Déjà vu all over again: Sounders slapped by LAFC

SEATTLE – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Seattle Sounders lost 3-0 at home against LAFC on Saturday evening. A pair of first-half goals from Ryan Hollingshead and Kei Kamara in the 14th and 25th minutes, and a 53rd minute cherry on the sundae from Denís Bouanga ended Seattle’s Leagues Cup run in the quarterfinals as LAFC advance to the semis.

Although things had started pretty evenly, LAFC opened the scoring in the 14th minute with one of the easiest goals they’ll score this year. Maxime Chanot had the ball in his own half under absolutely no pressure, picked his head up and saw Hollingshead making a run down the left wing. Although both Alex and Cristian Roldan were making runs to apply pressure, they both seemed to pull up as they approached, allowing him to control the ball and run into the box where he easily placed his shot to the side of Stefan Frei to take a 1-0 lead.

In a bit of unwelcome déjà vu, 10 minutes after LAFC’s first goal an unforced error from the Seattle defense gave them another great opportunity. Yeimar chased Bogusz into midfield and made an unnecessary challenge and failed to come away with the ball, which allowed Bogusz to carry the ball down the field and into the box, but his shot was saved by Frei as he palmed the ball away for a corner. Unfortunately in the 25th minute the Sounders were unable to clear the corner that followed and after the bal bounced around for a bit it fell to Kei Kamara – left wide open after Jordan Morris broke thinking Seattle were clearing the ball – who pulled off a sort of standing scissor kick on a half-volley that he hit into the ground and beyond Frei to make it 2-0.

Seattle created some chances of their own, but the best look of the rest of the half unsurprisingly belonged to LAFC. Bouanga found himself in a foot race with Paul Rothrock in the 41st minute, and despite an admirable effort from Rothrock Bouanga did indeed come out on top. Fortunately for the Sounders Bouanga’s shot came off the post. Unfortunately Bouanga got a very similar opportunity to run in behind early in the second half. In the 53rd minute Bouanga received a ball directly from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and despite João Paulo, Nouhou and Yeimar all being back to deal with a potential counter none of them manage to do much to make life harder for him – even as Nouhou held onto him for a good 15 to 20 yards – as he ran in on goal and easily beat Frei to make it 3-0.

The Sounders now turn their attention back to league play and the U.S. Open Cup where they’ll have a rematch with LAFC with a chance at the final. Seattle have a week of training to put this game behind them before facing Minnesota United in the Twin Cities next Saturday.

Key moments

5 - Paul Rothrock goes on a run down the left, poking the ball around Jesus Murillo and collecting on the other side, but he takes the ball over the end line and it’s out for a goal kick.

6 - Mateusz Bogusz gets into the box all on his own and hits a hard shot that Stefan Frei saves, but gives up a big rebound. Alex Roldan comes in to clear the ball before any real danger develops.

14 - Goal, LAFC. Ryan Hollingshead runs onto a ball over the top from Maxime Chanot, takes a touch to control it as he ran behind the Roldans and easily slots the ball past Frei. 1-0 LAFC

18 - Rothrock battles at the back post and is able to get a shot off of a cross from João Paulo, but it’s deflected over the goal and out for a corner.

24 - Yeimar chases Bogusz into midfield to make an unnecessary challenge, allowing Bogusz to drive into a dangerous position and fire a shot that Frei is able to palm away for a corner.

25 - Goal, LAFC. Kei Kamara is left completely unmarked as the ensuing corner is recycled and bounces around, eventually catching a half-volley that Frei dives but can’t stop. 2-0 LAFC

41 - Bouanga nearly makes at 3-0 after a foot race with Rothrock, beats Frei with a shot but puts it off the post.

53 - Goal, LAFC. Bouanga finds his goal on a direct ball from Hugo Lloris. Despite several Sounders players for company, including a Nouhou backpack, Bouanga seems completely untroubled as he tucks the ball away. 3-0 LAFC

63 - Josh Atencio has a great look on a corner, but his header is blocked at the far post by Eduard Atuesta.

80 - Seattle win the ball back after an LAFC free kick and Ruidíaz gets on the ball, dancing through traffic before hitting an ambitious effort that goes just over the goal.

Quick thoughts

Beware the bogeymen: Five straight losses, six unanswered goals at Lumen Field, nine meetings without a win. The Sounders haven’t claimed a win against LAFC in any competition since May 16, 2021. Since Steve Cherundolo took over in January 2022 LAFC are undefeated against the Sounders, and after a pair of draws in the first two trips to Lumen Cherundulo’s side has now reeled off three straight wins at Seattle’s home stadium by a combined score of 7-0 including two 3-0 wins this season despite the Sounders seemingly knowing exactly what LAFC wanted to do against them. It’s one thing to know what to expect, but against LAFC the Sounders just haven’t been able to execute as their latest bogeyman continues to haunt their seasons.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water: First, let me acknowledge that there’s got to be a more appropriate, less dated phrase to represent this idea. We’re not throwing out bath water, and we certainly aren’t throwing babies out with it, but still: this was an incredibly bad game, but we shouldn’t be disregarding the good that’s come from this tournament. I think the Leagues Cup, as currently configured, is a Mickey Mouse tournament, but it still provided an opportunity to nail down a best XI for Brian Schmetzer and his staff while giving the likes of Jordan Morris, Paul Rothrock and Albert Rusnák – to say nothing of Andrew Thomas – a platform to show what they can do against teams like Pumas and the LA Galaxy. That doesn’t outweigh this repeat performance against LAFC, but the two things do coexist.

The importance of preserving JP: João Paulo is going to get a little bit of shine in the Player Spotlight section below, but this game felt like a good example of both the quality he still provides and the need to provide a better structure around him – for the remainder of this season, and if he comes back for next season as well. His passing, at least his short and medium game, was excellent as he carried the vast majority of the load in possession while racking up over 100 pass attempts. He did well in the duels he did get into as he won 4/5 ground duels, but his difficulty covering ground and getting move involved on defense beyond that is just more evidence that the team needs to plan for him more than they can really build around him, but if they want to control games with possession they need to find a way to maximize his value on the ball while better covering for his weaknesses.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

João Paulo – João Paulo was back to his high-usage usual, with 123 touches and 94 completed passes on 105 attempts. He won 4/5 duels and was credited with 3 chances created.