By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

LAFC hands Sounders first defeat in 4-1 rout

The heavyweight matchup between arguably two of the best teams in Major League Soccer never materialized. Not that the game between the Seattle Sounders ( 5-1-1 16 points) and the Los Angeles Football Club (7-1-1, 22) was canceled it just wasn’t a fair fight on many accounts.

The Sounders stepped into hornets without the services of Raul Ruidiaz ( right heel contusion) for a  second straight game while Will Bruin (left hamstring) and Chad Marshall (knee inflammation) missed their first games of the season due to injuries.

A  supring 1-0 loss at  Vancouver on Wednesday snapped LAFC unbeaten streak and left the Sounders as the only unbeaten team in MLS. A fired up LAFC squad was no match for the wounded  Sounders who found themselves down 1-0 after just 12 minutes of play on a Carlo Vela header. It was a league-best ninth goal for the Mexican International.

The home side doubled its advantage just before the halftime whistle, as Eduard Atuesta took advantage of a Seattle turnover inside the Rave Green’s half to fire a shot past Stefan Frei, making the score 2-0 through the first 45 minutes.

Cristian Roldan and Eduard Atuesta battle for the ball
Sounders Cristian Roldan and Eduard Atuesta battle for the ball. ( LAFC Imad Bolotok)
Seattle pulled one back in the 51st minute through Harry Shipp, who fired a calm and collected shot past LA goalkeeper Tyler Miller at his back post. The strike came courtesy of fluid build-up from the Rave Green, with Víctor Rodríguez earning his third assist of the season on the play’s final pass.
Vela added his 10th goal of the season in the 55th minute, finishing at Frei’s far post on a cutting pass from Atuesta. Christian Ramirez made it 4-1 six minutes later with a simple finish inside Seattle’s six-yard-box. Kaye earned his third assist of the day on the goal.
MATCH SUMMARY
 
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Los Angeles FC 3
Sunday, April 21, 2019
 
Venue: Banc of California Stadium
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistants: Mike Rottersman, Ian B. Anderson
Fourth Official: Tim Ford
VAR: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 22,221
Weather: Sunny and 65 degrees
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
LAFC – Carlos Vela (Mark-Anthony Kaye) 12′
LAFC – Eduard Atuesta (Mark-Anthony Kaye) 39′
SEA – Harry Shipp (Víctor Rodríguez) 51′
LAFC – Carlos Vela (Eduard Atuesta) 55′
LAFC – Christian Ramirez (Mark-Anthony Kaye) 61′
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
 
SEA – Román Torres (caution) 22′
LAFC – Eduard Atuesta (caution) 35′
SEA – Kim Kee-hee (caution) 44′
SEA – Kelvin Leerdam (caution) 58′
SEA – Jody Delem (caution) 67′
 
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Román Torres, Kim Kee-hee (Jordy Delem 64′), Brad Smith; Cristian Roldan, Gustav Svensson; Harry Shipp, Nicolás Lodeiro – captain, Víctor Rodríguez (Nouhou 64′); Jordan Morris (Henry Wingo 68′)
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Alex Roldan, Handwalla Bwana
Total shots: 6 (Lodeiro/Shipp, 2)
Shots on goal: 2 (Kim/Shipp, 1)
Fouls: 19 (Lodeiro, 5)
Offside: 1 (Morris, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Lodeiro, 4)
Saves: 4 (Frei, 4)
 
Los Angeles FC – Tyler Miller; Steven Beitashour (Lee Nguyen 80′), Walker Zimmerman, Eddie Segura, Jordan Harvey; Mark-Anthony Kaye, Eduardo Atuesta (Peter-Lee Vassell 89′), Latif Blessing; Carlos Vela – captain, Christian Ramirez (Adrien Perez 80′), Diego Rossi

Substitutes not used: Pablo Sisniega, Danilo Silva, Mohamed El-Munir, Josh Pérez

Total shots: 16 (Vela, 5)
Shots on goal: 8 (Vela, 4)
Fouls: 15 (Kaye, 4)
Offside: 1 (Zimmerman, 1)
Corner-kicks: 5 (Atuesta,

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