Pumas vs. Seattle Sounders live score, updates, highlights from CONCACAF Champions League final first leg

By | April 27, 2022
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A Major League Soccer club will get another crack at winning the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in the league’s history as the Seattle Sounders will be the fifth MLS team to play in the final against Mexico’s Pumas UNAM. The first leg will be played in Mexico City with the series wrapping up in Seattle.

Liga MX has owned the competition since it was relaunched in 2008, with a Mexican club winning every single edition of the competition. MLS clubs have reached the final on four previous occasions, and all four teams have fallen short.

The Sounders, sitting 11th in the Western Conference table through the first seven matches of the young season, now hit the road for the two-legged final against Pumas, who sit 12th in the Liga MX table. A first-leg result would be significant, with each side looking to head to the Pacific Northwest next week with an early advantage.

While these initial 90 minutes won’t win the trophy for Seattle — other MLS teams involved in a two-legged CONCACAF Champions League final achieved a road result in Mexico, but ultimately lost the trophy — it can go a long way towards setting up a positive end result.

MORE: Pumas vs. Seattle best bets

Sporting News will be following the match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

Pumas vs Seattle Sounders live score

  1H 2H Final
Pumas 1 1 —
Sounders 0 0 —

Goals:
36th min — PUM — Juan Dinenno (pen)
48th min — PUM — Juan Dinenno

Pumas vs Seattle updates, highlights & commentary

All times ET

66th min: Juan Dinenno, who came into this match carrying an injury and was a surprising start, is down and slapping the turf. He receives treatment and is carted off, and then comes straight back on *eye roll*

63rd min: The game since the second goal has been very choppy. Pumas makes a pair of substitutions, bringing on Sebastian Saucedo and Washington Corozo in place of Diogo and Rogerio.

Seattle also makes a change, flipping the wingers Morris and Cristian Roldan to opposite sides.

56th min: There’s a VAR check for a possible red card as Efrain Velarde and Alex Roldan come together, with Roldan tackling the ball off Velarde, and the Pumas defender stepped on Roldan’s ankle. Velarde went slightly over the ball but it clearly wasn’t on purpose and wasn’t nearly enough to be punishable. Play continues.

51st min: CHANCE, Seattle! WHAT A SAVE by Talivera! Ruidiaz had a wide open goal, and he has to score, but his redirected shot on the doorstep is stifled by the Pumas netminder. Seattle with its best chance yet, and they were stymied.

48th min: GOAL! PUMAS! Well, if the first goal came in dubious circumstances, this one was emphatically deserved. A fabulous cross from the right flank from Mozo’s replacement Jesus Rivas fell right to Dinenno who delivered a ROCKETING header that rippled the back of the net. Stefan Frei had no chance against that absolute bullet.

46th min: Back under way for the second half. Let’s hope the chaos continues!

HALF-TIME: Pumas 1-0 Sounders

One controversial moment in the first half is the difference. Seattle grew into the match as the half went on, and will feel unlucky to not have found the back of the net before the break.

Pumas got the rub of the green in the first half, and had its early moments, but overall the hosts will need to improve in the second half if they want to maintain the lead. The loss of Mozo feels significant, and Jordan Morris could feast down that flank in the second half.

45+4 min: CHANCE, Seattle! There’s’ 6 minutes of stoppage time and Seattle is pushing hard for an equalizer. A great header from Ruidiaz at the far post teeing it up for Joao Paulo, but the Brazilian rifles it over the bar leaning back to readjust for the shot. Big chance gone for Seattle.

44th min: Tough moment here as Pumas right-back Alan Mozo has suffered a really bad injury. Arreaga was fouled and fell on Mozo’s outstretched lower leg, and the 25-year-old Pumas academy product is down in a ton of pain. He’s being stretchered and carted off, hands over his face. It looks a very painful, and very bad injury.

40th min: CHANCE, Seattle! The first big moment for Pumas goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera in the match and he comes up huge to keep out Nicolas Lodeiro, palming a shot over the bar.

