Leagues Cup winners and losers: Cavan Sullivan delivers best performance of his young career, Robert Lewandowski shows his class and Kris Valde blows up at Providence Park fans

New Philadelphia Union manager Ryan Richter has done a fine job of managing Cavan Sullivan. His general principle? Let the kid play. While first Jim Curtin and then Bradley Carnell were cautious in their approach with the immensely gifted teenager, Richter has taken the handbrake off. In Richter's five games in charge - four of which have been wins - Sullivan's minutes have read: 85, 89, 89, 90 and 60.

Soccer is very much a learn-on-the-job sport, with senior football paramount in letting youngsters develop. And Sullivan is experiencing it in full. Sure, there have been some imperfections, clips in which the teenager still overplays or tries to do a little too much. But Saturday night, he played a wonderful hour of football. The teenager scored one and assisted another. He completed all of his dribbles and put in vital legwork as the Union managed a 3-1 win over Necaxa to keep them alive in the Leagues Cup.

Velde didn't play all that badly in Portland's 3-1 loss to Liga MX giants Club America. He bagged a truly lovely equalizer in the 20th minute, dancing through the defense to bring an otherwise tepid Timbers side back into the game. It's what happened after that that defined his night. When asked about the atmosphere - which featured plenty of Club America shirts - Velde had a pretty emphatic answer:

"Shit, shit, shit, shit. Ton of yellow [shirts] in our own home. I've never seen this in my life. I don't understand how it's possible," he told reporters at full time.

Maybe don't do that in your home stadium?

It always felt like Lewandowski just needed a spark to come alive. After going scoreless in his first two MLS games, the Polish striker has found a bit of form. Perhaps more importantly, though, he has reminded the world of just how good he can be.

He bagged twice against Charlotte on Aug. 1 - both of which were classic striker's finishes. And Sunday night seemed primed to be a bit of a frustrating one. Through 90 minutes, Lewandowski has created the most chances on the pitch, tallied the most touches in the opposition box, and taken the most shots. It seemed like one of those days. Then, the goal came. He reacted first to a rebound to score Chicago's third of the night in a convincing 3-1 win.

His tap-in not only iced the fixture but also reinforced something a little: Lewandowski is mightily experienced. Other players might have lost their temper, given up, or, well, stopped trying. But the Pole waited for his moment, and even if his goal was a scrappy one, it was mightily deserved.

To be sure, there were some mitigating circumstances in Inter Miami's 2-1 loss to Monterrey Saturday night. Chief among them was the absence of Lionel Messi due to the tragic death of his father. Some things are bigger than football, and missing your star player - due to the worst of circumstances, no less - is a tricky thing to overcome.

Yet there was still a football match to be played. And Miami were far from convincing at home. Manager Guillermo Hoyos went more or less full strength at home. But without the suspended Luis Suarez, absent Messi and injured German Berterame, the Herons were pretty toothless in attack. Their familiar defensive frailties reared their heads, too, and they could have few complaints when former Chicago Fire man Hugo Cuypers bagged a 90th-minute winner that puts Miami's Leagues Cup hopes in real danger. Miami, to be clear, are allowed to lose games. No team is ever perfect.

But this one did raise some larger questions about the post-Messi universe that they will, no doubt, have to prepare for. When he goes, who takes the reins? Saturday night didn't offer much of a reassurance.

How Seattle needed that! It has been a miserable spell for the Sounders, who tallied a franchise-equalling seven-game losing streak from May 16 to Aug. 5. Nothing was going right for the MLS giants, who had no response to a glut of injury woes in midfield - Cristian Roldan chief among them - and a defense that could not stop conceding goals.

Well, on Saturday night, Roldan returned to the starting XI. And it was no coincidence that they looked so much more effective. The balance was there. Seattle controlled the game throughout, seeing the majority of the ball, allowing just one "big chance" and creating plenty of good stuff of their own. Queretaro FC couldn't handle cult hero Paul Rothrock on the left, who offered plenty of creativity and verve, and added two assists in a 3-0 win. It will be a tough few days. Seattle need to beat Chivas - probably by a pretty compelling margin - to secure a spot in the knockouts. But this was a result that gave them a chance and snapped a rut, too.

Turns out that the post-Sebastian Berhalter era in Vancouver might be a little more difficult to navigate than first thought. While Berhalter played all 90 minutes for Middlesbrough in his full debut and set up the winner in a 1-0 victory over Wrexham, his former teammates toiled at home. The Whitecaps went without Andrés Cubas, who wore the captain's armband in their first Leagues Cup fixture. The rugged midfielder has popped up in transfer talk of late, and Friday highlighted just how crucial he is for the Whitecaps.

The Canadian side were truly overrun without him, and even the return of Thomas Muller could not stop FC Juarez from running away with three vital points on Friday night. The stat sheet tells a story of Vancouver dominance and Juarez opportunism - the visitors scored three from six shots. But the reality is Vancouver were paper-thin, full of mistakes, and far too easy to hit on the break. They are now out of a tournament many would hope that they might compete for.