diff --git a/compiler/src/dotty/tools/dotc/transform/patmat/Space.scala b/compiler/src/dotty/tools/dotc/transform/patmat/Space.scala
index 5ca8cc247b52..9a373ad3653d 100644
--- a/compiler/src/dotty/tools/dotc/transform/patmat/Space.scala
+++ b/compiler/src/dotty/tools/dotc/transform/patmat/Space.scala
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ object SpaceEngine {
       val funRef = fun1.tpe.asInstanceOf[TermRef]
       if (fun.symbol.name == nme.unapplySeq)
         val (arity, elemTp, resultTp) = unapplySeqInfo(fun.tpe.widen.finalResultType, fun.srcPos)
-        if (fun.symbol.owner == defn.SeqFactoryClass && defn.ListType.appliedTo(elemTp) <:< pat.tpe)
+        if fun.symbol.owner == defn.SeqFactoryClass && pat.tpe.hasClassSymbol(defn.ListClass) then
           // The exhaustivity and reachability logic already handles decomposing sum types (into its subclasses)
           // and product types (into its components).  To get better counter-examples for patterns that are of type
           // List (or a super-type of list, like LinearSeq) we project them into spaces that use `::` and Nil.
diff --git a/tests/warn/i20132.list-Seq.scala b/tests/warn/i20132.list-Seq.scala
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..95d6e962d547
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/warn/i20132.list-Seq.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+class D1
+class D2
+
+class Test1:
+  type Ds = List[D1] | List[D2]
+  def m1(dss: List[Ds]) =
+    dss.flatMap:
+      case Seq(d)           => Some(1)
+      case Seq(head, tail*) => Some(2)
+      case Seq()            => None