Good Monday morning Caps fans. I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are gearing up for whatever this week has in store.

Well, Saturday was fun. The Caps decided to take out weeks’ worth of frustration on a rotated FC Dallas side that had no answer for Vancouver’s first-choice XI, which was firing on all cylinders. Four first-half goals, including a brace from Brian White, effectively ended things by halftime, but Bruno Caicedo made sure of it with a fifth goal in the second half.

The injuries and rotation required in recent matches obscured something we should all have remembered: when this team has all of its best players on the pitch at once, it is very, very good. That is particularly true now that Ryan Gauld and Thomas Müller have really started to figure things out together and complement each other. Gauld was central to how the Caps played on Saturday, finding pockets of space to work with Edier Ocampo on the right-hand side. Müller was somehow even better, playing delicate through balls that tormented a Dallas side that never got it’s spacing correct.

Ocampo was also fantastic, with a goal and an assist in perhaps his finest display in what has already been an excellent year. I said this in the post match but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ocampo was next up in the list of players sold to Europe. His pace and work rate would translate well into any top European league, as would his passing.

Oh and Brian White managed to bag a brace in his return, giving him some much needed momentum as well. But this was a match in which everyone was excellent, winning duels, putting in tackles, tracking back, and doing everything necessary to absolutely smother Dallas. It was a fantastic performance and, when combined with a Houston loss, quickly elevated the Caps back into first place in the West. The Supporters Shield may be out of reach but this team reminded everyone why they’re the best team in the conference. With a trip to lowly Sporting KC looming on the horizon, the chance to build some momentum is now.

Shameless Self Promotion

We run down the takeaways from Saturday night’s blowout (even though I started to run out of superlatives at some point).

Best of the Rest

I didn’t mention the rumblings that the Caps have locked down a deal to take over the management of BC Place. The club quashed that reporting but given the volume of people on social media claiming it to be a done deal, I suspect there is at least some smoke there. It is equally possible that some final details or official government action, so stay tuned for more.

A toddler ran onto the field in Minnesota/San Jose and, no, that isn’t a pejorative for an academy player.

Former Caps product Jay Herman is leaving the CPL for Bali — not bad if you can get it.

Scoring five goals was simply a Vancouver thing on Saturday — the Rise beat Ottawa 5-1 behind a four goal second half.