Tuesday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps opened their Leagues Cup campaign with a 1-0 loss to Atlante FC.

Before the match had even started, you got a sense of Jesper Sørensen’s approach to this tournament, as he elected to field a heavily rotated XI, including the likes of Nikola Djordjevic, JC Ngando, and Rayan Elloumi.

Some of that, certainly, was because of the quick turnaround from Saturday’s match against LAFC. But equally, this is Vancouver’s fourth different competition of the season and, with a roster that has struggled to stay healthy throughout the year, I can’t blame the Danish coach for perhaps strategically punting this one in an effort to gear up for the stretch run in MLS play.

Nonetheless, the Whitecaps are now winless in their last five matches, and that is worth talking about. Should we be worried?

I went back to last season for a comparison. Shortly after losing to Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup final, the Whitecaps lost four of their next five MLS matches, including a chaotic 5-3 home loss to San Diego FC and two dismal 3-0 road defeats to the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids.

At that point, there were legitimate questions about the Whitecaps’ staying power after such a hot start. I argued that if Vancouver wanted to establish themselves as a genuine MLS Cup contender, they would have to continue evolving.

Mind you, Bjørn Inge Utvik started that match in Colorado at centre back and Pedro Vite was playing on the wing, which gives you a sense of just how quickly life moves in professional sports. Evolve they certainly did.

I think the point of bringing this up is that, while the Whitecaps’ current run of form and the departure of Sebastian Berhalter look and feel devastating in the moment, this is a more recognizable pattern than we might think.

Midseason injuries and departures have a way of disrupting the rhythm of even very good teams. But if those teams are truly great, they tend to evolve, adapt, and eventually find another run of form. Of course, some of that comes down to finding the right reinforcements as well.

With the likes of Ryan Gauld, Ranko Veselinović, and Ralph Priso returning to the squad, I don’t think Sørensen’s side is too far away from finding that next solution.

The obvious gap to fill is in midfield, but even there, Jeevan Badwal and Oliver Larraz have shown encouraging signs. It’s also worth remembering that there were long-standing frustrations with both Ali Ahmed and Pedro Vite before they truly broke out. If those two have earned our patience in hindsight, then Badwal and Larraz deserve some of that same grace as they continue to develop.

To summarize my perhaps long-winded and circuitous point, this current run is not as concerning as the one Vancouver endured last season. Until Jesper Sørensen loses his touch for developing young players into quality MLS contributors, I’m going to continue backing this team to get back on track in short order.

Now, if we want to talk a bit about the match itself, this was a classic Liga MX trap game. Playing against a back five and a Miguel Herrera side was always going to be tricky. The Whitecaps certainly created enough chances through Rayan Elloumi, Mathias Laborda, and Emmanuel Sabbi to get the job done; they just couldn’t convert.

On the flip side, one great turn and finish from Jhojan Julio was all the visitors needed. Atlante only really threatened when Vancouver gave them the ball; otherwise, it was one-way traffic.

I will say there were some quite disappointing individual showings from the Whitecaps in this one. I continue to be baffled by Cheikh Sabaly, as I still don’t really understand how he has produced goals at previous stops. He has pace, but he looks quite uncertain when he gets into the final third, and his touch remains a concern.

JC Ngando also had a bit of a horror show, with a number of sloppy giveaways and a general inability to match the pace of his Liga MX opponents. Rayan Elloumi showed a couple of flashes, but the drop-off in pressing and defensive work compared to Brian White was quite noticeable.

None of these players should be major contributors when the team is at full strength, and Elloumi is still only 18, so there is no need to rush his development. Hopefully, Poku can come in and provide another option as well.

With this loss and the new Leagues Cup structure, the next two matches have effectively turned into glorified friendlies. While that probably isn’t what MLS brass envisioned, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for the Whitecaps. All attention should now turn to being in the best possible place ahead of their trip to Seattle on August 16th.

Player Ratings

Isaac Boehmer — 6.5
Edier Ocampo — 7.0
Mathias Laborda — 6.5
Ralph Priso — 7.0
Sam Adekugbe — 6.0
Andrés Cubas — 7.0
Oliver Larraz — 7.0
Cheikh Sabaly — 5.0
JC Ngando — 5.0
Nikola Djordjevic — 6.0
Rayan Elloumi — 5.5
Substitutes — 6.0