Coming off a five match winning streak, the Sounders had a chance to make a statement at home against LAFC. The opportunity to see how they measure up against one of the top teams in the league was in their grasp. Indeed, they made quite a statement, losing 3-0 and showing that the Sounders have work to do before competing with teams like the one that trounced them in their home stadium. A Seattle team set up with talented players looked surprisingly uncomfortable with each other, and had almost no cohesion. The early-season woes were back, where they couldn’t finish their chances and small errors snowballed in the opponent’s favor. This was too much to overcome, and the Sounders looked outmatched, out-coached, and largely untalented, in an utterly disappointing loss. An early scramble ended in a deficit that changed the entire match. It’s impossible to know what went on there, but this is a team built on defensive prowess and offensive opportunism, and we had neither against LAFC.
Seattle Sounders Fraud meter: 5. I honestly don’t know whether Seattle is a good team that had an unlucky and unusually bad result, or a bad team that deserved it.
Goalkeeper
Stefan Frei – 5 | Community – 5.1
After earning a bunch of shutouts playing lousy teams, Frei faced a good one and conceded three. That doesn’t mean it’s time to retire, but the team needed direction and he didn’t provide it, even given multiple opportunities to show leadership and composure from the back. He did come out well in the 9th minute to retrieve a ball that was threatening behind an out of position Cristian Roldan. But Frei has repeatedly been caught making bad decisions on set pieces, and he finally ran into a team good enough to make him pay. He made a terrible play in the 26th minute on a ball he was nowhere near, and LAFC easily scored as Frei stood ineffectively on the 6 after whiffing on the original cross. Prior to that goal, the Sounders had conceded a weird penalty but were otherwise controlling play and had an opportunity to deal with a non-threatening set piece and continue the pressure. Instead, this blunder meant they went into half down 2-0. Ten minutes after this, he again made a poor choice to come out and nearly made another big mistake. The fact he was only credited with a single save is telling; LAFC had only four shots on goal and he saved one. That one came in the 80th minute as he stopped Denis Bouanga from scoring a hat trick.
Fraud meter: 5. Normally Frei does all the little, technical things well. He didn’t do that here and hasn’t looked great on set pieces this season.
Defense
Nouhou – 5 | Community – 4.8 (off 56’ for Ruidíaz)
Nouhou played 55 minutes and statistically did fine, limiting attacks down his side and preventing big breakthroughs that were prevalent down the opposite side. His four tackles and three clearances were good defensive numbers for his time on the field. His 82 percent passing was just okay, but he won three headers and was often on an island behind a forward-minded Reed Baker-Whiting and did well to defend on his wing. The left side got decidedly less defensive after he subbed. And yet, his night is defined by the first goal conceded. I still can’t tell if he fell, was pushed, or decided to jump on the ball face first. The fact that the third option is the most likely is just insane. Upon further analysis, everything started on the right with multiple failures to contain pressure, and Nouhou’s position central is a strong supporting spot, but everything degenerates after that. Frei makes a mess of things and Nouhou’s previously strong defensive positioning means he’s right in the middle of the scrum and who knows from there. However, to be fair, that one play didn’t ruin the game as Seattle continued to struggle for the rest of the match, conceded twice more, and failed to score on plenty of opportunities.
Fraud meter: 5. Nouhou’s defending is often elite, but that one play erases other defensive work in this one. We need either strong defense or forward momentum, preferably both, and this was neither.
Jackson Ragen – 6 (MOTM) | Community – 5.6
Jackson was his usual solid self against LAFC, anchoring a shaky first half defense and being a vital connective source of distribution in the second half. The cleanest non-sub on the field, his 96 percent passing was crisp and, most importantly, to a Sounders teammate. He paired that with a team-high five clearances and generally handled the pressure of a big game better than those around him. As the left and right back situations cycled through potential options, and defensive midfielders kept turning over the ball, Ragen was a calming presence who helped Seattle retain the vast majority of possession. LAFC didn’t want (or need) possession, but it was important that Ragen utilize his team-high 118 touches in a careful manner, and he did that. The only passes he missed all night were aggressive, over-the-top attempts looking for attacking runs. He even pushed into the attacking third late and created some chances with direct dribbling and passing into the box, trying to see whether any attacker was alive and breathing.
