MLS Cup 2020

MLS Cup 2020 was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and was played at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The match was originally scheduled to take place on November 7, 2020, but was postponed to December 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the MLS season. The match was contested by Columbus Crew SC and Seattle Sounders FC, the defending champions. It was the final playoff match played at Mapfre Stadium, which will be replaced by a new stadium in 2021.

MLS Cup 2020
Aerial view of Mapfre Stadium, the host venue of MLS Cup 2020
EventMLS Cup
Columbus Crew SC Seattle Sounders FC
3 0
DateDecember 12, 2020 (2020-12-12)
VenueMapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
MLS Cup MVPLucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew SC)[1]
RefereeJair Marrufo
Attendance1,500
WeatherPartly cloudy, 47 °F (8 °C)

The Columbus Crew won the match 3–0 to secure their second MLS Cup championship.

Road to the final
Further information: 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs

The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2020 season was the 25th in MLS history, and was contested by 26 teams organized into the Eastern and Western conferences.[2] The 2020 regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally scheduled to conclude on October 4, 2020.[3] The league was originally divided into two conferences of 13 teams, with each playing a 34-game schedule with 17 each of home and away matches.[4] Each team was to play their intra-conference opponents twice—once home and once away for a total of 24 matches—and one match against 10 of the members of the opposite conference.[4] The 2020 season was to be the first MLS season in which each team did not play every other team at least once.[4]

The season resumed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (pictured), both teams were eliminated in the Round of 16.

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused several matches to be cancelled, MLS suspended all play on March 12—the first total interruption of league play since the September 11 attacks in 2001.[5] The league resumed play with the MLS is Back Tournament, a special tournament of regular season matches played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida, with 24 teams participating following the withdrawal of FC Dallas and Nashville SC.[6] The tournament, which included isolation of personnel and frequent COVID-19 testing, was organized into a group stage of three matches and a knockout bracket for the top 16 teams. It was played from July 8 to August 11 and concluded with the Portland Timbers defeating Orlando City SC to earn a 2021 CONCACAF Champions League berth.[7][8]

MLS announced that the regular season would resume in home markets on August 12 with all teams playing a total of 23 matches over the course of several phases. The first phase comprised six matches between conference opponents for U.S. clubs, while FC Dallas and Nashville SC (who were moved to the Eastern Conference) played each other an additional three times to make up for missed matches from the MLS is Back Tournament.[9] The three Canadian clubs played six matches between themselves, as they were unable to play in the United States due to cross-border travel restrictions, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine.[10] The second phase began September 18 with clubs continuing to play intra-conference matches within a smaller geographic bubble; the three Canadian clubs played their home matches from temporary venues in the U.S.[10][11] The regular season concluded with Decision Day on November 8 and conference standings for the playoffs were determined by calculating points per game due to cancellations of matches late in the season, including an eight-match deficit for the Colorado Rapids after a COVID-19 outbreak.[12][13]

The MLS Cup Playoffs was contested using the single-elimination format adopted in 2019 by an expanded field of 18 teams—ten from the East and eight from the West. It began on November 20 with a play-in round for the four lowest seeds in the East and continued for four rounds hosted by the team with higher ranking as determined by points per game.[14][15] A scheduled international break in the FIFA International Match Calendar between Decision Day and the first playoff matches forced clubs to play without some players due to quarantine rules, despite league-funded charter flights to circumvent it.[16][17] The MLS Cup final was scheduled for December 12, its latest-ever staging.[18]

The finalists, Columbus Crew SC and Seattle Sounders FC, played each other in the 2010 U.S. Open Cup Final, which was won 2–1 by Seattle.[19] The two teams had each previously won the MLS Cup, with the Crew defeating the New York Red Bulls in the 2008 final and losing in 2015 to the Portland Timbers.[20] The Sounders were appearing in their fourth MLS Cup final in five years, having played Toronto FC in their three previous finals—winning in 2016 and 2019 and losing in 2017.[21][22] The Sounders and Crew played each other once in the 2020 regular season, on March 7 in Seattle, which finished in a 1–1 draw.[23]

Columbus Crew SC
Main article: 2020 Columbus Crew SC season
Darlington Nagbe was among Columbus' major offseason signings going into 2020.

