Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter and striker Fanendo Adi spoke after the team beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Sunday about picking up where they left off at the end of last season.

That's when they beat the Crew 2-1 in Columbus to win the MLS Cup.

On Sunday, before a sellout crowd at Providence Park, the Timbers got the first goal and the last, showing off speed and structure that looked more midseason than opening game.

"This game was crucial to put a marker down a little bit," Porter said. "This talk of being complacent, this talk of now teams wanting to beat us even more is talk, really.

"We showed today that we picked up right where we left off at the end of the year," Porter continued. "Last year wasn't an anomaly."

Adi said of his game-winning goal, which came in the 79th minute, "I saw the ball, maybe it was going to hit the crossbar but you never know. So I was going to break the bar to put the ball in the net."

-- Molly Blue