Five thoughts on Sounders advancing to their first-ever CCL final

Going into the second leg of the Concacaf Champions League in New Jersey with 3-1 lead, the Seattle Sounders were always favored to get the job done and advance to their first continental final. And with the Sounders mostly a full strength and NYCFC coming into the match particularly shorthanded — Maxi Moralez and Maxime Chanot were ruled out pregame — the task might have seemed much easier.

Still, MLS matches — no matter the completion format — are well known for not going to plan, least of all when Concacaf is involved. Concacaf’d is a phrase for a reason after all, and 10 seconds into the match things nearly went off the rails when Valentín Castellanos launched himself into Xavier…