Two steps forward, one step back: LAFC smack Sounders

SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders fell 3-0 to LAFC in their final MLS game before the start of Leagues Cup. With a chance to establish their contender bona fides and take another step towards the top tier of Western Conference sides, Seattle came up wanting after a pair of first half goals from LAFC as Denis Bouanga scored a 16th minute penalty and Mateusz Bogusz added another banger to his tally in the 24th, then Bouanga put the game away with a goal in the 74th.

The first half couldn’t have been much more frustrating for the Sounders. Seattle had an exciting foray into the final third in the 12th minute when Cristian Roldan found Obed Vargas in a pocket of space, then Vargas played a ball in behind for Pedro de la Vega to run onto. De la Vega tried to hit the ball back centrally for Jordan Morris, but the ball got deflected away by a defender and a minute later a penalty was called for LAFC on the opposite end. A sloppy bit of play resulted in a sort of dogpile in the mouth of Stefan Frei’s goal, with Nouhou falling on top of the ball and touching it with his arm in the process as Frei attempted to grab hold of the ball. The play went to video review, but the call was upheld and Denis Bouanga stepped up to the spot and fired LAFC to a 1-0 lead.

About 10 minutes later Seattle had another dangerous look in attack with PdlV taking a shot from the top of the box in the 24th minute that went out for a corner. Then in the 26th minute Frei came out to punch a free kick, but couldn’t get close with a crowd in front of him and ended up punching Jackson Ragen instead. The ball was deflected back out and Mateusz Bogusz volleyed it straight into the back of an empty net to double their lead. Seattle kept pushing over the rest of the half, but couldn’t find their breakthrough.

Seattle started the second half well, with an exciting play setting up a good shot for Paul Rothrock in the first minute of the half, but there wasn’t much joy to be had after that. In the 74th minute Kai Kamara got on the ball in a pocket of space in front of Seattle’s defense and hit a through ball for Denis Bouanga. Bouanga sprinted behind with Reed Baker-Whiting accompanying him and trying to put him off, but in the end Bouanga won the challenge and smashed a low shot into the net to make it 3-0.

Frei made a really good save in the 80th to deny Bouanga a hat trick, and from there the Sounders seemed to find some intensity that they had lacked for much of the game. They put together a handful of really good looks over the last 10 minutes of regulation and stoppage time, but for all their efforts they couldn’t find a way through Hugo Lloris and the LAFC defense.

The Sounders now head into the Leagues Cup “break” with their first game on Friday, July 26 against Minnesota United back at Lumen Field.

Key moments

12 - Obed Vargas finds Pedro de la Vega running down the right wing with a slick pass. De la Vega sends the ball across for Morris, but it’s deflected to Hugo Lloris.

13 - A penalty is called for a handball by Nouhou, and he receives a yellow card. Allen Chapman goes to the monitor to confirm the call.

16 - Goal, LAFC. After review, Denis Bouanga steps to the spot and roofs his penalty. 1-0 LAFC

24 - De La Vega rips a shot from the top of the box after some nice work to keep the play alive in a dangerous area, but his effort goes a little high and wide.

26 - Goal, LAFC. Frei comes out to punch a cross and gets Jackson Ragen instead. Mateusz Bogusz fires the clearance into the back of the net to double the lead. 2-0 LAFC

38 - Some exciting possession for the Sounders around the edge of the box following a really nice pressure tackle from RBW, but nothing comes of it.

45+2 - RBW has a nice look from the top of the box, but like so many of the shots before it this one sails over the bar.

46 - Some clever interplay around the right corner at the top of LAFC’s penalty area results in Paul Rothrock finding a gap and taking a shot, but it’s out for a goal kick.

74 - Goal, LAFC. Denis Bouanga races behind the back line and fights off RBW’s challenge before hammering his shot beyond Frei’s reach to extend the lead. 3-0

80 - Frei makes a huge save to keep the game from getting even worse, closing down Denis Bouanga in open space and getting down to block the shot.

84 - Morris gets a header on a cross from the end line, but the shot is easily caught by Lloris.

90+2 - A wild sequence that includes a real penalty shout for Raúl Ruidíaz and a great look from Rothrock, but no luck for the Sounders in the end.

90+4 - Ruidíaz has one hell of a look from near the penalty spot, but it’s headed off the line.

90+5 - An excellent play by Obed Vargas to find space and get a low cross to Danny Musovski at the near post, but Lloris makes an outstanding save to keep the clean sheet.

Quick thoughts

Individual errors are back, baby: The Sounders had been able to eliminate silly, unforced errors throughout their seven-game unbeaten run. That made their margins a lot healthier, as they didn’t need to be perfect as a whole to get results. They built on that stability with improved attacking play and strung together an impressive run of games as they climbed back up the table. Against LAFC, one of if not the best team in the West, the individual errors came home. Nouhou had absolutely no reason to do whatever he was doing when he was called for the handball, as he actively blocked Frei’s path to the ball, and as a result Seattle were behind 16 minutes in. Frei had his own error in the 26th, misjudging a free kick into the box and coming out to punch with no real chance of reaching the ball. Instead he got Jackson Ragen with his punch and as he and the defense scrambled LAFC’s second goal hit the back of the net. Those two plays allowed the game to further shift into LAFC’s hands, and the Sounders never recovered.

A series of bad moments: We’ve discussed in recent weeks the idea that the Sounders are a “moments” team. During the run of results coming into this game, those moments had pretty consistently been good ones, but the problem with being a moments team is that it’s a two-edged sword. Tonight, like so many times earlier in the season, when those moments came up Seattle were the side who came up on the losing side. Individual errors and a couple moments of brilliance from LAFC sank Seattle despite an otherwise pretty solid performance. The Sounders need to find their edge, and they need to find it more consistently, otherwise when the chips are down they’re likely to keep finding themselves in this position.

The reality of a perceived talent gap: Brian Schmetzer, Jackson Ragen, and Cristian Roldan all seemed to be on the same page when asked about an apparent gap in the talent between the Sounders and the top teams in the league. Specifically speaking to the teams in the West, they all felt that the Sounders have the players to be able to hang with LAFC, the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, even if they haven’t been able to get results against them this season. That may be true, but it seems to edge around the real crux of the matter: Seattle can hang with those sides, but the margin for error is razor thin. For the Sounders to win against the top teams at this moment, let alone to put up a 3-0 result, they need to play perfectly. That’s not the case for their opponents in these matchups. Seattle can certainly get more out of the group of players they have available, especially as de la Vega continues to build fitness and form, and get more familiar with his teammates, but to really make a difference against the best of the best they need an infusion of talent.

Notable quote

“We lost the duels battle, and that is one of my favorite stats. The ref let a couple things go… and they won more duels than us.” - Brian Schmetzer

Player spotlight

Reed Baker-Whiting – RBW wasn’t perfect, but he showed once again why the Sounders are so high on him as he played both as a winger and a fullback throughout the night. He got outmuscled after going step-for-step with Bouanga on the third goal, but the goal doesn’t rest on his shoulders.