By Favian Renkel
Lionel Messi entered Sunday’s Leagues Cup Final chasing his 47th career trophy in his 34th final. He arrived with a staggering record of 33 goals and 13 assists in finals, but on this night, it was the Sounders who stole the show winning their first Leagues Cup title to fill out the trophy case.
Goalkeeper Oscar Ustari set the tone early with a critical save inside the opening five minutes to deny Seattle a dream start. Moments later, Osaze De Rosario made his presence felt, capping off the Sounders’ early pressure with a composed finish for his fourth goal of the tournament.
Seattle dictated much of the first half, frustrating the Herons with a relentless press and sharp defending. Jesús Ferreira nearly doubled the advantage before halftime, rattling the crossbar with a powerful strike that had the crowd holding its breath.
With 69,314 in attendance at Lumen Field, both teams traded chances in the second half. Inter Miami finally found space when Tadeo Allende went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he missed wide in what proved to be a golden chance to level the score with 25 minutes remaining.
Backed by the home crowd, the Sounders responded with composure. Paul Rothrock nearly sealed it with a close-range effort, but Ustari produced another remarkable save to keep Miami alive. The decisive moment arrived late, when Alex Roldan converted a penalty to make it 2-0 with fewer than 10 minutes to play.
As if scripted, Rothrock delivered the final blow, scoring in stoppage time to send the stadium into a frenzy. His goal symbolized Seattle’s dominance and capped off a historic night, as the Sounders completed their sweep of every major trophy in North America.
Seattle defeated Inter Miami 3-0 to lift its first-ever Leagues Cup title, denying Messi the chance to add another chapter to his storied career.
REACTIONS
- Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer:
- “It means a lot because it’s against one of the best teams in our league with Messi, the best player in the world, Suarez, so many good players, Alba, Busquets. It means a lot because that’s a good team that we beat and we beat them decisively.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
- Alex Roldán assisted on the first goal and then scored from the penalty spot to seal the win.
GAME NOTES
- The Sounders dominated the tournament from start to finishi, they were the only team to finish Phase One with a perfect nine points and they continued the success in the knockout stage.
- Seattle conceded just two goals in six games this Leagues Cup. They outscored their opponents 15-2 in the tournament.
- Initially it looked like Cristian Roldán was going to take the penalty to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead, but he handed the ball to his brother Alex who already had an assist in the game. With the goal, Alex Roldán got his first career game with a goal AND an assist.
- Inter Miami lost for just the 3rd time in Leagues Cup play, they have the most wins in the tournament's history (14-3 record)
- Inter Miami was held without a goal for the first time ever in a Leagues Cup game.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards
- Inter Miami: Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright
LOOKING AHEAD
- Both teams with have a well-deserved break and return to action on September 13th. Seattle plays the LA Galaxy and Inter Miami takes on Charlotte FC