Fraud meter: 2. We all remember Jackson’s early year struggles, but this was yet another solid outing.
Yeimar – 6 | Community – 6.0 (MOTM)
Yeimar individually was strong. He had 96 percent passing, eliminating some of the egregious distribution errors he’s known for. He had two tackles and two clearances, solid numbers against a team that didn’t want to possess the ball and relied on deadly counter attacks to create most of their danger. His distribution was extremely conservative, with a few attempts to push the ball directly to attacking areas being unsuccessful. That is likely a byproduct of having a very active Cristian Roldan in possession next to him, but it’s notable that Yeimar’s interception numbers have dropped, with him becoming a less aggressive defender as he adjusts to the different pieces around him.
Fraud meter: 2. Yeimar has been the most solid defender on the team all season, but it’s worth considering his connection with Cristian to the right of him.
Cristian Roldan – 5 | Community – 5.1 (off 73’ for Musovski)
Cristian had a terrible time defending, which is a bad thing when you’re a defender. The right back position where he’s looked so good was completely abused by a team that sat back and quickly counterattacked the areas he vacated. Without any cover in front of him from Pedro de la Vega, Roldan’s natural inclination to play centrally opened up massive areas in the exact part of the field LAFC wanted to attack. They scored twice by forcing down his wing. This was an all-around bad combination on the right, but Cristian was especially rough. On the first goal in the 12th minute he was beaten multiple times on the same play. None of that happens if he just stops the first man, or limits the channels into the box, but instead he took a bad angle and then overplayed as a cross was allowed into a dangerous area. His poor play gave LAFC the 26th minute free kick they scored their second off of, after he was again beaten. Cristian had as bad of a first half as he is probably capable of, and he showed much better when moved into a central area and given the ability to connect forward.
Fraud meter: 6. You gotta defend to play defender. Maybe it is just a matter of getting Cristian a worker in front who is more positionally strict and supportive.
Defensive Midfield
Obed Vargas – 5 | Community – 5.7
Obed hasn’t put up good performances against good teams, and this was another example of how good midfields can chew him up. In the first half, he and João Paulo were a mess, and Cristian was consistently pulled inside to babysit the possession. The second half ironed out some of the spacing issues, and Vargas played better in a more advanced distributor role. This led to his strong offensive contribution of a shot and three key passes in a second half that Seattle dominated at times, although this was part of the LAFC game plan: part game state, and part “who cares if you don’t actually score any goals?” On the night, Obed wasn’t particularly noteworthy on defense, which is a problem for a central group that took the first half off. Offensively, he somehow kicked over the bar from three yards out in the 92nd minute as Seattle poured on offensive pressure and fed their xG numbers without actually, you know, scoring from three yards out. Vargas in the last ten minutes padded his “nearly had the important pass before the assist” numbers.
Fraud meter: 4. Almost all of his good play came in the last 10 minutes. If Obed wants to be considered more than a prospect he has to consistently show high-level play against high-level teams.
João Paulo – 4 | Community – 5.2 (off 56’ for Alex Roldan)
There have been games this year where JP has looked fantastic, showing the DP label proudly and spraying passes around the field in a deep-lying playmaker position while concurrently defending like a menace in front of what becomes a back two due to his dominance. This was not one of those games. Instead he looked old, slow, and completely ineffective. His lack of positive impact on the match was huge. A single tackle. A single interception. Three off-target shots. A single accurate long ball. Only four recoveries. One bad foul for which he earned a yellow card. This was a mess of a match for a guy who, when he is on, can be the engine of the team. Playing like he did against LAFC showed none of his capabilities. This outing was a mess, reminding us of earlier in the year where he admitted he wasn’t playing up to his standards. His ineffectiveness was a big part of the first half struggles, as he was late to and/or unable to cover areas in transition, which was all LAFC used to attack. When playing poorly, JP becomes single-directional, and teams can ignore defense on his back half, or force him to pass backwards while he appears to have lost the ability to turn and force pressure into higher value areas.
Fraud meter: 7. The team frankly looked better when JP wasn’t on the field, which is an awful thing to say about a great player. Maybe this is a one-off return to his earlier struggles and he will be back to good/great next match. The doubt is creeping in.
