The Vancouver Whitecaps were embarrassed in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, falling 3-0 to Seattle at home in a matchup that likely will doom their hopes of reaching a second straight continental final.

All three Seattle goals came off sloppy moments or poor defensive organization from the ‘Caps, and while Vancouver had much of the possession, they weren’t able to do enough to trouble a disciplined Seattle backline that gave no quarter and proved only to frustrate Jesper Sørensen’s men.

Sørensen made a few tweaks to the lineup that featured over the weekend. Mathias Laborda re-entered the starting XI, while Oliver Larraz earned his first career Whitecaps start. Emmanuel Sabbi and Kenji Cabrera slotted in on the wings, with Rayan Elloumi leading the line at striker.

The visitors didn’t have as much of the ball early, but they had a positive start, working a couple of decent half-chances through Osaze de Rosario. The hulking Canadian occupied Vancouver’s backline well to open things up for his teammates. While the ‘Caps had more possession, they were sloppy and scrambling when they gave it away, and they seemed to lack the midfield organization that Andres Cubas normally brings.

In a sign of things to come, the Sounders’ best chance early came via a mistake from Tristan Blackmon, who slipped as he tried to clear a bouncing Jesus Ferreira cross. The ball fell to Paul Arriola, but Yohei Takaoka made himself big and was equal to the shot to deny an early away goal.

Vancouver had a hard time staying out of their own way, nearly conceding on a quickly taken free kick while the ‘Caps were still organizing. Fortunately, the hastily taken shot went wide and past a grateful Takaoka.

Things stabilized for the ‘Caps, and they had a bit more fluidity in the attack, particularly as they honed their press to cause problems for the Seattle midfield. One of those moves was cleared off the line, with Cabrera robbed of the opening goal by Nouhou Tolo.

Seattle had some moments where they caused difficulties for the Vancouver backline with their press. Once the ‘Caps beat the first line of pressure from the Sounders, however, they were able to find ample space, particularly on the wings. They were a bit sharper, hanging onto the ball more effectively and profiting from some Seattle giveaways. That led to some half-chances in and around the box, but nothing that really troubled Stefan Frei.

On the stroke of halftime, the ‘Caps were made to pay for a lack of focus. A horrendously misjudged back pass from Laborda found its way to Ferreira, who squared it for Arriola, allowing him to score on his return to the starting lineup after injury. It was a horrific turn of events, right as the ‘Caps looked like they were going to get through to halftime unscathed.

Blackmon exited at halftime with an apparent knock, with Ralph Priso replacing him. Things largely reverted to the status quo as the second half began, with the ‘Caps commanding the bulk of possession and the Sounders trying to find space after beating Vancouver’s counter-press. Seattle did well to collapse on Thomas Mueller and Sebastian Berhalter when they got the ball in the centre of the park, trying to prevent the quick build-ups that the ‘Caps love.

The ‘Caps still didn’t have much of a killer instinct, and it bit them, as they were ripped open in transition. Kalani Rienzi was gifted a wide-open attacking third to run into and square a ball for Arriola, who benefited from some fortune as the ball deflected off Ocampo, then Takaoka, and finally the Sounders’ striker. There was some question about whether Rienzi was offside on the initial ball, but VAR allowed the goal to stand and dug the ‘Caps even further into a hole.

Vancouver appeared to bounce back, but the ball didn’t bounce their way. Frei denied a perfectly placed Laborda header, and Priso couldn’t direct the rebound goalward.

Seattle responded nearly instantly with a third goal. It appeared that the moment had gone for the Sounders once a bounding cross escaped Danny Muscovski. But Takaoka overran things and miscommunicated with Priso, allowing Paul Rothrock to catch up and tap in at the back post. It was another straightforward attack from Seattle that the ‘Caps couldn’t cope with.

The introduction of AZ and Jeevan Badwal in the final quarter of an hour helped Vancouver, with Mueller rattling the upright in the dying moments after a Frei error. But, in a fitting summary of the night, the ball refused to go into the back of the net, and the ‘Caps have a mountain to climb next week.

Stray Thoughts

– This was a strong contender for the worst performance of the Jesper Sørensen era (non-Cruz Azul division). It certainly was one of the sloppiest. Seattle let them off the hook a couple of times early, but there was never really any meaningful improvement in the defensive organization, passing, or intensity in the attack. You might be able to get away with some of that against Toronto or Portland, but you can’t against Seattle.

– Truthfully, it didn’t have to be this bad. The ‘Caps certainly had the bulk of possession and had some moments where they did open up the Sounders. The expected goals weren’t that far apart. Vancouver worked nearly a dozen corners, and one of them was inches from going into the back of the net. But Cabrera and, especially, Sabbi struggled to be overly effective. Mueller and Berhalter didn’t have much time to pull the strings in midfield. And while I loved Elloumi’s work rate and effort, he didn’t have much of a look at goal after the first 10 minutes of action.

– Sørensen perhaps overplayed his hand with the starting XI by opting to introduce Larraz instead of Jeevan Badwal to replace Cubas and mixing and matching in the attack. I get that rotation worked out last year, but you never want to underestimate Seattle in a big match, and that feels like what happened here. It isn’t an accident that things looked much better once Badwal and AZ came on towards the end of the game.

– Credit to Seattle, who were missing some key pieces and got a bit fortunate (I’m not sure how the Sounders’ second goal was onside), but brought the intensity in their pressure and in maintaining an organized backline. Snyder Brunnell was masterful in midfield and helped lock down the centre of the park. It was in sharp contrast to Vancouver’s midfield, where they sorely missed Andres Cubas.

– This result will almost certainly spell an end to Vancouver’s continental hopes. It is particularly painful on a night where FC Cincinnati beat Tigres 3-0, opening the door wide open on this side of the bracket. Even if the ‘Caps had lost 1-0 or 2-1, they would have certainly had a chance next week in what is basically a neutral-site game. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Vancouver has played their best under Sørensen in the wake of adversity and difficult results. That will need to be the case again, as this result is a wake-up call that the ‘Caps will not be able to coast and stay on top of the Western Conference.

(Image: Chaehyun Lim)