Seattle got another chance to play LAFC at home and again were unable to match up tactically or technically. It was the same story: an early goal, an inability to respond, more goals conceded, and no answers from the Sounders. The final was 3-0, but may as well have been 10-0 for as awful as it felt to be dominated again in the exact same fashion as a few weeks ago. It’s not entirely about skill levels or talent at this point; Seattle is just very vulnerable to the things that LAFC does well, and they can’t seem to adjust tactically to stop them. This result knocked the Sounders out of the Leagues Cup, a disappointing end to an up-and-down tournament where they’d had several good games. Those games led to more enthusiasm about the team’s play and optimism about the rest of the season, but this final Leagues Cup game was a downer.
After taking a few days to yet again process a devastating loss to LAFC, I’ve listed a few thoughts about players in that last game, plus what we learned from the tournament, given each player’s number of appearances.
Goalkeeper
Stefan Frei – 5
Frei had a nice 6th minute save, but after that pretty much everything LAFC tried they scored on, outside of his lone highlight in the 24th, which briefly kept the score at a single goal deficit. A lot of this game played out exactly like the previous one between these two teams, most notably a conceded counter attack early followed by a set piece goal, allowing the opponent to sit back and counter (which they did as well, scoring a third early in the second half). Frei wasn’t to blame for much of this, but he sure didn’t do anything above average to help the team.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (1 app): Frei is a good positional player, but he seems particularly weak on opponent breakaways, failing to close down angles aggressively. His hesitation on these plays overshadows his all-around management, which is excellent. He only played a single game in this tournament and shipped three goals, but there isn’t a better option right now, with Andrew Thomas showing better, but still inconsistent.
Defense
Nouhou – 5
Nouhou was fine in this match, offering his usual defense. He allowed some big chances — most notably in the 6th minute missing a curving through ball — but they didn’t end in goals. He also had some limited pushes forward, mostly in passive support of the offense, and he didn’t do anything crazy on either end of the field, which is usually fine for a mostly defensive player. Unfortunately, the game state was quickly thrown into LAFC’s favor, making much of Nouhou’s skillset a poor fit for the match that ensued. Part of the issue with Jackson Ragen stepping up would be mitigated by Nouhou tucking in or JP dropping back (neither of which happened effectively on Denis Bouanga’s goal, although both tried nobly). Ninety-five percent passing and 13 into the final third showed a muted but clean match from Nouhou, who wasn’t the problem, nor the answer.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): Nouhou was consistently strong in this tournament, shutting down his side and making better decisions on the offensive end. His ability to pressure the wing and win set pieces was vital to Seattle’s success in the Leagues Cup and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Jackson Ragen – 5
Ragen struggled against LAFC, unsure where to be positionally as the overloaded midfield and deceptive movement of Kei Kamara at times befuddled the Sounders back line. His ability to cover wide when Nouhou was beaten in the 10th minute was excellent, but his central defensive structure was a mess, often pulling too high and attempting to support a flagging offense, which directly led to the third LAFC goal. His 94 percent passing was great, but you know the team is in trouble if you need Ragen to be an extra midfielder. That being said, his silky footwork and distribution from a higher area did create a few opportunities for Seattle, and one big one for LAFC. Guess which team took advantage?
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): Ragen is a solid passer and positional player, but still struggles with transition defending. This is compounded at times by an overly aggressive forward push both defensively to attack opponents, and offensively when trying to support attackers without ideas. When he is pulled out of position, bad things happen, and his recovery speed is nonexistent. Seattle needs to find a defensive anchor to support in between the CBs if they are going to be vertically inclined, as the wings are already pushed high.
Yeimar – 5
Perhaps most indicative of Seattle’s poor play was the usually reliable Yeimar, who struggled to adjust to the defensive struggles on his right, and the increased need to support an overloaded center. His poor passing choices which had been absent in a resurgent Leagues Cup resume returned, setting a poor tone with multiple turnovers in the first five minutes. Similar to some of Ragen’s struggles, and very reminiscent of the last few times we played LAFC, it was a Yeimar overcommitment high on defense that led to a 24th minute breakaway and eventual goal against. The balance of aggression and backline cohesion was in disarray, and LAFC happily scored at will.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (4 app): Yeimar played like an elite defender in two games in this tourney, and not great in the other two. He was dominant in wins, often being a key element, but also struggled in losses. Yeimar was the best Sounder defender in this tournament and found an important attacking set piece ability along the way.
