The Portland Timbers marked their return from the World Cup break in style as they thrashed the Seattle Sounders 5-1 at Lumen Field.

Kevin Kelsy's brace led the way, while David da Costa provided two assists as Jack Cassidy's reign as interim head coach got off to the perfect start.

After Paul Rothrock saw an early goal ruled out for offside, Kelsy put Portland ahead at the other end with a stunning header in the 19th minute from Jimer Fory's cross.

The Timbers remained on top but had to wait until the 56th minute to double their lead, with defender Kamal Miller, who made a last-ditch clearance for his side in the first half, poking in from Brandon Bye's header back across the box.

And Portland's second truly opened the floodgates, with two more goals coming in the following seven minutes; Cole Bassett's deflected strike found its way past Andrew Thomas before Kelsy scored a simple tap-in on the rebound moments later.

The Timbers were denied a clean sheet when Hassani Dotson scored a clever header from a corner, but the visitors still had the last laugh as substitute Alexander Aravena netted in the 98th minute.

Elsewhere, St. Louis City continued their strong form before the break with a 3-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City.

Despite squandering a two-goal lead, as Capita and Dejan Joveljic cancelled out strikes from Jeong Sang-bin and Marcel Hartel, Eduard Lowen secured all three points from the penalty spot in the 85th minute.

CF Montreal and Toronto FC played out a goalless draw at Stade Saputo, while the Chicago Fire's clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps was postponed until October.

Cassidy stakes his claim for permanent role

Cassidy could not have dreamt of a better start to his interim role, with Portland ending a three-game winless run by defeating sixth-place Seattle (Western Conference).

This is the first time the Timbers have won by four or more goals at Lumen Field, while it is the joint-heaviest home defeat in Seattle's history.

Portland produced 2.24 expected goals (xG) to Seattle's 0.53, with 10 of the visitors' 20 shots hitting the target – a season-high for the Timbers.

Kelsy led the way in attack with his brace; he has now scored seven goals this season, his joint-best in a single MLS campaign (also seven in 2025).

The Timbers are now up to 11th in the West, one place and two points behind St. Louis, who are on a five-game unbeaten run in the league.