SEATTLE (AP) — Osaze De Rosario scored in the 26th minute, and the Seattle Sounders blanked Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 on Sunday night to win the Leagues Cup.
De Rosario headed a cross from Alex Roldan into the bottom left corner of the net for his fourth goal in Leagues Cup play. Roldan scored on a penalty kick in the 84th minute, and Paul Rothrock found the net in the 89th, to the delight of a sellout crowd of 69,314 at Lumen Field.
By winning the annual tournament featuring clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, the Sounders earned a bye into the round of 16 in the next CONCACAF Champions Cup. Seattle also became the only MLS team to have won all five annual trophies available to clubs in the league, having already claimed the MLS Cup, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters' Shield.
A postgame brawl broke out between the teams after Miami was shut out for the first time in Leagues Cup play, and videos posted on social media appeared to show Miami's Luis Suárez spitting on a Sounders staff member.
Messi, who led Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023, had plenty of scoring chances, including one off a brilliant pass from Suárez in the 49th minute. But Messi couldn’t convert and was denied a 34th goal in as many Leagues Cup matches.
The Sounders, meanwhile, missed a couple of chances to make it even more lopsided. Jesús Ferreira ripped a shot off the left post in the 39th minute, and Rothrock was stopped on a breakaway in the 72nd.
Second-half substitute Georgi Minoungou drew a foul in the penalty area, leading to Roldan's successful spot kick.
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The Associated Press