Alex Roldan – 4
After being impactful on both ends of the field in the previous matches, Roldan reverted to his poor play from earlier in the season. Gone was the immaculate cohesion with his brother, and with it the coordinated balance between attack and defense on the right side. This meant that inexplicably Ryan Hollingshead got behind both in the 14th minute to effectively end the match for Seattle. Alex had only seven passes into the final third and created almost zero offense for a Sounders team that was impotent in the attack.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): The right side is still somehow in question this late into the season, and that's a massive problem for a team that wants to compete for trophies. When Alex was good, Seattle was great. Against tougher competition, he struggled, and so did the Sounders. The right back job is likely his for the foreseeable future, which forces Seattle to play in a less dynamic, more predictable fashion.
Defensive Midfield
João Paulo – 6 (MOTM) (off 85’ for Leyva)
Although not great, JP played okay, which was good enough in this dreadful match to earn MOTM. Constantly on the ball, he had 105 touches and was clean with his passing, although not overly dynamic. Had Seattle been stronger in the middle, things may have been different, but JP was often alone transitioning the ball from side to side, and Seattle struggled when he got stretched out of the middle. He did have a 44th minute shot on a rare push forward, but the flip side was he was completely run by on Bouanga’s transition goal, lacking the speed to do more than wave as he ran past. JP needed more help against LAFC to be effective.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): JP isn’t a carrier of the team, more a distributive facilitator. When Seattle plays best, it's often with him supporting numbers going forward, but this removes his vital defensive presence from the middle of the field. Figuring out that dilemma is less important against teams Seattle can play through and who get stretched, but absolutely necessary against structured opponents like LAFC who can expose the gaping middle and counter in a fashion that victimizes this positioning.
Obed Vargas – 5 (off 61’ for Atencio)
Obed was pretty absent defensively from this match, again notably struggling whenever Seattle had a numbers disadvantage in the central midfield. This put a ton of pressure on JP and the central defenders, while also pulling the Roldans central at times. Vargas attempted to offset this positioning by driving forward, and had a 44th minute shot supporting the offense against a set and packed defense, but neither of his attempts on goal were close. His efforts were in vain, and at times he looked lost attempting to support two ways, resulting in an early second half sub.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): Against some teams, Vargas looks like the truth, stepping up and dominating midfield play. Against others, he is completely lost, getting exposed for his positioning and speed deficits, putting too much pressure on the backline. This is the inconsistency of youth, and he is rapidly improving across the board. At times he doesn’t look like a defensive midfielder, and that was evident in multiple matches this tournament.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Rothrock – 5 (off 61’ for Chú)
Early on, Paul was one of the few players willing to attack LAFC, which is more an indictment of his teammates than a comment about him. Rothrock at least attempted to get down the wing, cherry picking the defense to dance down the endline and nearly create something against multiple defenders in the first five minutes. Outside of those solo efforts that lacked both the end result and support of teammates, Rothrock faded into obscurity for most of the first half and was subbed out early in the second. Although always bringing high effort, he was dispossessed five times, and lost over half his duels, two big problems for a team needing defensive pressure from the width.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): For all of his effort and high work rate, Rothrock grades out as okay from his appearances in this tournament. That likely earns him the starting nod for the near future, as his tactical intelligence, ability to bring smart pressing, and active work rate pair well with the current Sounders starters. Although he is a great “vibes” guy, he’s probably keeping the starting spot warm for Pedro de la Vega should that dude ever get healthy.
Albert Rusnák – 5 (off 73’ for Baker-Whiting)
Albert Rusnák did not impose his will on this match like other DP level players did, and that was a big problem. He was fine: had a shot, clean passing, controlled play, strong set piece delivery, etc. Yet he was conspicuously absent from creating that big chance, making the game-defining play, and that was something Seattle desperately needed. With Seattle struggling to break down the LAFC backline with any consistency, the central interplay was at times good, but failed to be enough.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): We saw the highs that Rusnák can bring, which pairs well with his extremely high floor. What we learned most is that Rusnák needs quality pieces to cook around him, and against the top teams, Seattle will still struggle with a pure talent deficit. His set piece accuracy helped the Sounders discover a new weapon that will likely be essential to their success for the rest of the year.