The Columbus Crew underwent a major reorganization in January 2019, when the club's ownership was transferred from Anthony Precourt (who was awarded the rights to Austin FC by the league) to the Haslam and Edwards families.[20] The Crew also announced the hiring of former Portland manager Caleb Porter and former Toronto FC team president Tim Bezbatchenko to rebuild the team ahead of the opening of a new stadium in 2021.[20][24] The team missed the 2019 playoffs, finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference, but Porter and Bezbatchenko had begun rebuilding the roster with several acquisitions during the summer transfer window, including midfielders Luis Díaz and Youness Mokhtar.[25]

The club declined options on several key players, including star midfielder Federico Higuaín and former captain Wil Trapp, and was left with 13 empty roster positions to fill with new offseason signings.[26][27] Columbus acquired midfielder Darlington Nagbe through a trade from Atlanta United FC and signed Lucas Zelarayán from UANL Tigres of Liga MX for a club-record $7 million transfer fee.[28][29] Nagbe and Zelarayán were placed at the center of Porter's preferred 4–2–3–1 formation and went on to contribute to the team's improved 2020 performance despite injury issues.[30][31]

The Crew opened their season with a 1–0 win against New York City FC at home, with Zelarayán scoring on his league debut.[32] Following a 1–1 draw with the Sounders in Seattle, the MLS season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the suspension, the club sent at-home workout plans and nutrition advice to its players, who were also monitored through video conferencing during training exercises.[33] Players returned to the Crew's training facility in on May 13 for individual workouts, which was replaced by group training on June 4 and full-team sessions on June 12.[34][35]

Columbus was drawn into Group E at the MLS is Back Tournament alongside Atlanta United FC, in-state rivals FC Cincinnati, and the New York Red Bulls.[36] The Crew topped Group E with three victories, all shutouts, and advanced to face Minnesota United FC in the Round of 16.[37] Minnesota won 5–3 in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, with one shot from the Crew saved by goalkeeper Tyler Miller.[38] Columbus went undefeated in six matches for much of September, remaining atop the Eastern Conference while playing mostly at home ahead of several away trips scheduled for October.[39] The Crew won three of their remaining ten matches, sliding to third place in the East as the team played without several injured players. During the 2020 regular season, the Crew went winless during their away matches; the team played the entire playoffs at home due to their seeding.[23]

Seattle Sounders FC
Main article: 2020 Seattle Sounders FC season

The Sounders won their second MLS Cup in 2019 by defeating Toronto 3–1 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The club retained most of their roster under head coach Brian Schmetzer, but lost midfielder Víctor Rodríguez and defenders Román Torres, Kim Kee-hee, and Brad Smith during the offseason.[40][41] In January 2020, Seattle signed central midfielder João Paulo to a Designated Player contract and also acquired defenders Yeimar Gómez Andrade and Shane O'Neill to fill open positions in the backline.[42][43] After a short preseason, the club played in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Honduran champions C.D. Olimpia, who won in a penalty shootout following a 4–4 draw on aggregate.[44]

Seattle opened the regular season in March with two matches at home played in front of crowds despite the severe COVID-19 outbreak in Washington state and a state of emergency declared by Governor Jay Inslee.[45] The Sounders won 2–1 against the Chicago Fire as striker Jordan Morris scored twice in the second half to overcome an earlier deficit.[46] The following week, in front of the smallest attendance for a home match since 2009, the team drew 1–1 with the Columbus Crew.[47] The club suspended all operations until further notice on March 12, days before a planned away fixture with the Houston Dynamo; a home match against FC Dallas on March 21 had already been postponed due to the state government's ban on large events amid the pandemic.[48]

The club organized virtual training sessions through video conferencing and nutrition plans to maintain fitness during the suspension, which was lifted for socially distant training at Starfire Sports on May 18 with approval from the state government.[49][50] The Sounders were seeded during the MLS is Back Tournament draw and placed in Group B alongside Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the San Jose Earthquakes, and FC Dallas, who later withdrew due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the club.[51] They finished second in Group B behind San Jose with a 1–1–1 record and a goal difference of +2.[52] Seattle went on to be eliminated in the Round of 16 by Los Angeles FC, losing 4–1 due to several defensive mistakes.[53]