36th min: GOAL, Pumas! Oh no, Stefan Frei came off his line on the save, and VAR says the penalty needs to be retaken. It’s the right call on the letter of the law, taking a step left and forward before Dinenno takes the kick and he comes back to his right…

And this time, Dinenno scores! The Pumas striker goes right, and Frei goes the opposite direction. Pumas goes in front after two difficult refereeing decisions go against the MLS side in succession.

33rd min: PENALTY, Pumas! A ball pinging around the penalty area ends up in a 50/50 challenge as Dinenno comes flying in, and the referee immediately points to the spot. It’s a dubious decision, as Dinenno came barreling in between two Seattle defenders and bundled himself over.

VAR is having a long look at this one, but eventually the referee stays with the call. Seattle incredibly unlucky, but Pumas has a chance to go in front at home, with Dinenno stepping up…AND ITS SAVED BY FREI! IT’S AN INCREDIBLE SAVE!! Frei goes flying into the air, and gets his fingertips to the ball!

27th min: CHANCE, Pumas! Stefan Frei makes a diving save! Rogerio skates past Xavier Arreaga with ease to get free on goal, but he gets the shot all wrong, and while the ball is headed for the inside of the far post, Frei’s able to reach it with his fingertips.

24th min: The Sounders have found themselves with their first real spell of attacking pressure. Raul Ruidiaz takes a crunching tackle at the top of the penalty area, but the referee waves play on. Sounders with three corners already in this match, nearly equalling the team’s per-game average in CCL play already.

21st min: Seattle has already twice been warned for time wasting and it’s the 21st minute. Stefan Frei is hurried taking a goal kick, and has to be careful because he’s on a yellow card and could risk being suspended for the second leg. Then, with the Sounders taking a corner, the referee runs over and aggressively points to his watch.

16th min: It’s raining incredibly hard, and the ball is slip-sliding around and popping up on first touches. Seattle is doing a lot of defending still, and concedes a free-kick in a dangerous area, but Dinenno sends it well over the bar.

12th min: Pumas has a good attacking spell of possession that features great one-touch passing an a set-piece chance. The free-kick results in a Nicolas Freire bicycle attempt that goes wide.

Seattle forced deep into its own half, and Yeimar Gomez makes an excellent tackle on the edge of the penalty area.

7th min: The Sounders have been very physical with Pumas on the ball so far. Flying elbows, high boots, and hard tackles. Schmetzer has come into this match clearly wanting to match the Mexicans’ intensity on the road, but the players might be a little too amped up.

3rd min: Both sides have poked and prodded the opposing penalty areas to no return just yet. The match is set for a real back-and-forth.

1st min: It’s still raining quite hard as the teams walk out to fireworks, and the temperature has dropped significantly. The CONCACAF Champions League final is under way!

20 mins to kick: The FOX Soccer studio is bang on here, that MLS needs to hoist the continental trophy to claim dominance in the region. The first leg isn’t where the matchup will be won, but it can certainly be lost.

49 mins to kick: The Seattle lineup was a bit harder to predict, with Brian Schmetzer chopping and changing each match. Nouhou starts at left-back, and Yeimar Gomez is in the middle alongside Xavier Arreaga.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual for the now-healthy Seattle Sounders through the middle and up front.

60 mins to kick: Pumas lineup is in, and there’s a double surprise for Pumas as leading scorer Juan Dinenno and Leonel Lopez both make the starting lineup after missing multiple matches with injuries. The presence of both is a huge boost for the home side, especially Dinneno’s return to a team that is lacking in prolific goalscorers.

Both those players were not expected to play, and the club did well to keep their returns concealed, almost to the point where it’s fair to wonder how healthy they truly are and how effective they’ll be on the pitch.

91 mins to kick: Looks like wet weather in Mexico City for the big match! Forecast shows 70 degrees and 82 percent chance of rain currently, but the temperature looks to drop to about 62 at kickoff and the rain seems like it should taper off by then as well.

