It was never going to be that easy.
Not saying the 4-1 win at Banc of California Stadium was a mirage. LAFC dominated Seattle on the day. But you don't just waltz into CenturyLink Field expecting it all to fall into place once again.
And less than a minute into the match, LAFC found that out the hard way.
The first big error of Eddie Segura's time with LAFC gifted the Sounders an early opener. Any pretense of an easy afternoon went right out the window. But to LAFC's credit, there was no dwelling on it. Just three minutes later, the score was level - Carlos Vela finishing his league-leading 11th goal of the season.
Just as the teams started to settle into a rhythm, the match went a bit crazy.
Cristian Roldan was shown a red card - more on that later. LAFC pressed for a winner as they played up a man for over an hour. Seattle nearly nicked it at the death. Then LAFC had a penalty... then they didn't. Kelvin Leerdam was sent off. And all of it resulted in the same scoreline we had just four minutes into the match.
Here are the takeaways from LAFC's 1-1 draw in Seattle:
Pick Up Your Teammate
Eddie Segura hasn't put a wrong foot forward all season. And he had the original pass covered all the way, which makes the backpass that Jordan Morris easily picks off all the more unfortunate.
A minute into the match, LAFC is down away from home in a hostile environment. You know the Sounders and their fans are thinking revenge. But it's the response you'd expect from the league leaders.
Three minutes later, LAFC goes from one end of the pitch to the other in three passes. Carlos Vela arrives at the perfect time. Just like that, LAFC is level.
What's probably more important is the way LAFC work the goal. After his error, Segura was right back to playing the ball out of the back on the ground. Not many 22-year-old center backs would have that kind of courage just moments after a howler. But Segura puts it behind him, he works with his teammates to get out of a tight spot along the touchline - what a layoff from Mark-Anthony Kaye to Jordan Harvey, and then the ball from Harvey to spring Diego Rossi is perfectly lofted - and Vela finishes to pick up his teammate.
There's The Adjustment
Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer had to make some form of tactical adjustment after Seattle's 4-1 loss in LA last week.
LAFC's midfield ran rampant over Seattle at Banc of California Stadium. Schmetzer needed to find a way to disrupt Eduard Atuesta, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Latif Blessing somewhere on the pitch. Not one to drop 10 men behind the ball, Schmetzer opted to confront LAFC higher up the pitch.
Cristian Roldan was deployed much higher from the start on Sunday. Seattle strayed from its usual two-man setup in front of the defense with Roldan up next to Nico Lodeiro and Jordy Delem the lone holder deep.
Through 18 minutes, the tactic forced LAFC's midfielders deeper than we saw them in the first match. Kaye and Atuesta, in particular, had much less time on the ball and were forced to play sideways more often than not. So, in that respect, Schmetzer's adjustment appeared to be the right move until...
Was It A Red Card?
Not going to wade too deep into this one. But I can see both sides of the debate.
Cristian Roldan is in an argument with Mark-Anthony Kaye. Kaye took exception to Roldan's penchant for an extra kick or two after the play and Eduard Atuesta made his way over to "mediate."
Does Roldan catch Atuesta in the face? Clearly. Are referee's directed to deal harshly with any form of hands to the face of an opponent? Yes. In that respect, seeing the red card come out makes sense.
But Roldan probably isn't trying to hit Atuesta. When you consider intent, it seems a bit harsh.
Usually, in these instances, my thought is don't give the referee a reason to consider the red. But I'm not sure Roldan could have avoided it with the way it played out.
So I'll just say it was a bit harsh. And with that decision, any semblance of a normal match vanished as well - which is unfortunate because these two sides looked poised to produce some good football.
The second red card to Kelvin Leerdam though? That's probably one instance of VAR at it's best. Well played, VAR.
Bradley Makes An Adjustment Of His Own
Up a man at halftime, Bob Bradley wasted no time reworking his team in search of a winner.
Removing Tristan Blackmon for Lee Nguyen, Bradley moved Latif Blessing to right back. With Seattle rarely leaving more than Jordan Morris up the pitch and going very narrow at the back, Blessing provided LAFC with some attacking bite around the edges of the Seattle defense.
The rejigging of LAFC's shape was clearly the right move, as Blessing and Vela worked in tandem down the right to give Seattle all kinds of problems.
Just three minutes after the switch, Blessing took advantage of the space at the edge of the Seattle defense. With Vela pinched in and occupying two Sounders players, Blessing overlapped into space and sent a first-time ball across the six-yard box. Unfortunately, Christian Ramirez wasn't able to convert the bobbling ball into the open net, but the idea was there and Blessing was a nuisance getting forward from right back the rest of the half.
Crazy Final Moments
This match wasn't one for the archives. With Seattle down a man for well over an hour, things devolved pretty much as you'd expect they would. Seattle sat deep, only spreading as wide as their own penalty area. LAFC sent wave after wave forward, mostly crashing against Seattle's bunker, losing possession, regaining it, and trying again.
But moments after the clock struck 90 minutes, things got wild.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
— LAFC (@LAFC) April 28, 2019
End to end action in the final minute. Rossi's penalty kick call is currently under Video Review.#SEAvLAFCpic.twitter.com/m6bXv6S1mx
Seattle sprung Jordan Morris down the left in a 2v1 against the run of play. Morris narrowly beat Mohamed El-Munir to a ball that found its way into the path of Brad Smith as he converged on the LAFC goal with only Tyler Miller to beat. Smith rounded Miller but was thrown off course a bit by a lunging slide from Lee Nguyen. Miller, to his credit, recovered, as did Latif Blessing, and LAFC snuffed out what surely would have been the game-winner.
But that wasn't the end of it...
With bodies still strewn about the LAFC penalty area, Eddie Segura found Carlos Vela with an out ball to the right side of the pitch. With all of Seattle's attention on Vela, Diego Rossi darted past his marker into a dangerous position at the top of the penalty area and was brought down by Kelvin Leerdam. The referee pointed to the spot, penalty to LAFC.
After the minute of chaos that led up to it, referee Ted Unkel was summoned to have another look at the spot of the foul. The penalty was correctly chalked off, as the foul occurred just outside the area. But Leerdam wasn't totally out of the woods. The defender was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity - Seattle's second red card of the day.
It was probably a fitting bookend to a match that started on fire but fizzled in the middle.
