For the first time in their history, the Portland Timbers reach their Major League Soccer opener with momentum. Thanks to Tuesday’s 5-0 win over CD Marathón in Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League —as well as the 180 minutes the team had in CCL prior to MLS’s start —Portland will hit the ground running in Utah today. That’s where they’ll take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC in a unique Cascadia battle.
“It’s a positive thing for us having been able to play two matches that are competitive,” Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese said in his Friday press conference, “because you already are tested. You already are in two games that there’s something that you need to get out of these two games, and it becomes very competitive, especially in this CCL format where you have to play home and away.”
Vancouver on the other hand, is in a similar situation to MLS’s 22 non-Champions League teams, albeit with a twist. Not only will Sunday be their first game of the season, but it will be at another home away from home. Last year, the Whitecaps resumed the 2020 regular season playing out of Providence Park, with travel restrictions between the United States and Canada making it impractical to compete out of BC Place in Vancouver. This year, Rio Tinto Stadium and the Salt Lake City suburbs will be their home.
“It will be very different in the sense that we’re playing Vancouver in Salt Lake,” Savarese said of the game. “It’s something that is not normal. Of course, we’ve been [to Rio Tinto Stadium] many times, so we know the venue. We know the challenge there. But now the opposition is different.
“It’s a team that is also trying to acclimatize, adapt to a new situation. I’m sure that, knowing [Vancouver head coach] Marc [Dos Santos], he will prepare the team well for what they’re going to encounter there for this season.”
Perhaps more important than the opponent is the Timbers themselves. The team will still be without some major parts. Sebastián Blanco and Jeremy Ebobisse, both approaching the end of injury recoveries, were ruled out by Savarese in Friday’s media session. Andy Polo is out, too, having still been unable to rejoin the team, while Jaroslaw Niezgoda is still months away from his return window.
The team that is available, though, is coming off an attacking performance reminiscent of their best stretches of 2020. Then, the Timbers finished second in Major League Soccer in goals. On Tuesday, we saw why. Three goals by Yimmi Chara were complemented by scores from Diego Valeri and Marvin Loría, and it could have been more. Chara, Loría and Darion Asprilla all had good, short-range chances denied or missed in the second half. The quality and quantity of Portland’s opportunities were arguably more impressive than the final score.
“I really liked the way we created chances,” Valeri said on Friday, “the way we attacked them in transition, and with possession [when Marathón was] in [their] block. We created a lot of chances. We were very balanced behind the ball when the chances weren’t finished. That’s the way we really want to look as a team.”
In some ways, Vancouver offers a similar challenge to Marathón. Defensively, the Whitecaps are always highly organized, even that means forgoing chances to force turnover for the sake of their shape. They won’t give you anything. At the same time, if you can string together the type of intricate play Portland showed in Tuesday’s second half, you can be successful. And when you stay balanced behind the ball, past Vancouver teams become reliant on going direct and set-piece execution to threaten on goal.
This is a game that Portland is rightly favored to win. It is also an MLS game, meaning any gap that exists between the teams is still dangerous.
“The important part right now is to make sure that we stay focused,” Savarese explained. “To make sure that we stay hungry, prepared, enthusiastic, especially after the last match that we played so well.
“I know that guys are very focused now non the start of the season, and we’ve prepared well these last few days.”
MORE MLS 2021 Opener — Timbers vs. Vancouver:
- THE MATCHUP | Zivin previews Timbers' MLS opener vs. Vancouver
- SAVARESE | MLS in view as Timbers shift from CCL
- VALERI | El Maestro talks MLS's start, CCL's results
