Sunday night at Lumen Field, the Vancouver Whitecaps enjoyed a 2-0 bounceback victory over the Seattle Sounders, maintaining their spot at the top of the West and renewing some faith in this side post-World Cup break.
There are definitely two ways of looking at the recent form. While Vancouver has not been at their best, they have only lost one match since their return to play, and that was a 4-3 result on the road against a dangerous, in-form Cincinnati team that might have the best player in the league.
Scoring twice after the 75th minute, the Whitecaps took what could have been a frustrating scoreless draw and turned it into a big momentum boost. They also secured the Cascadia Cup for the second straight year, which is great to see.
Okay, without further delay, let’s talk about some of the individual performances.
Yohei Takaoka – 7.0
He had very little to do, as he did not face a single shot on target. His distribution was a welcome return after Boehmer played in the Leagues Cup.
Édier Ocampo – 7.5
I think Ocampo has been really good recently and is often involved in a lot of Vancouver’s proactive buildup play. He was asked to do even more after Badwal was forced off just under 20 minutes in, and I thought he handled that added responsibility well.
Ralph Priso – 7.0
Ralph is a constant reminder of how much Sørensen values pace and athleticism at the position. His ability to play a high line and recover quickly is invaluable, and he’s comfortable getting really high up on the ball in the way this team wants to play. Hopefully, he can go a full 90 soon.
Mathías Laborda – 7.5
After a mixed Leagues Cup, this was much better from Laborda, though he did likely benefit from the lack of a vertical threat from Seattle. He put in some nice crosses, even though there wasn’t always a VWFC player on the end of them.
Tate Johnson – 8.0
The young American is quietly putting together a really impressive sophomore campaign. He set up two big chances and had some really nice defensive recoveries.
Andrés Cubas – 7.5
Another workmanlike, rock-solid showing from Cubas.
Oliver Larraz – 8.0
Yes, he’s not Berhalter, but Larraz has come a long way over the last month or so. From someone who barely saw minutes to start the year, he now feels like an important piece, and he’s been one of Vancouver’s better players over the last few matches he’s started. I think with some consistency, we’re also starting to see him become more aggressive and assertive in his decision-making. I can think of someone else who was like that in the midfield.
Honestly, I think the Priso arc is probably the one that makes the most sense for Larraz in terms of progression. He might not be the next big talent to go to Europe, but can he become a great MLS contributor? Absolutely.
Jeevan Badwal – N/A
Drew some fouls early and had to be subbed off. Hopefully it was precautionary and there’s nothing too serious with his head.
Thomas Müller – 8.0
A lively match from Müller, who looked like he benefited from Ryan Gauld entering the match and creating some more space, even if those two are not yet perfectly in sync. As influential as he is, I still feel like the German is working his way toward finding his best role for this team. Obviously, the free kick was a great highlight.
Cheikh Sabaly – 6.5
I dunno, I’m still struggling to buy in on Sabaly. He was involved, but it feels like the Senegalese winger is where a lot of Whitecaps attacks end. I’m looking forward to the return of Bruno Caicedo.
Emmanuel Sabbi – 7.5
I quite liked what I saw from Sabbi leading the line, even if it was for a brief time, and he also looked good once Gauld came on and they played on opposite wings. His pass to set up the Elloumi goal was sublime.
Rayan Elloumi – 8.5
The youngster deserves his own section here. It’s been a crazy summer for him, and it would have been easy to assume he would be banished after skying his penalty against Tigres. Yet, Sørensen has shown a lot of patience with his young players, and it was rewarded down in Seattle, as Elloumi answered the call off the bench and put in his best performance by far to date.
Even before his goal, his hold-up play and movement were all the things that scouts rave about and the reason he’s viewed as such a big talent. Those skills are rare for an 18-year-old to show at the senior level. Seeing the back of the net in such a big moment has to feel good, and though Sørensen will probably hope he doesn’t have to lean too heavily on Elloumi down the stretch, he’s certainly got something to work with.
