2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final

Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro takes a penalty kick against New York City FC in the semifinals at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Seattle Sounders FC qualified for their seventh CONCACAF Champions League berth—setting a U.S. record—by finishing third in the 2021 MLS regular season.[14] The slot, normally reserved for the winner of the suspended U.S. Open Cup, was instead awarded to the highest-finishing team in league play without an existing berth.[15][16] During the club's seven previous appearances in the tournament, they had advanced as far as the semifinals in the 2012–13 edition.[14][15]

In the round of 16, the Sounders faced F.C. Motagua of Honduras, the 2021 CONCACAF League runners-up.[17] The two sides played to a scoreless draw behind closed doors at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, in place due to disciplinary actions against Motagua.[18] Seattle hosted the second leg at Lumen Field and won 5–0 with four goals in the second half following an opener from Nicolás Lodeiro in the 33rd minute. Lodeiro went on to assist Cristian Roldan's goal in the 47th minute, while Roldan earned his own assist off a goal scored by Jordan Morris in the 56th minute. Kelyn Rowe was substituted into the match for Lodeiro in the 60th minute and scored two minutes later with an assist from Roldan, whose replacement Léo Chú added his own strike in the 73rd minute.[19][20]

Seattle then advanced to the quarterfinals to meet Liga MX side Club León in a rematch of the 2021 Leagues Cup Final. Despite missing Lodeiro and key forward Raúl Ruidíaz, the Sounders won 3–0 in the first leg at home with two goals from Fredy Montero. He scored from a penalty kick in the 31st minute and added a strike eight minutes later before being substituted. Morris scored the team's third goal in the 90th minute following several attempts that were saved by León goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota.[21] Seattle finished the series with a 1–1 draw at Estadio León to advance 4–1 on aggregate. Montero scored a penalty in stoppage time at the end of the first half to give the Sounders the lead, while León attempted 25 shots that forced seven saves out of goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Fidel Ambríz scored with a header in the second half's stoppage time to give León their lone goal of the quarterfinals.[22]

The Sounders played fellow MLS club and MLS Cup 2021 champions New York City FC in the semifinals and opened the series with a 3–1 win at home. The lineup featured a full-strength attack and midfield, but was missing defenders Nouhou due to yellow card accumulation and the injured Yeimar Gomez Andrade. Seattle took the lead in the 16th minute through a goal from Albert Rusnák, but conceded to New York City's Thiago Andrade in the 27th minute following a defensive miscommunication. The Sounders retook the lead in the 34th minute through Jordan Morris and were awarded a penalty kick by the video assistant referee that was converted by Lodeiro in the 65th minute.[23] New York City hosted the second leg at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey due to their home venue, Yankee Stadium, not meeting CONCACAF's standards for Champions League matches.[24] Ruidíaz scored in the 28th minute to give the Sounders the lead, but New York City equalized early in the second half and forced seven saves out of Frei. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, allowing Seattle to advance to their first CONCACAF Champions League Final with a 4–2 aggregate score.[7] The Champions League final was the sixth competition final the team played since head coach Brian Schmetzer was appointed in 2016.[25]

Pumas UNAM qualified for their fifth Champions League as runners-up in the 2020 Guardianes playoffs during the first half of the Liga MX season.[26] They won the competition's predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, three times in the 1980s and finished as runners-up to Deportivo Saprissa in the 2005 final.[27] Their loss to Saprissa in 2005 was the last time a non-Mexican team had won the continental title, beginning a 16-year streak for Liga MX clbus.[28] Since their qualification for the 2022 Champions League, UNAM had failed to advance to the playoffs in the Clasura and finished in 11th place for the 2021 Apertura.[29]

Pumas faced Saprissa in the round of 16 and drew 2–2 in the first leg, played at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá in San José, Costa Rica. The team's early lead, earned through Washington Corozo's header in the 28th minute, was undone with an equalizer scored by Christian Bolaños during the first half's stoppage time. Juan Ignacio Dinenno retook the lead for Pumas in the 71st minute, but Bolaños again equalized four minutes later by finishing a rebound off a save from goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.[30][31] Arturo Ortiz's 12th-minute header gave Pumas an early lead in the second leg, but Bolaños equalized for Saprissa shortly after halftime. A brace from Dinenno—a right-footed shot in the 75th minute and a header in the 82nd—was followed by Rogério's goal in stoppage time to complete a 4–1 victory and 6–3 aggregate scoreline for Pumas.[32]

The team advanced to the quarterfinals to play 2021 MLS Supporters' Shield champions New England Revolution, who were awarded a walkover after their round of 16 opponent Cavaly AS withdrew from the tournament.[33] Pumas lost 3–0 to the Revolution in the first leg, which was played at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts under snowy conditions with freezing temperatures. A 19th-minute strike from Sebastian Lletget gave the hosts the lead, which was extended by a pair of goals by Adam Buksa in the second half, the latter in stoppage time.[34] Pumas hosted the second leg and tied the series at 3–3 on aggregate at the end of regulation time with a pair of Dinenno goals and a strike from Sebastian Saucedo in the 59th minute. The hosts won 4–3 in the ensuing penalty shootout, capitalizing off a saved shot from Tommy McNamara and a miss from Lletget.[35]

Pumas faced fellow Mexico City side Cruz Azul and hosted the first leg at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, where they won 2–1. Dinenno scored both goals for the hosts in the first half, while Christian Tabó gave Cruz Azul an away goal in the 83rd minute.[36] The two teams played to a scoreless draw at Estadio Azteca in the second leg, allowing for Pumas to advance to the final. Ortiz was shown a red card in the 63rd minute, leaving Pumas with ten players, and the team had a penalty kick overturned by the video assistant referee later in the second half.[37]

The finalist which had the better performances in previous rounds hosted the second leg.[40]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Host
1	Seattle Sounders FC	6	3	3	0	13	3	+10	12	Second leg
2	UNAM	6	3	2	1	11	7	+4	11	First leg