Sporting Kansas City’s Alan Pulido has the attention of the Colorado Rapids

Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido (9) takes a shot on goal against Portland Timbers defender José Van Rankin (2) during the second half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido (9) takes a shot on goal against Portland Timbers defender José Van Rankin (2) during the second half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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Alan Pulido is having a tremendous start to the MLS campaign for Sporting Kansas City, a point not loss on the Colorado Rapids and head coach Robin Fraser.

And the point for the Colorado Rapids, is to keep Alan Pulido from scoring any.

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Sporting Kansas City is off to another solid start, the talisman for their efforts the goal scoring form of Pulido. With five goals and an assist through nine games (seven starts), the Mexican international is certainly settling in nicely in Kansas City.

And for the Colorado Rapids, who have been relatively good defensively this season, Pulido’s ability to transform a game with his movement and finishing is a major bullseye heading into this match. It makes for a difficult road match for the Rapids.

“I mean, his season so far is almost irrelevant because we’re concerned about him tomorrow night. He’s a very, very good player, and his movement is extremely intelligent, he helps combine, move the team up the field and then in front of the goal – you have different types of forwards…forwards who really just need service on their own,” Fraser told reporters on Tuesday.

“He can finish off service and then you have forwards who can make their own shots. And when you have forwards who are capable of both, then they become exponentially more difficult to deal with and he’s certainly a player who can make his own shots, create his own opportunities, create opportunities for others, and finish on crosses.”

Sporting Kansas City comes into this match second in the Western Conference and fourth in the league with 17 points with a 5-3-2 record. Right behind them are the Colorado Rapids, 5-2-1 with 16 points. They’ve allowed eight goals through as many games this season.

In his last five games for Sporting Kansas City, Alan Pulido has four goals. Despite registering six shots and playing 90 minutes against the Portland Timbers this past weekend, Pulido didn’t score.

The Colorado Rapids are coming off a 2-0 win at FC Cincinnati this past weekend. Sporting Kansas City, one of the best and most consistent teams in MLS over the past decade, will be a much sterner test than the Colorado Rapids’ hapless opponent this past weekend.

“A very, very well coached team and organized team and very talented players all over the place. For us it’s a huge test, a huge challenge,” Fraser said of Sporting Kansas City.

“We’ve had some decent performances over the last number of weeks, but you always look at certain teams as real benchmarks as to where you are and certainly this is one of them.”

Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer