Realio’s Ratings: Less than ideal vibes

Huh. The Sounders played in California midweek, and it was NOT fun to watch. Seattle got pushed around but stayed competitive for about 60 minutes, and then fully capitulated, giving up chance after chance. A rotated lineup with eight new starters wasn’t up for the challenge, and Seattle was perhaps lucky the final was only 4-0, LAFC. However, it’s hard to take much away from a midweek loss to a good team under these conditions. This was one of those matches that seems to happen to every team every year. The important thing is for the Sounders to move past it and get back to their winning ways this weekend. 

Stats Say: Giving up 60 percent possession is usually a good tactic against LAFC, yet Seattle was somehow still completely destroyed on quick transition moments. Conceding eight shots on goal indicates how pinned back this usually stout defensive squad was. 

Vibes Say: Not great, Bob. Tactically, the team had a lot of good pieces, but none of it fit together, they lacked pairs that could play off each other, and ultimately the whole setup looked awful for long stints of play. This was a team that had been dominating the ball and creating for weeks coming into this match, and was touted as deep and competent, soaring up the rankings. All that momentum came to a screeching halt.

Truth: This is a team of guys that can play at a high level. But apparently when lacking midfield coherence, they can be completely exposed, lose their mental focus, and get throttled. Getting trounced was hopefully enough to make this team angry, motivated, and capable of moving forward. They must get over it quickly, as a giant road rivalry game is next. 

Goalkeeper

Andrew Thomas – 4 | Community – 4.3

Stats Say: Conceding four is rough. Only having two saves and not preventing much of what LAFC did is even more rough. Sixty-two percent passing indicated major distribution struggles and led directly to the Sounders’ possession issues. Seattle desperately needed help moving the ball from the back, and Thomas was not the answer. 

Vibes Say: Thomas is still the heir apparent, but after seeing Frei struggle some this season, it would be nice if Andrew looked more capable in these one-off matches. After saving an early chance, he looked out of his depth. He badly missed the first goal and should have saved it, even though it was slightly deflected. It went downhill from there, as he was flat footed on the crucial second goal. There are too many holes in Andrew’s game, which is a big red flag for the goalkeeping corps both now and in the future. 

Truth: Young and possessing the athleticism needed, if Thomas can learn better distribution, there is a high ceiling, but this match exposed massive flaws. 

Defense

Nouhou – 6 | Community – 5.6 (off 83’ for Hawkins)

Stats Say: For much of the match, Seattle’s only ability to move the ball forward came from Nouhou dribbling, which says … something. His 82 percent passing was low but not awful compared to teammates. Seven defensive actions seems criminally low for as much pressure as LAFC put on this backline. 

Vibes Say: Nouhou must have distributors around him. He should not play next to similarly limited distributors such as Jon Bell, especially when his forward option is Paul Rothrock who isn’t great in possession. This game was a mess tactically. 

Truth: When he lacks pure distributors to his right and centrally, Nouhou is a mundane defender with below average attacking ability. He did nothing to outplay the system. 

Jon Bell – 4 | Community – 4.1

Stats Say: Eighty-three percent passing but only 1/8 on long balls, a huge component in Seattle’s inability to get the ball forward. Bell’s passing struggles really handcuffed the Sounders. 

Vibes Say: Starting just okay, the vibes deteriorated to horrible by the end of the game. Jon’s defensive positioning was awful, the communication was bad, and he was beaten so many times in the second half that I lost count. He was poor on the second goal, was turned horribly on a goal that was taken off the board, had another bad defensive play saved by KKR off the line, marked nobody on the third goal (frustrating Nouhou who ran 60 yards to the spot Bell should have been), and chased the ball out of position to unnecessarily support two teammates on the fourth goal. This continual chasing of the ball and overall play was truly Not Good. 

Truth: Bell offers some positive attributes but must be considered a bit part player going forward after this kind of outing, as he looked unfit to play at MLS level. 

Yeimar – 5 | Community – 5.0 (off 46’ for Kim Kee-hee)

Stats Say: Eighty-three percent won duels, 80 percent passing, six defensive actions: the stats looked a lot better than the play, which was messy and disjointed. 

