MLS is Back: Top 5 Performances from Matchday Three
By Matt Coles
3. Jordan Morris & Nicolas Lodeiro
After a poor start to the tournament, the Seattle Sounders needed to win big in their final group match of the competition to make sure they made it into the knockout stages, along with building some confidence ahead of the winner-takes-all run to the title.
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They got it in their final match in Group B, which came against the Vancouver Whitecaps. They won 3-0, thanks to goals from Jordan Morris, Nicolas Lodeiro and Raul Ruidiaz. The partnership between the former set up the first goal, and they worked well in tandem all night.
The Uruguayan midfielder scored a penalty kick in the 16th minute to get the reigning MLS Cup champions off and running before then having a major hand in the second. He chipped a perfect ball through for the USMNT forward, and he managed to get the ball under control, before finishing calmly for his 12th goal in his last 25 matches, to go along with nine assists.
The last of those assists for Morris came in the second half, as he and Lodeiro combined once more, with the American then tapping the ball into the path of Ruidiaz, who duly applied the finishing touch.
Morris and Lodeiro are two of Seattle’s key men, and when the pair are on-song like they were last Sunday evening, the Rave Green are a hard side to stop. They will need to bring their ‘A’ game for their round of 16 clash, which comes against reigning Supporters’ Shield holders LAFC on Monday night.