Ryan Gauld – 8.0
The match changed when Gauld came onto the pitch, as the Whitecaps showed a different level of intent to find a goal. Gauld can do a lot of the box-arriving and final-pass work we saw from Sebastian Berhalter over the last year or so, he just does it in a different way.
I think the idea of Gauld playing opposite a winger with pace like Sabbi or Caicedo really works, as it makes the defensive balance very uncomfortable for opponents. They can’t just set up to defend against one kind of threat, and we saw that against a very good Seattle backline, which had real challenges adjusting and ultimately conceded two late goals.
Tristan Blackmon & Nikola Djordjevic – N/A
Blackmon came on in the 66th minute, but there wasn’t much to report as the Whitecaps had the field tilted for much of the second half. Djordjevic only came on in the 87th minute, so there wasn’t really enough time to make much of an assessment.
Those were my thoughts from the match this weekend. Let me know yours in the comments, as always.
Are the Caps that good or are Seattle that poor at the moment? I think it is more the former but I also think that this performance shows that the Caps are the class of the league: their style and pattern of play are excellent. It is a fun team to watch and they are getting results in league play.
Tate Johnson has been on a steady rise and I suspect he’ll be the next bigger money transfer next year, especially if Max Arfsten does well at Middlesborough as a bit of a comparison. Ghera in the back up spot is one for the future. Unless Adekugbe takes a really big haircut on his salary for his option year next season, he won’t be back.
Of all the new off-season signings, Sabaly and AZ have been the weakest- Sabaly- 4.0- hit his ceiling a few years ago and is falling- he isn’t the wing player we need; Sabbi- 6.0- is adequate
After 11appearances, I finally saw some upside for Elloumi- his footwork and movement were very noticeable- he took his goal with calmness and precision- 8.0
Larraz is a good signing and his place in MF is a starter- but he is not a replacement for Berhalter- 7.5
Priso is the most solid CB and the Jesper magic has dramatically changed his career- 7.5
Johnson is the #1 LB and I don’t see Adekugbe replacing him as a starter- 8.0
I am expecting Ocampo to be bought by a bigger Club- 7.5
And as we all saw, Ryan Gauld- 8.5- is a difference maker- his connection with Muller- 7.5- will be a big plus
Salty
Ya know Salty I’ve come to appreciate and understand your comments over the years. One challenge I pose to you is that Priso at CB means that either Blackmon, Laborda or Veselinovic and even Halbouni are relegated to subs. IMO Priso needs to be tried beside Cubas. If Priso can maintain his CB skill set as a DMF then Berhalter will become a distant and fond memory. That Priso was on the cusp of making the CMNT speaks volumes of his talent. Jesse Marsh knows this better than anyone, except for Sorensen. We will never know what Sorensen’s plans are until we get into the playoffs. I’m going to predict that Priso ends up beside Cubas. I’m okay with Laborda and Blackmon as CB’s but Blackman needs to position himself better to cover for the back line when needed. I think Blackmon has the pace while Laborda doesn’t. I think what the caps need is another proven goal scorer. I’d even consider resigning the Mexican striker we had last year for the last run of the season. I’d love to have a younger option but that’s elusive. Eloumi had a good game last night but come playoff time when the play intensifies I’m not sure he’s going to be able to bang in a goal and that’s what it ultimately comes down to
Again urprised that Sabaly is getting as many minutes as he is – this can’t continue unless his play signficantly improves. Ironically, he was pretty good in Monterrey as a full back.
Sabaly has a role to play for the Caps. While he may not be the 1st choice to be the left side attacker he has some good qualities, one being his ability to advance the ball. Unfortunately when he gets close to the penalty area he wont cross the ball with his left foot and when he switches to right foot he has either slowed right down or stopped altogether, limiting his attacking options. He doesn’t have a great shot either. He just needs to make some minor adjustments to reach his full potential and become a valuable player.