Vibes Say: Poor passing led to multiple chances for LAFC. Yet again, Yeimar subbed off, an unprecedented third match in a row. Ostensibly, this would be to “save” him for Portland, but his minute management seems odd. 

Truth: We have seen enough “huh” moments from Yeimar this year to question whether there are other circumstances happening. Having an awesome game at Portland would be a great way to put those concerns to rest. 

Midfield

Paul Rothrock – 5 | Community – 5.6

Stats Say: Only 39 touches. 76 percent passing. Only two touches in the box. Dispossessed multiple times. Dribbled past multiple times. Was 4/13 on duels. None of these are good! 

Vibes Say: While the level of effort Paul brings is appreciated, actual soccer stuff would be preferred. He looked tired as the match went on, losing the ball and uncharacteristically watching as his team was under pressure and/or beaten on multiple occasions in the second half. 

Truth: All the effort in the world won’t make up for being in the wrong places, and Paul was one of multiple Sounders who didn’t look comfortable in their roles tactically. Leaving him on for the full 90 seemed to predict someone else will start there this weekend. 

João Paulo – 4 | Community – 4.7

Stats Say: JP had 86 percent passing, a team-high 96 touches, one key pass, one shot, seven defensive actions. 

Vibes Say: In spite of those solid stats, JP looked completely washed and may be a 20 minute emergency player going forward. He was slow and almost constantly out of position, allowing LAFC free reign to charge centrally and abuse Seattle. It would have been comical if it wasn’t so depressing to see this proud, legendary player repeatedly get circles run around him while he chased the play. 

Truth: To be game-fit you have to play in games, and JP clearly wasn’t game-fit after barely featuring in months. Based on prior play this season he isn’t this bad, but clearly isn’t ready to go 90 minutes, and asking him to do so was a mistake. 

Danny Leyva – 5 | Community – 5.0

Stats Say: Earned five fouls, created three chances, had two shots, 85 percent largely aggressive passing. Similar to JP, these stats look strong. 

Vibes Say: This midfield was a mess. Not a great defender, Leyva was exposed time and again as he played more as a “10” than an “8” and the central midfield was one-way traffic for long, agonizing stretches. While JP chased the play defensively, Danny was often so far away as to not be a factor. His free kicks were a rare highlight. 

Truth: Leyva is much more comfortable on the ball than last year, leveling up his attacking skills and creation. He just isn’t much of a defender and is a luxury attacking piece. He tends to do more with the ball than without it, which is a problem as a defender but can fit in the right system. 

Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 7 (MOTM) | Community – 6.2 (MOTM)

Stats Say: Eighty-nine percent passing. Completed his one cross attempt. Dispossessed zero times, 13 defensive actions recorded, won 6/8 duels, five clearances. The stats loved KKR.

Vibes Say: Kalani was one of the few people ready to play in this formation. Matching up with Dénis Bouanga is no small task, and Kalani more than passed that test, frustrating the LAFC star for much of the match. He was a bright spot on a cloudy, dark evening. 

Truth: The gap between Alex Roldan and Kossa-Rienzi is still there, but it’s narrowing. 

Attackers

Jesús Ferreira – 5 | Community – 4.3 (off 57’ for Rusnák)

Stats Say: Criminally low 19 touches. Excellent 94 percent passing, zero shots, zero key passes, one tackle. Ferreira wasn’t bad, he was just … absent. 

Vibes Say: The eye test follows the stats: Jesús was not a force in this match. The clear expectation was that he would be more proactive as a creator. Without a strong central push, Ferreira was a forgotten player who stayed high and had some good ideas but was largely ineffective, mostly due to rarely seeing the ball. 

Truth: This quality player has to not only want the ball, but demand it. Unfortunately, so far this season, Jesús has been waiting for the game to come to him, and at this point he has to go get it if he wants to keep playing. 

Osaze De Rosario – 5 | Community – 4.6 (off 57’ for Musovski)

Stats Say: Only 18 touches, but two shots (both on target). Three defensive actions, 3/3 in aerial duels. 

Vibes Say: There were some nice moments, but also a few times where Osaze tried stuff that worked in the lower league but had no chance against MLS competition. It would have been awesome to see him finish that open header on a corner, as the Sounders had a chance to pull the match level, potentially altering the entire sad timeline that followed.

