Los Angeles FC and Columbus Crew will meet in the Leagues Cup final after convincing victories in their semifinal encounters on Wednesday.

LAFC defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-0 in California, setting up a repeat of last year’s MLS Cup final, which the Crew won.

Uruguayan Diego Rossi scored twice as Major League Soccer champions Columbus beat Philadelphia Union 3-1 in Ohio.

The Leagues Cup pits the top clubs from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX against each other, but no Mexican team made it to the last four of the tournament, which was played entirely in the United States.

Polish striker Mateusz Bogusz gave LAFC the lead in the 42nd minute. Bogusz took a pass from Jesus Murillo on the left half, cut inside and fired the ball into the bottom corner.

Two minutes later, the well-travelled striker Kei Kamara increased the lead to 2-0. The 39-year-old converted with an inside-of-the-foot shot after a pass from left-back Ryan Hollingshead.

Former Arsenal and France striker Olivier Giroud came on as a substitute at half-time for his third appearance and is slowly finding his way into the team, but it was fellow countryman Denis Bouanga who decided the game for Colorado.

The goal-scoring Bouanga finished off a quick counterattack with a precise finish in the 59th minute, scoring his sixth goal of the tournament.

Giroud had a good chance to score his first goal for his new club, but his shot was saved by the outstretched leg of Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

English midfielder Lewis O’Brien sealed the victory in the 75th minute with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box.

In the other semi-final, the Crew had the upper hand from the start and took the lead in the 12th minute when Colombian striker Cucho Hernandez broke in from the left and his low shot was saved by Union goalkeeper Andre Blake but found its way straight to Rossi, whose diving header flew lightning fast into the net.

But Columbus’ tendency to overplay defense cost them dearly in the 32nd minute when their defender Yevhen Cheberko was robbed by Nathan Harriel on the edge of his box and Daniel Gazdag fired the ball home to equalize.

But two minutes before halftime, Columbus restored its lead: Rossi played a clever one-two with Christian Ramirez and then shot past Blake to make it 2-1.

It was Rossi’s sixth goal in the Leagues Cup, making him joint top scorer of the tournament with Bouanga, even though Columbus received a bye into the group stage.

Hernandez sealed the win with the Crew’s third goal in the 53rd minute – Steven Moreira sent in a cross from the right flank that Hernandez converted with a solid header. Blake parried the shot, but the Colombian scored the third goal.

Rossi nearly scored a hat-trick with a close-range header that Blake tipped over the bar, and although Patrick Schulte parried a last-minute shot from Samuel Adeniran, the Crew’s victory was never in danger.

The two finalists have both qualified for next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup and will compete in that tournament along with the winner of the third-place match between Philadelphia and Colorado on Sunday.