MLS Cup 2021 was the 26th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the conclusion of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. The soccer match was played on December 11, 2021, at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was contested by hosts Portland Timbers and New York City FC to determine the champion of the 2021 season.
New York City FC won their first MLS Cup title by defeating the Timbers in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw in regulation and extra time. NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson was named the match's most valuable player (MVP) for his performance in the shootout, which included two saves. The match was broadcast by ABC and drew an audience of 1.14 million viewers in the United States.
Road to the final
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 2021 season was the 26th in MLS history, and was contested by 27 teams organized into the eastern and western conferences. Each team played 34 matches during the regular season from April to early November, primarily against intra-conference opponents with the schedule varying based on conference to minimize travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The playoffs, running from November to early December, were contested between the top seven clubs in each conference through four rounds. Each round had a single-elimination match hosted by the higher-seeded team; the top team in each conference was also given a bye to the Conference Semifinals.
The finalists, the Portland Timbers and New York City FC (NYCFC), both finished as the fourth seed in the western and eastern conferences, respectively. The Timbers finished with four more points and were named hosts for the MLS Cup final. Portland previously won the MLS Cup in the 2015 final and lost in the 2018 final, while NYCFC had never advanced to a previous final. The two clubs did not play each other in the regular season and last met in the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament quarterfinals, where the Timbers won 3–1. It was the seventh consecutive season where the Western Conference champion was either Portland or their rivals Seattle Sounders FC, who have won the cup twice.
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers had previously won the MLS Cup in 2015 and finished as runners-up in 2018 under new manager Giovanni Savarese. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the club finished as champions of the MLS is Back Tournament in Florida and third in the Western Conference, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by FC Dallas in a penalty shootout. During the 2020–21 offseason, the Timbers traded away two of their left backs, Jorge Villafaña and Marco Farfan, and acquired wingbacks Claudio Bravo and Josecarlos Van Rankin as replacements. The club also signed Chilean striker Felipe Mora to a permanent contract after his one-year loan from Pumas UNAM expired. Portland were expected to rely heavily on their veteran midfield trio of Diego Chará, Diego Valeri, and Sebastián Blanco (who was injured for most of the 2020 season).
Portland started the season with three wins and four losses in their first seven matches, earning nine points and holding seventh place in the Western Conference by June. The Timbers also played in the CONCACAF Champions League, having qualified through the MLS is Back Tournament, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Club América in early May. The inconsistent performances were blamed in part on the loss of several key players to injuries, including winger Andy Polo, starting goalkeepers Jeff Attinella and Steve Clark, backup goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, and midfielder Diego Chará. By the end of May, ten of their players were listed as injured or otherwise unable to play.
Following an early June break in league play for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Timbers were able to earn a win against Sporting Kansas City and a comeback draw with the Houston Dynamo to reach fifth in the conference. Savarese used different formations in each match to rotate players, switching from a 4–2–3–1 against Kansas City to a 5–2–3 for Houston and a subsequent match against Minnesota United FC that ended in a loss. Portland dropped below the playoffs cutoff to eighth place in the west following road losses to Austin FC, Minnesota, and the LA Galaxy in July; the club had, however, won their two home matches against FC Dallas and Los Angeles FC.