CONCACAF Champions League Final to Feature Teams from MLS & Liga MX
It's Getting Heavy, Some Solid Bets to Be Made
The CONCACAF Champions League Final will feature a team from MLS and Liga MX for a second consecutive season. The tournament is traditionally dominated by Liga MX clubs who have won 13 of the last 14 Champions League finals until the Seattle Sounders broke their run last season. The 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Final will be between LAFC from MLS and Club Leon.
Both teams won the second legs of their semifinals last night. In addition, winners will qualify for two FIFA Club World Cups – the 2023 edition in December in Saudi Arabia and the expanded 32-club tournament in the summer of 2025. That one will feature past winners and runner-ups as well. It’s going to be a massive World Cup-style tournament.
Let’s dive into everything you need about the CONCACAF Champions League Final!
CONCACAF Final Schedule
The CONCACAF Champions League Final will be played over two legs instead of a one-off like other Champions League finals from other federations. Therefore, each team will get the chance to play at home to give themselves a fighting chance. The first of these legs will be on May 31st and the second on June 4th.
First Leg – Wednesday, May 31st
- Leon de los Aldamas, Mexico
- Estadio Leon
- 7 pm Kickoff
Second Leg – Sunday, June 4th
- Los Angeles, California
- BMO Stadium
- 6 pm Kickoff
Road to the CONCACAF Champions League Final
LAFC (+220)
Timothy Tillman scored the opening goal before Kwadwo Opoku and Denis Bouanga scored in the second half to give LAFC a 3-0 second-leg semifinal victory at BMO Stadium. LAFC advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League Final by a 4-1 aggregate scoreline and will meet Club Leon in the first leg next week.
Tillman delivered the opening goal in the 13th minute, scoring off a rebound following an impressive save from Andre Blake.
Daniel Gazdag had an excellent opportunity to tie things up in the 22nd minute after Diego Palacios misjudged Kai Wagner’s long cross in the box. However, Gazdag also missed wide of the target later in half after being given room by the LAFC defense to test his luck.
The Union’s steep uphill climb got even more brutal in the second half after Olivier Mbaizo was sent off just before the hour mark.
Despite Philadelphia’s best efforts to create chances in the final third, LAFC used the extra man to their advantage in the last minutes. Carlos Vela’s pass to a wide-open Opoku in the box allowed the Ghanaian to hit it first time into the net. Moments later, Denis Bouanga added his sixth tournament goal as an insurance tally for LAFC at 3-0.
From there, LAFC would hang on to clinch its second-ever berth into the CONCACAF Champions League Final.
Club Leon (+150)
Club Leon will take on LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions League Final after coming back to win 4-3 on aggregate thanks to goals from Fidel Ambriz, Angel Mena, and Adonis Frias in the second leg to secure victory! This will be their first time making the final in this competition.
After surviving that early scare, Los Panzas Verdes moved ahead in the tie on away goals with their first meaningful match effort in 10 minutes, a superb curling strike from distance from midfielder Fidel Ambriz. Not even five minutes later, they were 2-0 up! Ángel Mena poked home from close range after Alfonso Alvarado’s first-time effort had been parried inside the box.
Despite seeing their first-leg lead ultimately evaporate in a quarter of an hour, Tigres side knew they needed just one goal to restore parity in the tie. Unfortunately, however, they were somewhat flat in the attacking third of the field in the first half, which did little to suggest they could turn things back around.
However, Tigres kept plugging away, and their fortunes improved after half-time, especially following the introduction of Raymundo Fulgencio from the bench just before the hour mark. The speedy winger leveled things up with a brilliant individual goal minutes after coming on.
Unfortunately for Los Auriazules, they wouldn’t be level for long. Léon’s winning goal couldn’t have been more straightforward, with Tesillo getting his to a corner and knocking the ball down for Adonis Frías, who was all alone at the back post to sweep into the net.
Tigres threw everything at León in the final 10 minutes (plus injury time) in a desperate attempt to get back into the contest. But they ultimately came up short and suffered their first-ever semifinal defeat in the CONCACAF Champions League.
CONCACAF Champions League Final Betting
Historically, Liga MX teams have dominated the CONCACAF Champions League every year. However, it took until last year when the Seattle Sounders won in the second leg at home.
This year is no different.
LAFC could make it two in a row for MLS teams to win the CONCACAF Champions League Final. They have one of the best squads in the region and have dominated every team they have come against.
For those reasons, bettors should go with LAFC winning the CONCACAF Champions League Final at +220.
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