Seattle Sounders Stun LAFC to Reach the MLS Cup Finals, 3-1

The Seattle Sounders have performed a miracle this Tuesday night in LA. Brian Schmetzer’s guys eliminated the biggest favorite for winning the MLS Cup, LAFC. It is a painful interruption of all the plans the team from LA had. The final result was 3-1 for the guests from the state of Washington.

Raul Ruidiaz is the hero of the Sounders. The Peruvian player netted twice and contributed enormously to Seattle’s sensation. It really was something just a few expected, especially following the regular part of the campaign when LAFC set numerous records. Bob Bradley’s guys were the team with the most points won in the history of the MLS, they also became one of the most efficient teams ever, and were looking unstoppable, with Carlos Vela leading the way.

The guys who netted 34 times this season couldn’t do anything against the Sounders’ back line in this match.

Anyway, the game started well for the home team, who scored in the 17th minute. Eduard Atuesta’s beautiful free-kick strike ended behind Stefan Frei, giving the lead to the home team, and cheering up the crowd at the Banc of California Stadium.

But the hosts didn’t expect to experience what they did over the next few minutes. Ruidiaz’s laser-precise shot from the edge of the box hit the back of the rival’s net five minutes afterward, and suddenly, the situation on the field wasn’t that easy for the hosts.

And it became even more problematic in the 26th minute. Nicolas Lodeiro executed one very good counter-attack to change the situation completely.

After these two stunners, the home team couldn’t reply until the halftime. They tried to catch Seattle on the back foot in the opening moments of the second period, but it didn’t work well. Two consecutive corners and one good shoot denied by Frei didn’t produce a goal, and the Sounders caught their breath.

In the middle of LAFC’s domination, the guests scored once more, and again, it were Ruidiaz and Lodeiro who had leading roles. The Peruvian was the scorer, while Lodeiro assisted, to give their team a 3-1 advantage, which would turn out to be unreachable for the hosts.

We’ve seen an incredible pressure of the Supporters’ Shield winners until the final whistle, but there was no change. The only situation which could have resulted in a score was when Nouhou Tolo, who replaced Ruidiaz, had a one-on-one with Tyler Miller in the final moments. Yet, he failed to execute it.

🎙 Let’s drop in on Bob Bradley’s post-game presser, happening now. #LAFCvSEA // Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs https://t.co/dPgACuLyL7

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However, that didn’t spoil the overall impression of his coach, who was overwhelmed with joy after the last whistle.

“I’m just so proud of these guys out there and the people up there,” Sounders coach said. “The tactics were right, their effort was right, their mentality was right, and they deserved to win the game.”

This is the third time over the last four years that the Sounders reached the MLS Cup finals. They’ve won it in 2016 against Toronto FC, then lost against the same opponent next year. In 2018 Portland Timbers eliminated Schmetzer’s team in Seattle at the same stage, so he knows how his colleague Bob Bradley feels right now.

“We had Portland celebrating at our home field. So I know what’s Bob going through, and it’s not a good feeling. We used that for motivation for this playoff run this year.”

LAFC’s coach was straightforward, saying that his team lost solely because they didn’t play good.

“In terms of our attacking play, it’s pretty simple,” said Bob Bradley after the match. “I don’t think that tonight we were good enough.”

He added that the Sounders defended very well, not allowing his team to have an opportunity to shoot, and when you don’t shoot, goals won’t come alone.

“They had numbers back, they clogged the middle, they defended in a compact and strong way and then, if you don’t move the ball quick enough, when you get up there it’s not easy to get shots.”

The Sounders will meet either Toronto FC or Atlanta United in the MLS Cup finals. The clash between these two is set for tonight in Atlanta.