MLS: The good, the bad and the ugly – Thriller in Minnesota
By Daniel Garza
The bad
Nothing is going right for the Portland Timbers at the moment.
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The 2018 MLS Cup runners-up have yet to win and suffered their fifth loss of the season this weekend against FC Dallas. Although they have to play a home match, the Timbers can’t solely rely on a possible resurgence when they get back to Portland. Their playoff hopes could take a massive hit if they fail to make it out of April without a victory.
This week, they rallied somewhat against a good and young Dallas team. With a different bounce of the ball, they might have snatched a point. But the Timbers were surely expecting more than smash-and-grab draws against middling MLS teams at the start of the season.
Gio Savarese has a real job on his hands now. Portland are still dangerous, possessing the talent to make a late-season charge at a playoff berth. But they need their stars to perform and their stadium to open, because, at the moment, this is a rather egregious fall from grace.