Attacking Midfield
Reed Baker-Whiting – 5 | Community – 5.2
Reed played in a few positions in this match. He started on the left and as the center pulled together, he pushed very high on the wing as almost a wide forward. This wasn’t hugely successful as Seattle struggled to find the right balance in the first half. At times he was the most advanced of the Sounder attackers, and moved across the field as Seattle attempted to find a mix of personnel to take advantage of the big possession edge they were granted. In the second half, after Nouhou was removed, he played “left back” but was more of a left wing back as LAFC didn’t have any need to attack much by that point, and when they did they scored right behind Reed. A single shot off target and two key passes with the second-most touches in the match from an advanced attacking position wasn’t enough output in a role that Seattle desperately needed to create and combine in the offense.
Fraud meter: 4. Reed doesn’t position himself like a full back, so it’s not fair to judge him on that, outside of noting that it’s not a surprise he was slow to react and trailed Bouanga on the third goal. As a winger, he has been exciting at times and just okay at others. What he isn’t doing is translating that excitement into actual goalscoring actions.
Albert Rusnák – 5 | Community – 5.4
Seeing Rusnák try to combine with Pedro was hard to watch in the first half. The entire Sounders offense looked like it was in prime preseason form, getting to know each other instead of some 25 matches into the season. Albert was on an island in the first half, receiving service from no one except JP and sometimes Nouhou. He was a non factor and even though Seattle had a few good half chances, Albert didn’t excel until PDLV left at halftime. This brought more of the match through Rusnák, and he delivered with a team-high four key passes. Setting up others in this match was a lesson in futility, however, as no matter how good of a chance they got, Seattle refused to score. His composure, game management, and control helped the Sounders to a large possession lead and plenty of good chances, but in this match Rusnák was never the main character.
Fraud meter: 5. In the biggest games, Seattle’s biggest players have to lead by example. There were no defining moments where you could say “yeah, Albert can single-handedly break the game open” which was in stark contrast to the other side of the field.
Pedro de la Vega – 4 | Community – 5.2 (off 46’ for Rothrock)
It was fun to see him play. He did nothing exceptional and struggled to connect with pretty much everyone around him. He got more passes from the center backs than anyone else, illustrating how the front four didn’t gel as Pedro roamed around looking for impact and forced others to do similarly. In the 24th minute he had a nice try from outside the box but this was indicative of the problem in the tactics: Cristian was ahead of him crossing backwards, and Pedro was late arriving to take a hopeful shot from 25 yards out. The gap behind them moments later was used to win a free kick LAFC ended up scoring from. Yet again, Pedro generally looked incapable of connecting with teammates. His passing remains dismal, 56 percent completion in this match which may have been an improvement over previous outings. Either way, he is not connecting with Sounders when kicking the ball, and his dribbling, while fun to watch, isn’t producing for himself or others. The man who replaced him had similar statistics to him, yet seemed much more productive, which is a significant thing to say about both of them, to be honest. There is a good, perhaps great player in there but this formation, the way this team moved and connected, and PDLV’s integration into it was a mess.
Fraud meter: 7. Sure, he’s an eight million dollar man. Sure, he’s exciting. Sure, he’s the future of the franchise you build around. At some point, he needs to be all those things AND combine with teammates while being goal dangerous. He hasn’t been. And I don’t want to wait for next year.
Forward
Jordan Morris – 6 | Community – 5.4 (off 87’ for Musovski)
Morris played well, considering the mess the team was in tactically, the distinct lack of space that LAFC allowed him to work in, and the lack of defensive composure that put them into a two-goal hole, which then allowed the away team to further compress the field. De la Vega’s movement and positioning were hard for both Morris and Rusnák to combine with in the first half, although in the 12th minute, Pedro nearly found Jordan for a big chance. Morris’ three shots all came from deep inside the box, and he turned 38 touches into those three shots and two key passes. The offense stretched the field better in the second half and Jordan worked hard to help connect with others into the box. His 92 percent passing was aggressive but also included some nice holdup play as he sat deep against a packed LAFC defense and played with his back to the goal as needed. It’s this creation and his near-assists that highlighted a tough outing for the entire squad.
Fraud meter: 2. Needless to say, the front group has to learn to play better together in the first half, but Jordan continues to be a solid striker who creates opportunities every match.
