The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated FC Dallas 1-0 in MLS action. With this win, Vancouver has already accrued 25% of last season’s point total and are 4-0-0 for the first time in their MLS history.

I keep waiting for the Whitecaps to come down to earth. I am not expecting a total collapse or anything but I keep saying to myself “Ok, this is the game where they start to look human.” But it keeps not happening. Sure, you could argue that the ‘Caps have not faced the toughest schedule so far. You could look at each individual game and make the case that a Whitecaps victory was the expected result: “Portland were down to 10 men the whole game”, “Rayados didn’t take the first leg seriously”, “Dallas don’t look like they are very good, etc.” But looking at Vancouver’s overall body of work this season, their quality is getting harder and harder to deny.

I remember one sequence in this game where Petar Musa was chasing after the ball. The Whitecaps were up 1-0 at this point and Musa looked more like he wanted to kick someone with plausible deniability rather than like someone making a sincere effort to win the ball. But the Whitecaps were zipping the ball around with such pace and efficiency that he couldn’t even do that.

Another moment that stands out to me was late in the game, with Dallas pushing for an equalizer. Eric Quill could be seen frantically waving his arms and could be heard screaming his lungs out on the field mics (these mics also picked up Quill being given a warning by the 4th official). Jesper Sørensen, in contrast, was totally placid.

What these two moments are indicative of is the mental toll playing the Whitecaps seems to have on opponents. The Whitecaps hem you in your own end and pass the ball around until you mentally break yourself. Every single game the Whitecaps have played, even their loss in the first leg against Saprissa, has featured an opposing player or coach with hundreds of games of professional experience visibly flipping out.

In the first half, when Vancouver was dominating the play but struggling for clear-cut opportunities, I found myself thinking they could really use an inside forward. Somebody with a bit of size and goal scoring ability so that White isn’t the only threat in the box in those situations. It then occurred to me that the player I was describing to myself was Emmanuel Sabbi. That’s perhaps the craziest part of all, this isn’t even their final form!

In addition to Sabbi, Sam Adekugbe has looked like a real difference maker when healthy, and Ryan bloody Gauld is still out for another 3 weeks. But the Whitecaps haven’t missed a beat. If those players get fit and the Whitecaps get the version of Sabbi from 22/23…well let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Whitecaps get a little bit of rest before facing the Chicago Fire next weekend. That will be a big challenge as Chicago seem somewhat good (2-1-1) and this game is being played mid-international break. So no Brian White, Ali Ahmed, Pedro Vite, Andres Cubas, or any of the aforementioned injured players. Maybe this will be the game they come down to earth. It hasn’t happened yet though.