Seattle Sounders: 4 takeaways from 2-1 loss to LAFC

It was always known that the Sounders faced a tough challenge, travelling to Los Angeles to take on the team with the league's best record. And so it proved to be, as they came up on the short end of a 2-1 loss to LAFC.

Any hopes of building on the momentum of their 2-1 win over Colorado was extinguished, as Seattle lost for the fifth time in seven games. They remain on the outside looking in, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference with 12 games left.

There is plenty to unpack from Friday's night loss. Here are our four takeaways from the game at Banc of California Stadium.

1) A strong start

In one respect, there was no denying the size of the task facing the Sounders on Friday night. LAFC have been the class of the league up to this point of the regular season.

The Seattle Sounders came prepared to play on Friday night in Los Angeles but in the end it wasn't enough, as they were overpowered by LAFC and lost 2-1

However, if there's one thing you don't doubt about Seattle, it's their mental fortitude. The core is similar to the one which traveled to Los Angeles in the 2019 playoffs and beat the Supporters' Shield winners to book their place in the MLS Cup.

In addition, if there's one head coach guaranteed to have his team prepared, it's Brian Schmetzer. As such, it was no surprise when the Sounders came out and controlled the early action with their aggressive approach.

This approach payed off in the 14th minute, when they took the lead. Cristian Roldan made a fantastic run past four LAFC players, before firing a low shot across goal which Jesus Murillo accidentally forced into his own net.

Even after the goal and as LAFC attempted to push forward more, the Sounders maintained their positive tempo. And it almost resulted in them doubling their lead on 32 minutes.

Xavier Arreaga perfectly timed his run into the LAFC box on a corner kick, but somehow put his shot wide with the goal beckoning. It would prove to be a costly miss for the Sounders.