Atlanta United beat Portland Timbers to win MLS Cup in second season - in pictures

Atlanta United cemented their meteoric rise in Major League Soccer by beating the Portland Timbers 2-0 in the MLS Cup final on Sunday after just their second season in existence.

Atlanta's MLS Most Valuable Player Josef Martinez led the way in front of a league-record crowd of 73,019 at Mercedes Benz Stadium, opening the scoring in the 39th minute with his 35th goal of the 2018 campaign.

Argentine defender Franco Escobar doubled the score in the 54th minute as Atlanta made manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino's last match at the helm a victory before he departs to take over the Mexico national team.

"If I had to choose a way to leave somewhere, this is the best way," former Barcelona and Argentina manager Martino said. "We won it, it feels good.

The contest boasted a distinctly South American flavor. Martino's opposite number at Portland was former Venezuela international Giovanni Savarese, who said he was proud of his side.

"It was not just Josef Martínez's game, it was a good game for his team, it was also a good game for us, I think everyone in the stadium has seen a good match today," Savarese said.

"I would not change anything, I think we did a good job, I think we did not have the fortune to score at the right moments, I think our second half was fantastic, we fought a lot to try to achieve the result we wanted."

Check out the photo gallery above for the best pictures from the MLS Cup final. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.