Well, the Whitecaps’ 1-1 draw with LAFC on Saturday was not nearly as scintillating as the last time these two teams met on the pitch. But while the Caps were not as clinical as they should have been, this was still likely the most encouraging performance since the World Cup break ended.

LAFC dared the Caps to break them down and found success with their one big chance, a counter attack that ended in a Son goal. But Vancouver continued to dominate the possession battle and found a breakthrough from the penalty spot. What does that all mean for the match ratings? Read on to find out.

Yohei Takaoka: 6

Taka didn’t have a ton to do but remained alert at the need to come off of his line to cope with the potent counter attack from LAFC. 

Edier Ocampo: 7.5

With Badwal on the wing, Ocampo does an excellent job of providing the width needed to test the opposing backline. He popped up in dangerous areas and took players on, testing Yevhen Cheberko repeatedly. His crosses didn’t always create danger but the build ups where the Caps were able to make LAFC uncomfortable usually began with Ocampo.

Tristan Blackmon: 5

Was caught in possession in the play leading up to Son’s goal in a moment that Blackmon will surely want back. It was naive from Blackmon given the quality of LAFC’s attacking band and he was almost caught out again minutes into the second half. He finished with a few more positive attacking moments, including a dangerous cross that nearly produced an own goal and a nice bit of skill to win a dangerous free kick, but this was a shaky one from Tristan.

Mathias Laborda: 6.5

Laborda was important in possession, as his forays into the opposing half and the long balls over the top helped switch things up as the Caps tried to break down LAFC. He was a bit sloppy at times, however, and there were times Bouanga and Son could have made him pay.

Tate Johnson: 6.5

A solid performance from Tate, who won out on a couple of duels with Jacob Shaffelburg early and maintained that tone for the rest of the match. He had a bit more of a conservative role to allow Ocampo to bomb forward.

Oliver Larraz: 8

Larraz is certainly a much different type of player with the ball than Berhalter, with a bit more of a conservative disposition in his passing. But his tracking back is fantastic and he has a great sense of where to position himself to make the most of the quick passing in and around the box that Jesper Sorensen loves. Larraz is probably not the long-term solution as a starter but this was an excellent performance.

Andres Cubas: 7

Dogged in his ball winning, snuffing out most of LAFC’s promising attacks at the edge of the opposition’s attacking third without much fanfare. He had a couple of positive moments on the ball at the start of the match but his biggest influence was on tracking back to help manage the LAFC counters.

Jeevan Badwal: 6.5

Ocampo providing the width helps make Badwal more dangerous as a winger but he always seems like a bit of an awkward fit in the position when Gauld and Müller also are on the pitch. Still, he popped up in some dangerous moments in this one — what Badwal lacks in pace, he makes up for in reading the game well. There was never quite that killer ball to unlock things, however.

Thomas Müller: 8

Müller was not super goal dangerous in the first half, aside from a golden chance on the edge of the 10 yard box that the German should have shot himself instead of crossed back across the face of goal. But he was patient in trying to find little half spaces around the edge of the penalty area to try and move the ball to White or Gauld. In the second half, he took some bigger swings at goal, culminating in the penalty kick. This was the savvy, veteran performance that we have come to expect from Müller.

Ryan Gauld: 7

Looked back up to speed with the pace of the game and worked hard out of possession, bullying the LAFC midfield to win second balls and keep the pressure on. His backheel “assist” on White’s offsides goal in the first half was the vintage quality you’d expect from Gauld. By and large, he still doesn’t quite seem to have built the requisite chemistry with Müller, but there was still a lot to like in this one from Gauld.

Brian White: 6.5

White can’t say he didn’t have chances, profiting from two individual errors by LAFC that could have (should have?) been goals and nearly grabbing a late goal off of a deflected Ralph Priso cross. Other than that, White didn’t get a ton of service and seems to be suffering from some of the lack of chemistry in the attack. Sabbi returning should help with that.

Emmanuel Sabbi/Cheikh Sabaly: 6

Both Sabbi and Sabaly were similar in that they popped up in some dangerous areas, were a better touch or two away from having real chances at goal, and were not quite able to connect. Both should benefit from a chance to get back up to match speed during Leagues Cup.

Ralph Priso: N/A

Priso came on to close out the game in defensive midfield, an interesting wrinkle from Sørensen just to remind everyone he can chip in at that position too.

(Image: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)