You have surely heard this said before, but it seriously can not be repeated enough: As soon as you think you know what’s going on in Major League Soccer, the script gets flipped. This week was just the latest example.
MLS Week 14: Just another crazy week in soccer’s parity paradise
Hot teams run cold and good teams are struggling to get results.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
- Real Salt Lake was undefeated; not anymore. No one expected that to last forever and playing on the road against the Seattle Sounders when both teams were missing their contingent of internationals was probably a time as any to predict their first loss. But, come on, no one saw the Sounders running away with a 4-0 win.
- The Portland Timbers were trending up; emphasis on were. After seemingly righting the ship with a pair of resounding wins on the road, the Timbers fell flat on their face in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Sure, two of the goals they allowed were on dubious penalties and they did storm back to make what was a 4-1 game interesting, but let's not fool ourselves: there's trouble a-brewing in Stumptown.
- The New England Revolution were the hottest team in the league and were playing the league's worst side. Guess what happened? Yep, the Montreal Impact won. And they didn't just win, they legitimately outplayed a Revolution team that came in on a five-game winning streak. The Impact had won only once in their previous 11.
So, yeah, it was a crazy week in MLS.
The Sounders are pretty deep
Let's not read too much into the Sounders' 4-0 romp over previously unbeaten RSL. The facts are these: RSL were missing their two most important players (Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando) and their top two leading scorers (Alvaro Saborio and Joao Plata); the game was 0-0 before the Sounders were the beneficiaries of an arguably soft penalty; let's not forget that it was only three weeks ago that the Sounders were pummeled 5-0 by the Revolution. So, let's pump the brakes on the Sounders' Supporters' Shield parade.
That said, this was as complete a performance as we've seen from the Sounders in a long time. What makes it particularly notable -- other than it came against an RSL team that was still very good even if they were a bit lacking in personnel -- is that the Sounders had their own personnel concerns. Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin were both obviously away with the United States national team and Djimi Traore was out after tearing his groin last week. This was a team, after all, that was starting Chad Barrett at forward and Zach Scott at center back. Those aren't two names you expect to see on the right side of a 4-0 scoreline.
But here’s the thing: both of those guys actually played really well. Barrett was the classic target forward, winning balls and creating space for Obafemi Martins. Scott, once again, looked like he has miraculously discovered some form at the ripe old age of 33. I’d hesitate to say either of them can keep this up for the long haul, but the Sounders really only need them to continue to play anywhere near this level for a couple more games.
They are also merely complementary parts in a team that really is playing well. Martins is continuing his MVP form, Marco Pappa seems to be coming out of his funk that saw him totally lost in Holland, Lamar Neagle continues to create chances, if not goals and Chad Marshall has to be one of the favorites for Defender of the Year. We've been saying this all year it seems, but if the Sounders can put it all together there's no team in the league that can match their talent from 1-20.
Crew taking a break
Earlier this year, the breakout team seemed to be the Columbus Crew. Gregg Berhalter's high-pressure, seven-attacker system was causing opponents fits and it looked like he might have the Crew making a serious run. If you are wondering why you've heard so little about them since their Week 3 win over the Sounders, here's why: The Crew have won just 1 of 10 since starting 3-0-0.
This week it was a 3-2 loss on the road against Toronto FC, a game in which the Crew blew a pair of leads and gave up the winner in stoppage time. In the Crew's defense, this was no where near their ideal 11 as they were without Will Trapp, Federico Higuain and a handful of players they lost to international duty, but that hardly explains away the previous nine games.
There’s still a lot to like about the team Berhalter has assembled and even how he’s using them. Going through the ideal 11, there aren’t a ton of obvious weak spots. If Josh Williams playing right back is the area that causes the most concern, you’re in pretty good shape. It’s also hard to fault Berhalter for trying to instill this attack-at-all-costs mentality. It’s a joy to watch and seems like it can work, given time.
The Crew have fallen to 4-5-4 and are currently out of playoff position in a Eastern Conference race that is proving very competitive. When Anthony Precourt took over ownership, he gave every indication that middling results were not going to be acceptable. Let’s hope he’s willing to have some patience.
Melting down in Stumptown?
Things are starting to get a bit testy in Portland. The Timbers lost another game, giving up four goals to the Whitecaps, this time at home. It was actually the Timbers’ first home loss since the middle of last season, but that masks some troubling numbers that are coming from Providence Park.
Through eight home matches, the Timbers have just one win and nine points. They’ve also given up a rather eye-popping 17 goals in front of the Timbers Army. Those are bad, possibly ominous, numbers. The only thing really keeping the Timbers afloat is some pretty good road form that has them sitting on 16 points, just two shy of playoff position.
After the latest meltdown, Caleb Porter turned a bit testy during his post-game press conference.
Porter's frustrations are understandable. The two penalties that went against his team were hardly clear cut, and there were a couple that could have gone the other way. But he also seems unwilling to admit anything is really going wrong, at least as far as stuff that's under his control. Now, it's entirely possible that Porter is singing a totally different tune when he's talking to coaches and players. Maybe, privately, he feels all the impressive goals aren't enough on their own. His actions at least suggest this could be the case, as the Timbers recently dumped Futty Danso and are apparently trying to lure Joleon Lescott.
But displays like this also suggest Porter may be a bit stubborn for his own good, a criticism that was often lobbed his way prior to his impressive debut season in Portland. It’s not too late for the Timbers to turn this season around, but time is quickly runing out.
Landon’s flame is reignited
Why did Jurgen Klinsmann cut Landon Donovan from the World Cup team? There are lots of theories. The one that seems the most reasonable, though, is that Klinsmann simply didn't believe that Donovan could help the United States as much as was going to be needed.
Fair or not, Donovan seems to be doing everything in his power to prove that notion wrong. After opening the season with nine goal-less games, Donovan has been on a tear in his two games since missing out on his fourth World Cup. Donovan finally broke the MLS all-time scoring record last week with a pair of goals and then followed that up with another goal this week in the Galaxy's 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire.
More than the goals is how Donovan is playing. Donovan was his free-roaming old self, popping up in dangerous spaces and generally making life very difficult on defenses. Is that particularly useful for how Klinsmann wanted to use him? Maybe not. But at least MLS is reaping the rewards.
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