The Sounders returned to regular season play with a 3–0 victory against the Timbers in Portland that brought them to second place in the West,[54] which was followed by the players cancelling an away match against the LA Galaxy by joining a multi-team boycott to protest racial injustice.[55] The team returned to play their first home match of the restarted regular season on August 30, defeating Los Angeles FC 3–1, followed two days later by an away match against Real Salt Lake that ended in a 2–2 draw.[56] The Sounders played their next three matches at home, losing 2–1 to the Timbers, but winning 7–1 against San Jose (setting a franchise record for goals scored) and 3–0 against Los Angeles FC to move to first in the Western Conference.[57]

Following a loss to the Timbers, Seattle went on a three-match winning streak to continue their lead in the West and contend for the Supporters' Shield title.[58][59] Two defenders who left during the offseason, Brad Smith and Román Torres, returned to the club by early October to provide lineup flexibility ahead of the push to the playoffs, which came amid international call-ups for several starting players.[60] A match on October 14 against the Colorado Rapids was postponed and later cancelled due to their COVID-19 outbreak; the Sounders were also without star forward Raúl Ruidíaz for two matches after he tested positive for COVID-19 while playing for the Peru national team.[61][62] Seattle played to draws against San Jose and Portland before defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps to clinch their twelfth consecutive playoff berth.[63] The Sounders fell to second in the West after losing 3–1 to the Colorado Rapids and tying 1–1 with the LA Galaxy, but won their Decision Day fixture against San Jose.[64][65]

The Sounders opened their playoffs campaign at home against seventh-place Los Angeles FC in a rematch of the previous Western Conference Final. While Seattle were expected to play with a full-strength squad, LAFC were missing several starting players who tested positive for COVID-19, among them MLS top goalscorer Diego Rossi and assists leader Brian Rodríguez.[66] The home side won 3–1, with Ruidíaz scoring once and recording two assists as the team controlled possession against LAFC, who were unable to equalize after Carlos Vela missed an early penalty kick.[67] Seattle hosted the Conference Semifinals against FC Dallas, who had upset Portland as the sixth seed, but were without midfielder Gustav Svensson due to quarantine protocols following an international call-up.[68] The match ended in a 1–0 victory for the Sounders, with the lone goal scored by defender Shane O'Neill, who headed in a corner kick in the 49th minute amid a defensive stalemate between the two teams.[69]

Seattle hosted the Western Conference Final against Minnesota United FC, who had upset conference-leading Sporting Kansas City as the fourth seed with a 3–0 away victory.[70] Minnesota led 2–0 early in the second half with a free kick scored by Emanuel Reynoso in the 27th minute and a header from Bakaye Dibassy in the 67th minute. The Sounders scored three goals in the final 18 minutes of the match to earn a 3–2 comeback victory, continuing a 15-match home unbeaten streak in the playoffs.[71] Will Bruin scored two minutes after entering the match in the 73rd minute and was followed by an equalizer from Raúl Ruidíaz in the 89th minute, who shot off a rebound after a corner kick was deflected to him. Midfielder Gustav Svensson, who had returned from a COVID quarantine, scored the winning goal with a header in the third minute of stoppage time.[72]

Summary of results
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
Columbus Crew SC Round Seattle Sounders FC
3rd place in Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld Pts PPG
1 Philadelphia Union 23 47 2.04
2 Toronto FC 23 44 1.91
3 Columbus Crew SC (C) 23 41 1.78
4 Orlando City SC 23 41 1.78
5 New York City FC 23 39 1.70
6 New York Red Bulls 23 32 1.39
7 Nashville SC 23 32 1.39
8 New England Revolution 23 32 1.39
Source: MLS
(C) Champion.
 Regular season 2nd place in Western Conference
Pos Team Pld Pts PPG
1 Sporting Kansas City 21 39 1.86
2 Seattle Sounders FC 22 39 1.77
3 Portland Timbers 23 39 1.70
4 Minnesota United FC 21 34 1.62
5 Colorado Rapids 18 28 1.56
6 FC Dallas 22 34 1.55
7 Los Angeles FC 22 32 1.45
8 San Jose Earthquakes 23 30 1.30
Source: MLS
Opponent Score MLS Cup Playoffs Opponent Score
New York Red Bulls 3–2 (H) First round Los Angeles FC 3–1 (H)
Nashville SC 2–0 (a.e.t.) (H) Conference Semifinals FC Dallas 1–0 (H)
New England Revolution 1–0 (H) Conference Finals Minnesota United FC 3–2 (H)

