It was a night to remember for the Vancouver Whitecaps, as they cruised to a 5-0 win against FC Dallas at BC Place on Saturday.

Their first win at BC Place since April, this outburst felt like one that was weeks in the making, as the Whitecaps haven’t quite found their rhythm since the World Cup break, despite some encouraging moments.

They had continued to play relatively well as a team in recent games, but were afflicted by some big defensive mistakes and moments of bad luck in their own half, and had struggled heavily in front of their opponents’ goal.

In this game, however, they looked a lot more like themselves, which was bad news for a Dallas side who rotated their squad in hope of grinding out a road result. With the Whitecaps scoring four first-half goals, those plans quickly went out the window for the visitors, unfortunately.

Now, the Whitecaps will hope this performance is a sign that they’re returning to their best level as a team, as they look to stay alive in the Supporters’ Shield race. With Nashville SC in excellent form, it’ll be hard for the Whitecaps to catch them over the next few months, but they’ll at least give themselves a chance if they can keep playing like this.

With that in mind, here’s a look at your grades from this match.

Yohei Takaoka – 7.5

Takaoka faced a grand total of one shot on target in this game, one worth just 0.05 xGOT, as the Whitecaps defence did an excellent job of protecting their goalkeeper. As he usually does, though, Takaoka was adventurous with his sweeping actions – he even had a first-half action that ended up with him clearing the ball with an acrobatic kick.

Édier Ocampo – 9.5

Ocampo was a constant threat down the right side of the Whitecaps’ attack, as he caused Dallas’s defenders fits with his overlapping runs. Certainly, they struggled to track his movement, as he escaped their attention completely on the assist he gave Brian White for his first goal, as well as for the goal he scored himself. Along with his two goal contributions, he also generated four shots and won six out of his seven duels to cap his strong performance on both sides of the ball.

Tristan Blackmon – 8.0

As he often is when at his best, Blackmon was excellent on both sides of the ball, marshalling things at the heart of the Whitecaps defence. It started with his work in possession, as he completed 90 out of 105 passes, including eight of 18 long balls (with one of them helping create the Whitecaps’ second goal), but he was just as good defensively, finishing with six tackles, three clearances, two interceptions, 11 recoveries and eight out of 10 duels won.

Ralph Priso – 6.5

It wasn’t Priso’s day, as he had to leave the game at halftime with what looked to be an ankle injury. And even before that, he had a few actions that he was lucky not to be punished for defensively, including a potential penalty shout when the game was still 3-0. As usual, though, he was composed on the ball, completing 98% of his passes.

Tate Johnson – 7.5

It felt like Johnson did a lot of quiet work in this game, as Dallas struggled to fashion any sort of attacks down his flank. Certainly, by the eye test, it’s hard to think of any standout defensive moments, which is exactly what you’d want to see from a full-back – by the numbers, he had two tackles, one clearance, six recoveries and won two out of two ground duels, showing that he still got stuck in on a few occasions.

Oliver Larraz – 7.5

This was an unassuming performance from Larraz, which wasn’t the worst thing for him. He wasn’t able to really get going in the final third, but he had some decent moments of ball progression from deeper areas, which speaks to the challenge he faces in finding a role in this team going forward – he profiles a bit more of a #6 than a #8, which is why he’s not always looked comfortable in filling the shoes of the recently departed Sebastian Berhalter. Speaking of his defensive chops, Larraz also had one tackle, one clearance and nine recoveries, showing his instincts on that side of the game.

Andrés Cubas – 9.0

When Cubas plays like this, the Whitecaps tend to win games, as he was dominant defensively. Seemingly any time that Dallas found space to attack into, Cubas found a way to shut things down, doing well to cover all sorts of ground defensively. The numbers speak for themselves, as Cubas finished with an astonishing 11 tackles, one block, one interception, 10 recoveries and won 13 out of 18 of his ground duels. No time to take a touch if you’re a Dallas player. (And, for good measure, Cubas also chipped in with an assist, to round off this great performance).

Ryan Gauld – 9.0

He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but this was a fantastic performance from Gauld, who did a lot of important running for the Whitecaps on both sides of the ball. In particular, he did a fantastic job of hoovering up second balls, as Dallas’s midfielders had no idea how to track his movement in those scenarios (he won five out of six ground duels, for reference). This is great to see from a Whitecaps perspective, as Gauld doesn’t just look back to his normal self after all of his knee issues – he arguably looks as good as he has ever looked physically.

Thomas Müller – 8.0

It was the first time that this specific front four started a game together, and that was good news for Müller, who got to interpret space the way he does best. There were a few moments where you’d want him to be a bit more assertive on the ball and take more shots (he didn’t attempt a single shot in this game), but he was able to create four chances, including two big chances, which shows what he was able to do with some better attackers around him.

Emmanuel Sabbi – 9.5

Could this have been the breakout performance that Sabbi needed? He looked extremely lively and dynamic, as he seemed to benefit from the confidence that an early goal gave him. That he even dared to attempt a rainbow flick shows how he was feeling, as he certainly didn’t lack for invention or ideas, completing three of his four dribbles. His legs did fade as the game went on, but that was only natural to see given the way he started the match.

Brian White – 8.5

This was a typical Brian White performance, as he put away two clinical first-time finishes for his brace, but missed a good breakaway chance that could’ve gotten him the hat trick. Ultimately, he won’t care too much about that, as he did what you’d want from a striker; despite having just 23 touches, 10 of them were in the box, and he had four shots. Interestingly, White’s made a habit of finding his goals in bunches – this is now the fifth time this season that he’s scored a brace in an MLS game. No hat trick yet, though.

Mathías Laborda, Bruno Caicedo, Rayan Elloumi, Cheikh Sabaly, Sam Adekugbe – 7.5

With the game already 4-0 at half-time when Laborda entered the game as the first Whitecaps sub, there wasn’t much for the substitutes to do in this game. Because of that, none of them really had the chance to assert themselves, with Caicedo standing out as the best of the bunch after scoring a nice goal.

Speaking of Caicedo, he feels like the player who has the best chance of dislodging someone from the front four that started this game (if you’re to assume that we’ll start to see more of Jeevan Badwal in midfield when he returns from a concussion), so it’ll be fascinating to see if Caicedo can push for more starts now that he’s healthy. It definitely feels like him and Sabbi will be locked in a battle for that left-wing spot come playoff time.

Did you agree with these grades? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

(Images: Chaehyun Lim)