96 mins to kick: They’re already letting Pumas fans into the stadium — affectionately known as the “CU” for “Ciudad Universitaria” — and they are making plenty of noise.

120 mins to kick (7:30 p.m. local): Pumas has the support of its women’s team, who gave the squad a special entrance for matchday training!

Pumas vs. Seattle Sounders lineups

There were thought to be a number of injury concerns for the Mexican club as the 2022-23 Clausura nears a close, but those were allayed with the release of the Starting XI.

Striker Juan Dinenno has missed two straight games with a muscle injury but returns to lead the line, while midfielder Leonel Lopez was also a question mark with an ankle problem but makes the starting lineup. Both are regular starters for the club when healthy, and their absence has been felt on the field in league play.

One confirmed absence is defender Arturo Ortiz was red-carded in the second leg of the semifinal and is not available for this match. That’s a huge loss, as Ortiz has been deployed at center back for every minute of every Pumas match across the entire 2021-22 Mexican league season save one Apertura game.

In Ortiz’s place, 24-year-old Jose Galindo will likely step in alongside Nicolas Freire at the heart of defense.

Pumas starting lineup (4-4-2): Talavera (GK) — Velarde, Freire, Galindo, Mozo — Lopez, Higor, Alvarez, Diogo — Rogerio, Dinenno.

The Sounders are quite healthy early in their league season, with only backup goalkeeper Andrew Thomas and 21-year-old midfielder Dylan Teves likely to miss out.

Jordan Morris, Raul Ruidiaz, and Nicolas Lodeiro are all fit now after injury bouts to start the season, and it has proven vital to the attack, as the Sounders have scored at least two goals in three of the last five league matches and six of their 13 matches across all competitions this season.

The issue for the Sounders is putting offense and defense together in the same match. Seattle has lost 1-0 three times this season, and has also fallen 4-3 and won 3-2. Most recently, the club blew a 3-1 lead to San Jose to lose 4-3, with Morris and Lodeiro scoring in vain.

Sounders starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Frei (GK) — Nouhou, Arreaga, Y. Gomez, A. Roldan — Rusnak, Joao Paulo — Morris, Lodeiro, C. Roldan — Ruidiaz.

How to watch Pumas vs. Seattle Sounders

  • Date: Wednesday, April 27
  • Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
  • TV channel: FS1 (USA), TUDN (USA), OneSoccer (Canada)
  • Streaming: fuboTV, Fox Sports Go (USA), OneSoccer (Canada)

Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League final between Pumas UNAM and the Seattle Sounders from the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City, Mexico can be found on FS1 in the United States, with Spanish Language coverage on TUDN.

It can also be streamed on fuboTV and new users can take advantage of a free trial.

In Canada, the match can be found on OneSoccer, both on television and streaming.

Pumas vs. Seattle Sounders betting lines, picks & prediction

Odds via DraftKings (USA) & Sports Interaction (Canada)

With the Seattle Sounders this year, it’s been impossible to figure out whether their games will turn out as defensive struggles or wild shootouts. One thing is for certain, however — they’ll almost certainly be close.

Every single one of Seattle’s first seven matches of the MLS season has been decided by one goal, plus one draw. Add in 1-1 road draws with Club Leon and NYCFC in CONCACAF Champions League play, and this team is in every game.

So while the over/under is one to stay away from, a road battle with a defensive-minded Pumas is sure to finish close. A draw is great value in the 5/2 range, but hedging towards an inconsistent yet prolific Seattle team that plays well on the road is a good play.

Pick: Draw or Seattle Sounders (+105 on DraftKings)

Prediction: Pumas UNAM 1-1 Seattle Sounders

  DraftKings Sports
Interaction
Pumas Win -130 -137
Draw +255 +230
Seattle Win +370 +320
Both teams
to score Y / N		 -125 / -105 -123 / -127
Over / Under
2.5 goals		 -125 / +105 -106 / -130
Pumas -0.5 -130 -132
Seattle +1.5 +110 -101

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