The Seattle Sounders defeated LAFC in the opening game of MLS’s weekend program. The final result of Friday’s clash was 3-0 for the hosts, who were much better and who dominated throughout the course of the entire game.
Last year’s Supporter’s Shield winners are unrecognizable this season, and their streak of bad performances continued in Seattle. This was their fifth defeat in the previous seven MLS games, which is something nobody expected to see. It appears that Carlos Vela’s absence heavily negatively influences the team.
The Sounders were aggressive right from the start imposing a tempo the guests couldn’t follow. Their goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega had to react to several situations to prevent a goal early on, but as time went by, it was obvious that his efforts won’t be enough to stop the surging hosts.
Nicolas Lodeiro scored two goals in tonight’s game, both from the penalty kick. The first one came after 29 minutes, when Dejan Jakovic handballed in the middle of the box. Just four minutes later, Latif Blessing made a foul inside the same, and the hosts got one more penalty, with Lodeiro coolly hitting the back of the net.
It was his 14 straight penalty conversion, and so far, he doesn’t have a single miss in the MLS regular season matchups, which makes him the best in the league in that aspect. The result stayed the same until the end of the halftime.
[embed]https://twitter.com/OptaJack/status/1307151832716894208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/embed]LAFC took over the initiative in the second 45 minutes, but that didn’t provide anything as they had just one shot on target, while on the other hand, Seattle waited to strike from the counter-attack. Bob Bradley’s boys held the ball without any idea on how to
The home team added one more score until the end of the game, through Raul Ruidiaz. Eight minutes before the end of the regulations, the 30-year old Peruvian netted the seventh goal of the campaign, which still makes him the Seattle’s best scorer.
With these three points, the Sounders are at the Western Conference’s top spot, while LAFC sits sixth, with one more point than Houston Dynamo, who is outside the playoff zone, but also with a game in hand.
Up next, they face Vancouver Whitecaps at home, while Seattle goes to Portland, where they meet the Timbers in the derby of the round.