Truth: Seattle was on the back foot for much of this game, and while he didn’t make a lot happen, Osaze occupied the defense and was a big body that created some positive havoc. 

Pedro de la Vega – 6 | Community – 5.7 (off 71’ for Kent)

Stats Say: Two shots, 84 percent passing, a massive five dribbles, 36 touches, hit the post, 14 duels (nine won).

Vibes Say: Maybe this game would have looked different if de la Vega headed the wide open shot a little lower, three minutes after LAFC took the lead. Maybe. He was at least active, although it was clear there weren’t a lot of options for him to combine with. 

Truth: Still somewhat bearish on PDLV being “the guy,” but it’s trending upwards in the last few weeks on finding the match and getting on the same page as teammates. 

Substitutes

Kim Kee-hee– 5 | Community – 5.4 (on 46’ for Yeimar)

Stats Say: Eight-four percent passing, five defensive actions, dribbled past once, 0/2 tackles. 

Vibes Say: Being exposed on 1-v-1 opportunities on a number of occasions, Kim actually made a few stellar defensive plays that limited LAFC angles, only to see luck or teammates let him down. That added up to a dispiriting three goals against while he was on the field among tired and disorganized defenders. 

Truth: Seattle chased the game and paid for it, which exposed the defense hugely, specifically Kim and Bell. The rotation made an already struggling defense worse by removing the athleticism of Yeimar. 

Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 5.0 (on 57’ for De Rosario)

Stats Say: Seven measly touches, zero in the LAFC box. Three pass attempts, 0/4 duels. The Moose was not loose. 

Vibes Say: To be a fox in the box, you need creators, and Seattle didn’t have any while Danny was on the field. Most of this was due to a gaping central hole that meant zero service to Musovski in any reasonably dangerous areas. A nice cutback to find PDLV showed what could have been. 

Truth: Adding Musovski after going down two goals seemed a little desperate, and it didn’t pay off. Hopefully this weekend he can show more when allowed to play in his element surrounded by talent. 

Albert Rusnák – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 57’ for Ferreira)

Stats Say: Thirteen touches, 90 percent passing. One shot, 3/4 long balls completed, one duel won. Mostly absent. 

Vibes Say: Albert wasn’t going to save this midfield disaster, and was a passenger inexplicably added to a losing effort who didn’t help nor hinder the result; instead he got a good view of a few transitional breakdowns leading to scoring at the other end of the field. 

Truth: Rusnák is a facilitator who excels at finding the combinations with teammates in and around the box, none of which he was able to do when Seattle was unable to get him the ball. 

Ryan Kent – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 71’ for PDLV)

Stats Say: Fifteen touches in 19 minutes meant he was working. Only 1/4 duels won. 

Vibes Say: By the time Kent came on, there was a lot of one-way traffic the other direction, but it was only 2-0 and had he been Superman maybe he could have helped rescue a road point. 

Truth: He isn’t Superman.

Stuart Hawkins – 5 | Community – 4.3 (on 83’ for Nouhou)

Stats Say: Seven touches, 3/4 passing, one recovery. 

Vibes Say: The positive was some excellent passing that demonstrated Hawkins’ skill playing forward, with beautiful feet and combination play that had been missing. This was offset by his horrific defense, including a dive that saw him skinned and scored on by LAFC to close out the match.

Truth: Stuart was trying things he could get away with while playing for Defiance. He has to learn better positional discipline and not rely on diving, sliding, or lunging saves on defense. MLS competition will (and did) expose this. 

Referee

Pierre-Luc Lauziere – 6 | Community – 5.5

Stats Say: Twenty-nine fouls called, five cards. Even-ish distribution on both. 

Vibes Say: Honestly, this game was such a disappointment for Sounders fans that the ref wasn’t the story, but good on him not making a bad game worse, I guess.

Truth: Not grumbling about a ref sure feels weird. 

LAFC MOTM

With votes divided fairly evenly between LAFC’s potent front three, it was Bouanga who took home the award. And while KKR did well to contain him, Bouanga drifted to other areas of the pitch and had an effort scraped off the line before eventually sealing the match, scoring LAFC’s third.

Upcoming: Beat Portland.