Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Live feed Key events 8m ago LAFC lineup and notes 20m ago Columbus lineup and notes Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 8m ago 15.40 EST LAFC lineup and notes The MLS Golden Boot winner is Gabon’s Dénis Bouanga , who netted 20 goals in 31 games in his first full season in the league. The second leading scorer is Mexican superstar Carlos Vela. Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau is an inspiring comeback story after suffering a serious leg injury when he raced out to stop a breakaway late in extra time of last year’s MLS Cup final. He has slowly worked his way back into the lineup this season. GK: Crepeau (Canada) D: Diego Palacios (Ecuador), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy), Jesus Murillo (Colombia), Ryan Hollingshead (USA) M: Kellyn Acosta (USA), Ilie Sanchez (Spain), Timothy Tillman (Germany) F: Bouanga (Gabon), Vela (Mexico), Cristian Olivera (Uruguay) Acosta, Murillo, and some unheralded player named Gareth Bale scored for LAFC in last year’s wild MLS Cup final, in which Philadelphia took the lead in stoppage time in extra time, only to see Bale score the equalizer. Palacios, Hollingshead, Sanchez and Bouanga were also in the starting XI. 20m ago 15.28 EST Columbus lineup and notes The Crew’s offensive sparkplug is Colombian Juan “ Cucho” Hernandez (16 goals, 7 assists in 27 games). The only other player who scored 10 or more goals is Lucas Zelarayan , who transferred to Al Fateh SC midway through the season, but Diego Rossi is a capable replacement. But in this knockout competition, the main reason the Crew got here is young
American goalkeeper Patrick Schulte , who made a series of spectacular saves in the semifinals when Cincinnati was on the verge of running Columbus off the pitch. Aidan Morris is another good young US talent, and he lines up alongside one of the league’s stalwart veterans, Darlington Nagbe. GK: Schulte (USA) D (left to right): Malte Amundson (Denmark), Rudy Camacho (France), Steven Moreiro (Cape Verde) M: Yaw Yeboah (Ghana), Morris (USA), Nagbe (USA), Mohamed Farsi (Canada) F: Diego Rossi (Uruguay), Cucho (Colombia), Alexandru Matan (Romania) 41m ago 15.07 EST It’s a generation gap at MLS Cup this year. Columbus is one of the original MLS clubs, and not long ago, they were thought to be part of the league’s history rather than its future. The Crew were set to depart to Austin. They did, sort of – in one of those “only in MLS” moments, Columbus owner Anthony Precourt was allowed to move his ownership rights to Austin, but Columbus still had a club. What have they done since then? Well, they won MLS Cup 2020, for one thing. LAFC is part of MLS 2.0 or 3.0 or whatever version started in the late 2010s. They already have two Supporters Shields and last year’s MLS Cup. So if you like underdog stories, you’re all about the Crew here. If you like seeing stars shine, it’s LAFC. Either way, this is a compelling final. Let’s watch … 48m ago 15.00 EST Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Graham Ruthven’s lookahead to today’s final. MLS Cup final preview: LAFC’s shot at creating a soccer dynasty Read more Explore more on these topics MLS US sports
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