For 60 or so minutes, the Seattle Sounders looked like a team ready to make history in the Leagues Cup final. After a relatively even first half, they had grabbed the opener shortly after halftime and were furiously pressing for a second. During the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Sounders looked to be doing to Club León what we’ve all grown accustomed to Liga MX teams doing to MLS opponents over the years: finding a sliver of advantage and then busting it wide open.
Only the second goal didn’t come.
Despite two particularly glorious opportunities on counter-attacks — a breakaway by Raúl Ruidíaz in which he missed a wide open Cristian Roldan and a Roldan cross that Ruidíaz crashed off the near post — the Sounders still found themselves clinging to a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes remaining.