| Event | 2023 CONCACAF Champions League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | May 31, 2023 (2023-05-31) | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio León,León, Guanajuato, Mexico | ||||||
| Referee | Walter López (Guatemala) | ||||||
| Attendance | 20,517 | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy, 88 °F (31 °C) | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | June 4, 2023 (2023-06-04) | ||||||
| Venue | BMO Stadium,Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Referee | Iván Barton (El Salvador) | ||||||
| Attendance | 22,413 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C) | ||||||
←2022 2024(Champions Cup) → | |||||||
The2023 CONCACAF Champions League final was the final round of the2023 CONCACAF Champions League, the 15th and final edition of theCONCACAF Champions Cup under the Champions League name, and overall the 58th edition of the premier clubassociation football competition organized byCONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The final was contested in atwo-legged home-and-away series byLos Angeles FC ofMajor League Soccer andClub León ofLiga MX. León hosted the first leg atEstadio León inLeón, Guanajuato, Mexico, on May 31 and won 2–1. Los Angeles FC hosted the second leg atBMO Stadium inLos Angeles, California, United States, on June 4 and lost 1–0. The final was pushed back to allow for theClasura 2023 finals to take place in Mexico. León won 3–1 onaggregate.
 Los Angeles |  León |
|---|---|
| BMO Stadium | Estadio León |
| Capacity:22,000 | Capacity:31,297 |
 |  |
Both teams in the final had yet to win a CONCACAF Champions League, but previously reached the finals in previous editions. León and Los Angeles FC last played each other in the2020 CONCACAF Champions League's round of 16, which LAFC won 3–2 on aggregate.[1][2]
Club León previously qualified for the final round of the1993 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, but lost in theround-robin group to Costa Rica'sDeportivo Saprissa on goal difference.[3] They had some league success in the 2010s and qualified for multiple editions of the CONCACAF Champions League, but were eliminated in three consecutive years by MLS teams. Their best finish during this stretch came in the2022 edition, where they lost in the quarterfinals to eventual championsSeattle Sounders FC.[4] León qualified for the 2023 edition—their fifth in the continental tournament—as the runners-up in the2021 Apertura playoffs in Liga MX.[5]
The team were drawn against Panamanian sideTauro in the round of 16 and won 1–0 in the first leg, which was played inPanama City.Iván Moreno scored the lone goal of the match in the 55th minute from close range after receiving a deflected ball from a Tauro defender.[6] León won 2–0 in the second leg to advance 3–0 on aggregate to the quarterfinals;Brian Rubio andElías Hernández both scored in the first half.[7]
In the quarterfinals, León played Haitian sideViolette AC, who had earned anupset victory againstAustin FC of MLS in the previous round. In the first leg at Estadio León, the hosts won 5–0 with a brace fromVíctor Dávila in the second half and two goals in stoppage time.[8] The team lost 2–1 in the second leg, conceding twice to Violette's Miche-Naider Chéry, but advanced 6–2 on aggregate to their first semifinals.[9]
León met fellow Liga MX sideTigres in the semifinals and played away in the first leg. Dávila opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but a pair of goals created by Tigres wingerLuis Quiñones near halftime gave the hosts a 2–1 win.[10] During the first 15 minutes of the second leg,Fidel Ambríz andÁngel Mena scored for León to take the lead on aggregate.Raymundo Fulgencio equalized for Tigres, but a 79th-minute strike byAdonis Frías from a corner kick clinched a 3–1 win and 4–3 aggregate victory for León.[11]
Los Angeles FC (LAFC) entered MLS as anexpansion team in 2018. The club qualified for the2020 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2019 MLSSupporters' Shield and advanced to thefinal, which had been delayed to December due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and was played inOrlando, Florida. LAFC lost 2–1 toTigres UANL, becoming the fourth MLS team and second from the United States to finish as runners-up under the modern Champions League format.[12][13]
AsMLS Cup 2022 champions and Supporters' Shield holders, LAFC qualified for their second Champions League.[14] They lost several key players in the offseason, including midfielderLatif Blessing and forwardsCristian Arango andCristian Tello, and signed several replacements but still lacked a new center forward option.[15] The club were drawn against Costa Rican sideAlajuelense, the2022 CONCACAF League runners-up, in the round of 16 and won the away leg 3–0 with ahat-trick scored byDenis Bouanga.[16] LAFC lost 2–1 in the second leg at home but advanced with a 4–2 aggregate score.[17]
In the quarterfinals, LAFC faced fellow MLS sideVancouver Whitecaps FC from Canada and won 6–0 on aggregate, scoring thrice in each leg. The away leg inVancouver was decided by a trio of goals within ten minutes during the second half—Bouanga's brace and assist toKwadwo Opoku.[18] CaptainCarlos Vela scored twice in the second leg—from apenalty kick and close range in the first half—and was joined after half-time byJosé Cifuentes, who entered as a substitute and struck both posts with his goal.[19]
The semifinal was a rematch of the MLS Cup final played five months earlier between LAFC and thePhiladelphia Union, who had also finished as runners-up in the Supporters' Shield race.[20] A league fixture for LAFC was rescheduled to accommodate the semifinal series as well as potential advancement to the final.[21] LAFC drew 1–1 in the first leg and won 3–0 in the second leg to advance from the semifinals. They became the first MLS team to advance to a second Champions League final under the current format.[22] LAFC's league matches againstSt. Louis City SC andAtlanta United FC were rescheduled due to conflicts with the two legs of the final as well as the2023 U.S. Open Cup.[23][24]
| Los Angeles FC | Round | León | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
 Alajuelense | 4–2 | 3–0 (A) | 1–2 (H) | Round of 16 |  Tauro | 3–0 | 1–0 (A) | 2–0 (H) |
 Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 6–0 | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Quarterfinals |  Violette | 6–2 | 5–0 (H) | 1–2 (A) |
| Philadelphia Union | 4–1 | 1–1 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Semifinals | UANL | 4–3 | 1–2 (A) | 3–1 (H) |
The final will be played in a home-and-awaytwo-legged series, with the team with the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg. Unlike in earlier rounds,away goals will not be a tiebreaker in the second leg. Instead, 30 minutes ofextra time (divided into 15-minute periods) is played if the match is tied after regulation time; a sixthsubstitute is also permitted during extra time. Additional substitutions are permitted for players showing signs of aconcussion or a traumatic head injury after up to three minutes of evaluation by a medical officer. If the score is still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.8).[25]
In the final, the finalist which has the better performances in previous rounds host the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles FC | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | +11 | 13 | Second leg |
| 2 | Club León | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 12 | First leg |
| León | 2–1 | Los Angeles FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bouanga 90+6' |
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