Portland Timbers make the right move to sign Felipe Mora
By Daniel Garza
A great first season in Major League Soccer for the Portland Timbers’ Felipe Mora has led to the forward’s permanent transfer to the Western Conference club. Mora joined the Timbers on loan from Pumas UNAM for the 2020 season but will now be with the club for the foreseeable future. The 27-year-old was one of the top offensive players for the Timbers during their 2020 season which saw them win the MLS is Back Tournament and earn a place in the MLS Cup playoffs. Based on the impact he had last season, there’s no question this was a great move by the club to keep Mora on the roster.
A top offensive threat
Mora had a very productive first season for the Timbers. In 19 regular-season appearances, the Chilean international registered seven goals and two assists. He finished the season tied for the third in goals scored on the Timbers and was third in goals per 90 minutes played. His 0.52 goals per 90 minutes played was the second-highest goals per 90 minutes of his career.
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Whether he was utilized as a substitute or a starter, Mora was able to contribute goals to the Timbers regular season campaign.
Three of his seven goals were from substitute appearances with the other four goals coming in matches where he was in the starting lineup. He’s a great team player to have and Mora displayed he can get the job done no matter what role he is given.
Mora improves the Timbers attacking options
The Timbers had one of the best-attacking units of the 2020 MLS season. In addition to Mora, the Timbers had Jeremy Ebobisse, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, and Diego Valeri producing goals for the club.
All four of these players contributed an almost identical goal total. Mora and Niezgoda scored seven goals and Ebobisse and Valeri both scored eight goals. At the moment, all four of these players will be coming back for the 2021 campaign, and securing Mora ensured this was made possible. They will continue to have plenty of offensive depth.
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Mora will likely be getting plenty of playing time to begin the 2021 season. Niezgoda is continuing his comeback from an unfortunate ACL injury he suffered towards the end of the 2020 season, which means he could be out for the first few months of the campaign. For this reason, Mora should be appearing in the starting lineup and the club will be looking to him to be a continued source of goals. Keep an eye on Mora in 2021 as he will very likely reach a double-digit goal total in the MLS regular season.