(Reuters) – Argentine midfielder Lucas Zelarayan struck in either half to help Columbus Crew seal their second MLS Cup title with a 3-0 victory over Seattle Sounders at the Mapfre Stadium on Saturday.
The 1,500 fans in attendance were treated to a breathtaking display of attacking soccer from the hosts, who took the lead in the 25th minute when Seattle keeper Stefan Frei failed to keep out Argentine midfielder Zelarayan’s sweetly struck volley.
Zelarayan turned provider for the second, bringing the ball down on the edge of the box and finding Derrick Etienne Jr., who unleashed a curling effort past Frei into the far corner.
Seattle had mounted a spectacular comeback from two goals down in the Western Conference Final against Minnesota but there were no similar heroics on Saturday as Zelarayan netted his second in the 82nd minute to seal the victory.
Crew became 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.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)
