San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Columbus takes final as Seattle runs out of magic
Lucas Zelarayan scored midway through the first half and added the clincher in the 82nd minute and the host Columbus Crew won their second MLS Cup title, beating the defending champion Seattle Sounders 30 on Saturday night.
Derrick Etienne Jr. also scored in the first 45 minutes for Columbus. The Crew withstood Seattle’s secondhalf pressure and finally celebrated after Zelarayan’s goal.
Zelarayan, the MLS newcomer of the year and largest signing in franchise history, was the best player on the field on a night the Crew were playing shorthanded. Columbus was without midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos after both tested positive for the coronavirus during the past week.
Despite the absences, the Crew were the decidedly better side and Zelarayan was the instigator. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth backtoback champions in league history. The Sounders, playing in their fourth final in five years, were trying to be the first repeat champions since the LA Galaxy in 201112.
It was the first appearance in the final for Columbus since 2015 when the Crew were denied a title by the Portland Timbers and current Columbus coach Caleb Porter. .
The loss of Nagbe and Santos seemed to be the biggest story entering the final. It was the first time this season Columbus played without either player in its lineup. But their teammates — namely Zelarayan — made their absences moot.
Zelarayan scored in the 25th minute off a perfect feed from Harrison Afful, getting behind Seattle fullback Alex Roldan and snaking his leftfooted volley past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Six minutes later, Zelarayan made the smart play finding Etienne and his curling shot gave Columbus a 20 lead.
And Zelarayan showed patience before rocketing a leftfooted shot past Frei for the final goal. Zelarayan was the third player in an MLS Cup final with two goals and the first since Alecko Eskandarian in 2004.
Seattle needed a frantic comeback in the final 15 minutes of its Western Conference final against Minnesota United just to reach MLS Cup. Down 20 to Minnesota, the Sounders scored three times, including Gustav Svensson’s winner in stoppage time off a corner kick.
The deficit was the same for most of the second half against Columbus, but the magic of Seattle’s comeback just five days earlier was absent. The Sounders had numerous chances in the second half, but attempts failed to find the net.
Jordan Morris had the final good look for Seattle in the 80th minute, but his header was saved by Eloy Room.
Premier League: The People’s Club welcomed back its fans and Chelsea felt the full force. With 2,000 supporters allowed back into Liverpool’s Goodison Park after nine months, host Everton won 10 to end Chelsea’s 17match unbeaten run.
About 30 miles away in Manchester, which remains at a higher level of coronavirus restrictions, host Manchester United and Manchester City drew 00 in the 183rd derby.
Newcastle’s 21 victory at West Bromwich Albion began with Miguel Almiron scoring the fastest goal this season at 19.98 seconds.
Elsewhere in Europe: Real Madrid beat city rival Atletico Madrid 20 to tighten the Spanish league race, dealing the leader its first loss in the competition in 10 months. ... Marseille beat Monaco 21, moving to second place and one point behind defending champion Paris SaintGermain. ... Host Union Berlin held Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich to a 11 tie.