York City had good opportunities to put Seattle’s classification at risk but goalkeeper Frei was providential, especially in two dangerous shots in the Talles Magno area.

In this way, the Sounders made an appointment in the final of the tournament with Pumas, who will seek to be crowned champion for the fourth time after their triumphs in 1980, 1982 and 1989. (D)