Substitutes
Paul Rothrock – 6 | Community – 5.4 (on 46’ for PDLV)
Paul came in and more than anything, reset the Sounders into a tactical shape they were comfortable with. Whatever chaotic energy Seattle had that led to them struggling to look like a cohesive unit added a dab of Rothrock and looked improved, with the entire shape looking more “normal” — i.e. Morris at the tip of the spear and getting service directly from Albert and the wide midfielders. Paul had similar touches to the guy he replaced (34) but completed 100 percent of his passes and combined in a tactical way that helped Seattle hold momentum and be in control of the ball for long periods. Unfortunately, that control didn’t translate into actual goal-dangerous moments until the last 10 minutes, although Paul had a nice attempt early in the second half as well as a 93rd minute shot that was hit strongly, but right at the keeper.
Fraud meter: 3. Paul does everything at a high-mid level, and that should be enough, except this team lacks game-breaking talent.
Raúl Ruidíaz – 5 | Community – 4.9 (on 56’ for Nouhou)
Ruidíaz came in and immediately took an ill-advised long shot that threatened no one. He followed this up with a set piece that he punted into the ECS. It improved immensely from there, however, as he ended with a team-high four shots. He was robbed on a chance headed off the line in the 94th minute, in what could have been a (small) consolation goal. The point isn’t that he took two crummy shots, it’s that Raúl has looked strong as a substitute and is getting into more of those dangerous areas where he’s at his best.
Fraud meter: 5. As a sub, Raúl looks energetic, useful, and goal dangerous, with the caveat that he has to actually start scoring some of the great chances he’s getting.
Alex Roldan – 5 | Community – 4.9 (on 56’ for JP)
Alex came into the right side and shored up the defense that had often been transitioned on prior, although much of that credit is likely due to Steve Cherundolo. His team clearly didn’t need to attack much in a second half spent laughing at Seattle’s offensive futility while high-fiving Allen Chapman. For Roldan’s part, he helped fix some tactical stuff, got into great areas, and was part of a number of big chances with his right side shouldering the offensive load after he arrived. He stayed much more on the wing than his brother had and sent in a number of strong crosses. He found Morris in the 84th for a header and was involved in most of the late chances.
Fraud meter: 6. Still wary of his poor year so far, but Alex has looked better after being quite awful and correctly losing his starting job.
Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 4.2 (on 73’ for C. Roldan)
Musovski came in and was part of the Seattle push at the end of the game to make the xG numbers look better than they perhaps deserved. With a mighty seven touches, Moose returned 50 percent passing. I had to rewind the tape four times to determine that it was, indeed, Musovski who nearly scored near-post in the 95th minute, forcing a big save that prevented Seattle’s consolation goal.
Fraud meter: 8. Where the goals, bro? (Pokes Danny with stick.)
Referee
Allen Chapman – 3 | Community – 2.7
I am not saying that Chapman and VAR Edvin Jurisevic lost Seattle the match. But when playing a team that wants to counter and counter only, to go behind is devastating, and the manner in which Seattle went behind was unlikely to be called similarly by another staff. The penalty goal was caused by a scramble without anything definitive about it. The second goal came from a soft foul call in conflict with the rest of the match. There were about five handball shouts in this match and they only appeared to check the ones versus Seattle, thus only Seattle conceded a penalty. From my vantage point, LAFC was diving and simulating and looking for calls in the 10th minute and beyond. And I had a darn good view of Morris and Rothrock being at least hampered if not fouled early in the second half, and to give Paul a simulation card immediately when he 1) was kicked, and 2) did not simulate but got back to his feet to chase the ball, was horrible refereeing. This did not directly change the game (a PK awarded would have though!) but it was the consistent wrong calls that allowed one team to increase their advantage through poor reffing that changed this from a competitive game to a frustrating one.
Fraud meter: 10. Just WTF are you doing?
LAFC MOTM
Over the course of 90 minutes, Dénis Bouanga showed why he was head and shoulders above every other player on the field. He scored two, dispatching the penalty, then dispatching the match as a whole off a counter in the 74th minute.
Fraud meter: 1. He made RBW look his age by RRBH.
Upcoming: Leagues Cup.
