Here are three things we learned from the Seattle Sounders’ 4-0 win over Santa Tecla FC, which advanced them to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals with a 5-2 aggregate scoreline.
1. The Sounders miss Jordan Morris’ speed
After losing Morris for the season to an ACL tear in the first leg against Santa Tecla Feb. 22, the Sounders have acknowledged the need for a replacement forward from the transfer market to cover the 23-year-old’s pace. In the meantime, Morris’ absence brought into stark relief Seattle’s difficulties breaking down a compact Santa Tecla back line.
Without Morris’ pace to make an aerial through ball a true threat, Seattle spent the first half moving the ball around the edge of the attacking third, having to wait for a second ball from a corner kick to find the back of the net.
2. Magnus Wolff Eikrem is a name to watch in 2018
Nicolas Lodeiro may have led the stat sheet with a goal and two assists on the night, but analysts will find plenty to like in the 45 minutes viewers got to see of Magnus Wolff Eikrem in the Norwegian’s debut for the Sounders.
Eikrem entered the game at the start of the second half and immediately caused problems for Santa Tecla, serving both key passes that resulted in the first two goals of the match before a clever link-up play with Clint Dempsey earned Eikrem his debut goal in Rave Green.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was pleased with Eikrem’s debut, but looked forward to seeing what level the midfielder may rise to.
“We knew he was going to feature in the game at some point,” Schmetzer said. “He had just gotten his visa, so we wanted to take a look at him. I said earlier in the preseason that we liked him because he was goal-dangerous. You need to have goal-dangerous players in those positions to take some of the load off the guys in the middle of the field. He’s a very good passer. His vision’s good. Overall, he’s a very talented soccer player. As soon as he gets accustomed to the league and the players, I think he will become even better.”
3. Seattle is still lethal in the open field
It took time for the Sounders to break through Santa Tecla for the game’s opening goal. Once they did, though, everything broke Seattle’s way as they tacked on three more in the lopsided victory. When Santa Tecla pushed for an equalizer at 1-0, the Sounders had their pick of promising chances developing out of midfield, eventually leading to Lodeiro’s easy header finish from Dempsey.
Forward Will Bruin said that the slow start didn’t startle the home side.
“We knew once we got that first goal that we could get two, three, four and open up the game,” Bruin said. “That’s the way it played out. Schmetzer was saying that if we don’t score in the first half, just keep possession and our chances were going to come, and they did.”
On the eve of MLS kickoff, Seattle demonstrated once more that when given the chance to control a game from open play, the results are often favorable.