Lionel Messi couldn’t add another trophy to his résumé, but the Seattle Sounders did so to fill out their impressive cabinet.
The Sounders beat Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 in Sunday’s Leagues Cup final in a match that was marred by a postgame brawl involving players and staff from both teams, including Luis Suárez.
Osaze De Rosario got Seattle on board, Alex Roldan added a penalty kick and Paul Rothrock sealed the match in the final moments as a club-record 69,314 fans watched in attendance.
Seattle adds their ninth trophy since entering MLS in 2009. The club has previously lifted four U.S. Open Cups, two MLS Cups, one Concacaf Champions Cup and one Supporters’ Shield.
Since arriving to Miami in 2023, Messi has guided the club to two pieces of silverware: the Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters Shield in 2024. The team fell short in the MLS Cup playoffs last year, but remains one of the heavy favorites for that trophy later this fall.
Messi 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 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 Suarez spitting on a Sounders staff member.
“Unfortunately, that is gonna take some attention away from what was a great Sounders performance,” Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer said postgame. “I can take it as a compliment that their players were frustrated, and frustrations led to things that shouldn’t happen on the field. But that shouldn’t be the story.”
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