Columbus Crew SC beat the defending champion Seattle Sounders FC 3-0 with a pair of Lucas Zelarayan goals to secure the club's second MLS Cup title on Saturday night in the final match at Mapfre Stadium.
- MLS on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
An end-to-end, action packed opening 20 minutes saw Sounders keeper Stefan Frei come up with a big save on Gyasi Zardes and Jordan Morris fire just wide of the Crew goal on an ensuing counter-attack as the match remained scoreless.
The hosts, who'd had the better of the first half, finally got on the scoresheet in the 25th minute when club-record signing Zelarayan got on the end of a Harrison Afful cross and beat Frei with a first-time shot to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.
Zelarayan then set up the second for Columbus after picking up a poor clearance and teeing up teammate Derrick Etienne for a composed first time finish that curled out of Frei's reach and double the Crew's advantage.
Columbus Crew players celebrate after scoring a goal against the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup Final. Getty Images
The defending champion Sounders looked somewhat shell-shocked after going down two goals and Columbus continued to have the better of the play and chances before taking their 2-0 lead into half-time.
Seattle picked up the tempo to start the second half after coach Brian Schmetzer brought on Gustav Svensson and Brad Smith following the break and added Will Bruin and Kelvin Leerdam at the 60-minute mark.
Still the visitors struggled to create any clear-cut chances and Columbus continuing to force the issue in its offensive third as the home side held on to a two-goal lead.
Crew keeper Eloy Room palmed away a goalbound Morris header right on 80 minutes and Columbus made Seattle pay seconds later when Zelarayan curled in his second of the night to put his team ahead for good.
Columbus coach Caleb Porter, who had previously won MLS Cup with Portland in 2015, joins Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid as the only coaches to win titles with multiple teams in the league.
At full-time, the limited crowd on hand went wild as the Crew secured top honors in MLS at the end of a challenging, coronavirus shortened season that restarted in July with the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida.
The Crew, who will move into a new stadium next season, also became just the seventh team to win multiple MLS Cups following their triumph in 2008, while Seattle failed to add to their championships of 2016 and 2019.
Source: espn.co.uk