Cristian Roldan – 5 (off 61’ for Ruidíaz)
After an improved effort in the last few matches, especially in combination with his brother, Cristian was absent from big positive plays in this match. With opportunities to make a statement, instead the Broldans combined to defensively fail in the first 15 minutes, giving LAFC a huge advantage and setting up a tactical gamestate that Seattle was woefully unable to deal with. This mistake wasn’t all Cristian’s fault, but indicative of an over-reliance on needing him central to help with an overloaded middle. Offensively, Roldan did create and get in a few good chances, but he missed his biggest opportunity and the Seattle wings didn’t have much luck against a set defense. He was subbed early and wasn’t able to provide his customary second half surge.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): It’s hard to know. Prior to this match, the thought may have been that Cristian would play out the rest of the season on the right wing with Alex behind him. This outing showed that while that may work against some opponents, Seattle needs more consistent play from that wing. Roldan is clearly a top player and rated as such in this tournament, but hasn’t solidified in any specific position yet this season.
Forward
Jordan Morris – 5
After a dominant showing in the previous match, Morris was completely cut off from any service, and with his defense conceding early and often, there was no transition play to be had for Jordan. Completely starved of the ball, Jordan had 23 total touches, and managed but a single shot from those. This was an inglorious effort, banging around with center backs and constantly being blanketed by two and three players. Aaron Long in particular did a good job of neutralizing Morris and forcing his few chances to the width.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): This match included, Morris was the clear best Sounder in this tournament, going from solid to absolutely dominant in multiple matches, averaging ratings near 7 across all five appearances. Jordan makes great striker runs, holds the ball up, and finishes clean on the regular now, and he’s a top flight center forward in MLS.
Substitutes
Josh Atencio – 5 (on 61’ for Vargas)
Josh replaced Obed and looked to be an improvement, adding more coverage centrally and combining better going forward. This led to a great attempt on goal immediately after subbing on, nearly scoring a header in traffic. His ability to get into the box and combine was good, although it is hard to rate his defense with Seattle pushing everyone up in a match with a failed gamestate in the first 20 minutes.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (2 app): Atencio was not given much playing time in this tournament, but he showed flashes of the play that had him as the incumbent starter over Obed last season. Without many chances to return to form, it's hard to say where he rates these days, and if his lack of time in this tournament means anything, he isn’t going to get many more. His ability to replace JP rather than pair with him may be his best shot at getting playing time.
Léo Chú – 4 (on 61‘ for Rothrock)
Léo had a great opportunity to play 30 minutes against a tired defense and responded with 14 touches, no shots, no successful dribbles, no successful crosses, and some good effort that didn’t amount to much.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (3 app): Chú had three chances to push for more playing time, compete with Rothrock for potential starts, and show he could at least be a powerful sub to come in and tilt the field. He did not show up at this tournament, and his window to show things is rapidly closing.
Raúl Ruidíaz – 5 (on 61’ for C. Roldan)
Raúl came in with time to turn the game on its head and didn’t do that. He did get two shots off, one of which was on goal, but he was consistently amidst the skilled defense of LAFC and constantly outbattled for possession. He did not win a duel, but did have a few recoveries as Ruidíaz worked hard to help.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (2 app): Seattle shouldn’t be expecting anything from Raúl at this point. In this tournament, he came in twice and wasn’t a factor, and doesn’t appear to be a game changer.
Reed Baker-Whiting – 5 (on 73’ for Rusnák)
Reed entered for Rusnák as Seattle made some tactical changes to try to get more offense on the field for a last gasp attempt to make the score more reasonable. He responded with some accurate passing, good touches, but ultimately nothing dynamic offensively. This was an offensive opportunity for RBW who didn’t capitalize on the chance.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): Reed had a lot of chances to show anything in Leagues Cup and did nothing to further any narrative of him getting more playing time.
Danny Leyva – 5 (on 85’ for JP)
Leyva arrived late for JP, and again showed a lot of forward potential in his play. He earned eight touches, went six of seven on passing, took a corner, and had multiple touches in the LAFC box. This was a positive outing in short minutes.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (5 app): Leyva raised his stock a bit in this tournament, showing a unique skill set that includes aggressive passing and some defensive work. Although not revolutionary, Danny earned time in every match, and offers some upside.
What we learned from Leagues Cup (about players not appearing in this game): Jon Bell and Andrew Thomas made strong cases for more time. PDLV is fragile. Musovski is meh. Also, the tournament is only fun when the Sounders play teams they don’t often play.
Referee
César Ramos – 6
A first time referee for Seattle, Ramos wasn’t asked to do much refereeing as LAFC was busy running past the Sounders and scoring at will. Rothrock got away with a 5th minute foul that could have been a yellow, and this referee was cautious in his adjudication of the match. A single yellow was shown all match, with an even number of fouls on both teams. The yellow was somewhat suspect, with Cristian being booked for a foul that was fairly innocuous.
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