Friday’s soccer news starts with MLS giving us a game on Saturday when Colorado hosts the LA Galaxy (3:30pm ET – Univision). The Rapids find themselves a point behind 1st-place Seattle with a game in hand. The last time Colorado lost at home was in the second week of the season. They beat the Galaxy 2-1 in Carson on August 17.
“We really focus on our performance and adhering to our principles,” Rapids coach Robin Fraser told his club’s official site. “We feel like when we do that, we get good results. It just doesn’t make sense for us to start talking about where we are because we’re in the middle of the season and no one’s winning anything in the middle of the season,” Fraser continued. “For us, it’s continuing to work on the principles that have gotten us into a pretty good spot.”
No doubt, with the Rapids undefeated in seven games and losing once over their last dozen. It’s the kind of dominance expected from a frontrunner, but it’s not what is happening with the Sounders. Over their last seven games, Seattle has lost three, including last week at home to Portland. There’s no need to downplay their start to the season or the three-game win streak they put together in August. That started with a 6-2 win at Portland, raising the consistency question for a club that reopened the Western Conference title fight once their league record win streak ended in mid-July.
Seattle is at home to 5th-place Minnesota, another team with a game in hand and a record that suggests more. A 1-0 home loss to the Galaxy on August 14 ended a five-game unbeaten run. They’re currently on a three-game undefeated streak that started with a draw at San Jose. They’re also the team that ended Seattle’s lengthy undefeated start to the season.
An unsettled Western Conference wasn’t the expectation with a streaking Seattle. Sporting Kansas City already briefly claimed the top spot, showing just how quickly a lead can erode in this league. Colorado’s push into 2nd-place is a reminder that the West remains wide open among the top three, separated by three points.
Also in the soccer news, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel updated Christian Pulisic’s injury status. “For Christian unfortunately he came yesterday on crutches,” Tuchel said. “He has an ankle injury [that will rule him out] for about 10 days.”
ESPN’s soccer writers work through the USMNT’s results from the September window. The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio asks about the USMNT moving forward. NISA Network’s Alexa Doebler talks to former USMNT player Des Armstrong about working as a league executive in the lower divisions. DW on who wants the World Cup every other year.
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Logo courtesy of the Colorado Rapids
