LAFC and the Seattle Sounders have been battling for Western Conference supremacy for the last several years. The last meeting between the two clubs saw LAFC leave Lumen Field with a 1-0 win in the Western Conference Semifinal. The win by LAFC snapped the Sounders streak of 19 consecutive home playoff wins.
As a result, Sounders FC head coach Brian Schmetzer was asked in training this week if the two clubs were rivals.
“ I would say outside of the Portland Timbers they are due to the success they have had,” leave it to Schmetzer to take every opportunity to take a jab at the Timbers. Since 2018 LAFC has 93 wins compared to the Sounders 88. In keeping with their commitment to winning trophies both teams made offseason moves to improve the club for 2024.
WHICH TEAM GOT BETTER?
LAFC UPGRADE TO MIDFIELD AND GOAL TENDING
With 2023 Golden Boot Award winner Denis Bouanga returning LAFC solidified its backline and midfield with the acquisition of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris midfielder Eduard Atuesta and defender Omar Campos. In addition to Lloris, Atuesta and Campos LAFC signed defender Lorenzo Dellavalle, midfielder David Martinez and forward Tomas Angel.
Atuesta returns after a two-year absence while playing for Palmeiras in the Brazilian Seri A and will make an immediate impact in LAFC ‘s midfield. Lloris is a legendary netminder who spent the last 11 years playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.
SOUNDER’S ADD DEPTH AND MAGIC
The Sounders had the second-best defense in MLS last season with an offense that was near the bottom. No surprise General Manager Craig Waible acquired Argentinian playmaker Pedro de la Vega. Young gifted with a knack for taking on defenders de la Vega is just what the team needed to infuse some creativity into a Sounder attack that was too predictable in the final third. Waible signed forward Danny Musovski who played for LAFC from 2020- 2022 to bring diversity to the Sounders attack. Defenders Jonathan Bell and Nathan signed to bring depth to the backline.
Both teams added depth to their strength and improved on their weakness. The answer is it’s too early to judge which team made the biggest strides during the offseason.
CAN SOUNDERS BREAK THE LA CURSE?
While the Sounders have been competitive against LAFC at home since 2020 when Century Link Field was changed to Lumen Field with four wins two draws and last year’s loss, the Rave Green have had dismal results at LA. The Sounders are 0-4-1 in their last five game road games against LAFC. The last time the Sounders beat LAFC at home was October 29th, 2019 when the stadium was called Banc of California Stadium.
HOW BIG IS THIS GAME?
One game does not a season make especially when it is the opening game of a season. Saturday’s game matters but the season does not depend on it. An upset win by the Sounders would snap the team’s dismal record in LA and maybe give LAFC something to think about. A loss to LAFC would be business as normal and the Sounders can point to July 20th when the two sides meet again at Lumen Field. The most important thing for the Sounders outside of a win is to score goals. In their last three matches against LAFC in 2023 the Sounders were held scoreless. Over their last six meetings, LAFC has held the Sounders to only two goals combined and kept the Rave Green off the scoreboard four times.
GAME NOTES
• Seattle Sounders FC kicks off its 2024 MLS campaign with a road
match against LAFC on Saturday, February 24 at BMO Stadium (1:45
p.m. PT / Apple TV – Watch Free, FOX, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
• Seattle and LAFC most recently met in the Western Conference
Semifinals last year at Lumen Field, where the Southern California side
was able to secure a 1-0 win. LAFC would eventually lose in the MLS
Cup Final to the Columbus Crew.
• Since LAFC joined the league in 2018, the two sides have formed a
budding rivalry, facing off 14 times in the regular season, as well as
meeting multiple times in playoff action.
• Seattle is 3-7-4 all-time in the regular-season against LAFC. However,
Sounders FC has a 2-1-0 record against LAFC in the playoffs, including
a 3-1 victory in the 2019 Western Conference Final, where Seattle
would go on to win its second MLS Cup.
• The Rave Green are coming off a season in which they finished
second in the Western Conference with a 14-9-11 record. LAFC
finished in third place with a 14-10-10 record.
• Sounders FC made some offseason acquisitions in preparation for the
2024 season, most notably the signing of Argentine midfielder Pedro
de la Vega, the club’s first Young Designated Player, to a four-year
contract.
• Saturday’s match marks only the second time that Seattle has opened
the season on the road. The other instance came in 2017 when the
Rave Green faced the Houston Dynamo in Matchweek 1.
• Following Saturday’s matchup, Seattle returns home to host Austin
FC in its home opener on Saturday, March 2 on the Emerald Queen
Casino Pitch at Lumen Field (7:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 950 KJR AM, El
Rey 1360 AM).
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