Venue
Mapfre Stadium hosted the final

The MLS Cup final was played at Mapfre Stadium, the home venue of the Columbus Crew, who finished ahead of the Seattle Sounders on points per game.[23] It opened in 1999 as the first soccer-specific stadium to be built for a MLS team and is planned to be replaced by a new stadium in the Arena District set to open in 2021.[73][74] MAPFRE Stadium previously hosted the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2015.[75] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20,000-seat venue will be limited to an unspecified capacity; local regulations allow for up to 1,500 spectators in distanced seating.[76][77] According to ESPN, MLS also prepared contingency plans to move the MLS Cup final to a neutral venue, such as Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, in the event that a host market restricts all sporting activities.[78] A statewide COVID-19 curfew issued on December 10 by Ohio governor Mike DeWine exempted the match and other sporting events held in large outdoor venues.[79]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast in English by Fox in the United States and TSN in Canada. UniMás and Univision Deportes carried the Spanish broadcast in the United States, while TVA Sports carried the French broadcast in Canada.[14][80] The match was also broadcast in 190 countries by several international networks, including ESPN Latin America, BeIN Sports, and Abu Dhabi Sports.[81] The MLS Cup final was watched by 1.071 million spectators on Fox, an increase of 30 percent from 2019, and 459,000 on UniMás in the United States.[82][83]

Match

Pre-match

Two days before the match, the Columbus Crew announced that two players had tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be able to play; Darlington Nagbe, Pedro Santos, and Vito Wormgoor were listed as being "medically not cleared to play".[84] Eight Columbus players had previously tested positive for COVID during the MLS Cup Playoffs, but recovered and were allowed to play.[85] The Seattle Sounders announced that defender Xavier Arreaga would miss the match as he had remained in Seattle to await the birth of his child.[86]

Jair Marrufo was announced as the head referee for the match, having previously officiated two MLS Cup finals in 2006 and 2015, the latter of which was also held at Mapfre Stadium.[87] Kathryn Nesbitt was announced as an assistant referee, becoming the first woman to referee a championship match in North American professional men's sports.[88]

Details
Columbus Crew SC3–0Seattle Sounders FC
 Report
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Columbus Crew SC
Seattle Sounders FC
GK1 Eloy Room
RB25 Harrison Afful
CB4 Jonathan Mensah (c)
CB3 Josh Williams
LB19 Milton Valenzuela
CM21 Aidan Morris
CM8 Artur 88'
RW12 Luis Díaz 90'
AM10 Lucas Zelarayán
LW22 Derrick Etienne 83'
CF11 Gyasi Zardes
Substitutes:
GK13 Andrew Tarbell
DF14 Waylon Francis 90'
DF30 Aboubacar Keita
MF16 Hector Jiménez 83'
MF20 Emmanuel Boateng
MF26 Fatai Alashe 88'
MF34 Youness Mokhtar
FW9 Fanendo Adi
FW29 Krisztián Németh
Manager:
Caleb Porter
GK24 Stefan Frei
RB16 Alex Roldan 60'
CB28 Yeimar Gómez Andrade
CB27 Shane O'Neill 77'
LB5 Nouhou Tolo 46'
CM7 Cristian Roldan
CM6 João Paulo 28' 60'
RW33 Joevin Jones 46'
AM10 Nicolás Lodeiro (c)
LW13 Jordan Morris
CF9 Raúl Ruidíaz
Substitutes:
GK30 Stefan Cleveland
DF2 Brad Smith 49' 46'
DF18 Kelvin Leerdam 60'
DF29 Román Torres
DF94 Jimmy Medranda 77'
MF4 Gustav Svensson 46'
MF8 Jordy Delem
MF11 Miguel Ibarra
FW17 Will Bruin 60'
Manager:
Brian Schmetzer

MLS Cup MVP:
Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew SC)[1]

Assistant referees:[88]
Corey Parker
Kathryn Nesbitt
Fourth official:
Alex Chilowicz
Reserve assistant referee:
Cory Richardson
Video assistant referee:
Drew Fischer
Assistant video assistant referee:
Fabio Tovar

Match rules[89]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of nine named substitutes.
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time.[note 1]

Notes
  1. Each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

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