Seattle, WA – The Seattle Sounders will take on Club Leon, the team that defeated Seattle in the Concacaf Champions league final last season in Las Vegas. That game ended in a three to two final score, with Seattle just falling short of taking another trophy home. The hope coming into this tournament was that with their new roster, Seattle would be heavy favorites to win the whole thing. With the form that the Sounders have showed as of recent, the odds for Seattle winning it all are much lower.
Fredy Montero may need to step up for Seattle in this matchup
Last match recap:
Seattle: The last two matches for the Sounders are like hot and cold. The last match in this tournament for Seattle was a resounding five goal win over Motagua to advance to the quarterfinals. Nico Lodeiro opened up the scoring right before the first half ended, and then it seemed like the pressure was off as Seattle saw four second half goals. The last MLS match for Seattle saw the Sounders fall by one goal in Rio Tinto stadium to Real Salt Lake. While Seattle has not won in that venue since 2011, it is still concerning to see the lack of a cohesive attack. Which Sounders team will show up in this first leg contest?
Leon: Club Leon was able to march past Guastatoya in their round of 16 matchup, winning on aggregate three goals to none. Leon was able to dominate possession, shots, pass accuracy, corners, and crosses. The 2021 CCL champions are well on their way to defending their title, and unless Seattle can find a way to rebound quickly, Leon could be looking at a successful first leg.
Where they stand heading into this matchup
Seattle: In this tournament, 1-1-0. In MLS, 0-0-2
Leon: In this tournament, 2-0-0. In their current LIGA MX season, 4-3-2
Players to watch on Leon
Rodolfo Cota: Cota is a great goalkeeper for Leon, who also spends time with the Mexican national team. Beating Cota will obviously be key to a Sounders team that lacks offensive consistency, and had trouble getting an equalizer in the loss to Leon in that finals match last season.
Elias Hernandez: Hernandez is one of many talented midfielders that Leon has, and expect him to be active in this round. He is Leon’s leading scorer in the tournament with two goals, despite being relatively quiet in this season of LIGA MX play. The 33-year old is making his time count in the CCL, and expect nothing less in this matchup with Seattle.
Luis Montes: Another talented midfielder on the Leon squad, Montes leads the side in assists in this years champions league play for his team. Another player who has not made much of an impact in the LIGA MX season, the 35-year old is part of that talented midfield group that is killer in transition.
Keys to a Sounders win
Shut down Leon in transition: As mentioned in the players to watch, Leon has a dangerous midfield that can play goal to goal. Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan mentioned that this is a transition team, getting up the field fast. With a victory already over Seattle, Leon may be confident in another successful contest. Seattle certainly has the talent in the midfield as well, but with new pieces such as Albert Rusnak, Leon may have the chemistry advantage at this point in time. Shutting down the transition will be key to keeping the Leon attack down.
Begin to make Lumen field a fortress: Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei has said many times, dating back to last season, that the Sounders need to make their home building a fortress. A place that teams fear and loathe coming into, because you know you’re at a disadvantage. That fortress has not been what it used to, as Seattle’s record at home has gotten worse the last few years. Seattle needs to stick it’s foot in the ground and really take back their identity. A team that uses it’s homefield advantage to get that little jolt of energy.
Step up with key players down: With Raul Ruidiaz and Will Bruin out, Seattle will need a forward to step up. In the game against Nashville, Samuel Adeniran stepped into the center forward role. While he performed alright and is young, the Sounders did not have a definitive presence up top. That would hurt them in the loss to a Nashville team with a great defensive unit. Once lineups hit, we will know who head coach Brian Schmetzer decides to put up front. That player will be key to Seattle’s attack.
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