Seattle Sounders 3-0 Inter Miami: Messi denied another trophy as Roldan stars in Leagues Cup final

Alex Roldan scored and provided two assists as the Seattle Sounders beat Inter Miami 3-0 in the Leagues Cup final.

The right-back assisted Osaze De Rosario and Paul Rothrock either side of his penalty in the 84th minute to help the Sounders win their first Leagues Cup title.

Brian Schmetzer’s side took the lead after 26 minutes when De Rosario headed past Oscar Ustari at the back post from Roldan’s cross for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Luis Suarez helped create two great opportunities for Miami to equalise, but Lionel Messi and Tadeo Allende both failed to hit the target in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Roldan then doubled Seattle’s lead from the penalty spot after Georgi Minoungou was fouled by Yannick Bright, before he teed up Rothrock for the final goal five minutes later.

Tempers threatened to boil over at full-time, and Miami forward Suarez may well face repercussions after seemingly spitting on a member of Seattle's staff.

Earlier, the Los Angeles Galaxy claimed third place after defeating Orlando City 2-1.

Marco Reus opened the scoring after just nine minutes before Joseph Paintsil scored the winner in the 67th minute, shortly after Martin Ojeda’s equaliser for Orlando.

Data Debrief: New trophy for Seattle's cabinet

The Sounders have now won their ninth trophy since becoming an MLS team in 2009.

This time around, their execution in defence proved to be the difference-maker. They restricted Miami from registering any shots on target, with Seattle producing 2.44 expected goals (xG) from 11 shots to Miami’s 1.33.

Only Angel Correa (five) outscored De Rosario in this edition of the Leagues Cup, while Roldan led the competition in assists (four).

Messi could not make his desired impact in the final, but it was not for a lack of trying. He recorded a game-high five shots, while also attempting the most dribbles (seven) and creating one chance.