CCL Final Preview | LAFC at Club León 5/31/23

LAFC at Club León

Concacaf Champions League Final Leg 1

Wednesday, May 31 at 7:00pm PT

Location: Estadio León - León, Mexico

TV: FS1, TUDN

Radio: KFWB 980 La Mera Mera

LAFC Watch Along: LAFC Twitch

LAFC is set to meet Mexican side Club León on Wednesday, May 31 for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League Final as the teams clash for the right to call themselves the best team in the region. But it is not just bragging rights on the line – both teams are looking to not only win their first-ever CCL trophy, but also to secure a spot in the 2023 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cup tournament.

The Black & Gold solidified their spot in their second-ever CCL final with a dominating second leg against the Philadelphia Union that resulted in 3-0 win at BMO Stadium after playing to a 1-1 draw on the road in the first leg.

Club León and LAFC will meet for the third time in their history, as they met in the 2020 CCL Round of 16, where a Carlos Vela double and a 79th minute Diego Rossi goal helped seal a 3-2 aggregate come-from-behind win for the Black & Gold at BMO Stadium after dropping the first leg 2-0 at Estadio León.

LAFC comes into the final after a dominating performance throughout the tournament. The Black & Gold have outscored their opponents 14-3 in six matches, defeating Costa Rica’s CD Alajuense in the first round, the Vancouver Whitecaps in the quarterfinals and the Union in the semifinals. Denis Bouanga (6 goals) and Carlos Vela (3 goals) led the way offensively for LAFC.

León claimed their spot in the CCL Final after a thrilling 3-1 win in front of their home fans in the second leg after losing 2-1 to Tigres UANL in the first leg on the road.

CLUB LEÓN IN-DEPTH

Led by Argentinean head coach Nicolás Larcamón, León are playing in their first-ever CCL Final and have shown they are a dangerous team having eight different goal scorers with 13 goals scored enroute to the final.

Chilean forward Victor Dávila leads Leon in scoring with three goals in the tournament. Forwards Brian Rubio, Elías Hernández and Ángel Mena have each contributed two goals.

Club León will have to overcome the challenge of not having played a game in over 20 days after being eliminated from Liga MX playoffs on May 7.

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LAFC WILL WIN IF

They can continue to play well on the road in CCL. The Black & Gold have scored seven goals in three matches away from home, with Bouanga scoring five of them. Estadio León is a tough place to play and LAFC need Bouanga and Vela to continue to keep the León defense on edge.

CLUB LEÓN CAN WIN IF

They can overcome the challenges of not having played a match in over three weeks. León is playing at home and will hope to put away any opportunities given to them early behind the energy of the home crowd. León will most likely come out in a 4-4-2 lineup and will press heavily to make LAFC uncomfortable and cause mistakes.