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The Seattle Sounders lost just their second game at CenturyLink Field under head coach Brian Schmetzer Sunday. Los Angeles FC, on the back of a solid performance by keeper Tyler Miller and an early goal from Diego Rossi earned the expansion side a victory in its first MLS match.
Here are three takeaways from the afternoon.
Rest, injury concerns hamper starting XI
Brian Schmetzer said his lineup choices for Sunday’s contest were primarily made out of a combination of rest and injury concerns. Keeping six outfield starters from Seattle’s March 1 win over Santa Tecla in the CONCACAF Champions League, fatigue was evident in misplayed passes and breakdowns in communication in the midfield. Other roster replacements, like the use of defensive midfielder Jordy Delem at right back for the injured Kelvin Leerdam and resting Jordan McCrary, left gaps for LAFC to exploit.
When Schmetzer decided to sub on Magnus Wolff Eikrem at halftime, as he did against Santa Tecla, he removed Roman Torres in what he later admitted was an attempt to control the Panamanian’s minutes ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal first leg against CD Guadalajara Wednesday.
With Leerdam, Osvaldo Alonso and Victor Rodriguez still recovering from various injuries and Jordan Morris lost for the year with an ACL tear, the Sounders will have to choose carefully when selecting a roster in the early phases of the season while they attempt to push for Champions League glory.
Despite depletion, Seattle still controlled the match
Seattle took 22 shots against five from LAFC. Miller was forced to make seven saves and benefitted from key deflections from his defenders in the clubs first win. Seattle also controlled 59.8 percent of the possession, had a 12-1 advantage on corners and won out on Schmetzer’s personal favorite stat—duels won—60-46.
Even after losing centerback Tony Alfaro to his second yellow card in the 83rd minute, Seattle poured on the pressure and forced LAFC back on its heels.
Still, Schmetzer admitted the Sounders failed to do anything with the stat that matters most: goals for.
“There were a ton, a ton of chances created so I wouldn’t say it’s from a lack of execution,” Schmetzer said. “I would say it’s from a lack of from the little last piece of concentration to put the ball in the back of the net, just some unlucky bounces. Our sport is brutal at times when you can look at this stat sheet. At the same time, I could just turn it over and say it doesn’t matter because we lost 1-0.”
VAR is good, but a little weird
There was a tense moment in the 74th minute when Sounders homegrown player Handwalla Bwana, making his club debut, appeared to make a late challenge on LAFC forward Carlos Vela at the right edge of the penalty area. Referee Jose Carlos Rivero eventually pointed for a Sounders goal kick, to LAFC’s protest.
Both Vela and Diego Rossi made the hand signal for video review (a cautionable offense). Rivero waved them away after appearing to consult with video referee Timothy Ford.
The breakdown likely came from the fact that there are strict guidelines in place as to when video review may be deployed. They are: goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity when awarding a red or yellow card.
While Bwana’s challenge seemed to be a foul when looking at replays, if Rivero and Ford determined that the foul occurred outside the box, there was no recourse to overturn Rivero’s initial decision.