The Seattle Sounders secured their third consecutive win on Sunday with a resounding 3-1 result over New York City FC, extending the Rave Green’s unbeaten streak to six matches. Midfielder Cristian Roldan opened the scoring in the 36th minute after he applied the finishing touch to a 12-pass sequence.
It was the type of buildup that Head Coach Brian Schmetzer preaches, unbalancing the opponent through metronomic possession and creating gaps with off-the-ball movement. While much of the credit will rightfully go to Roldan for his mesmerizing first touch and composed finish, the opportunity arose from a tactic the Rave Green employed throughout the match: overloading one of the flanks before switching the ball to the weak-side outside back, stationed high and wide near the touchline.
The play started from a short free kick, which Gustav Svensson played quickly to the feet of Chad Marshall. NYC defended in a medium block, applying pressure on the man in possession, so Marshall dropped the ball back to the feet of Stefan Frei. After drawing the visitors out of their defensive shape, and thus creating running lanes all over the pitch, the Sounders goalkeeper once again found the feet of Marshall, who then lobbed a ball into the path of Roldan down the left side.
When Roldan received the pass from Marshall, he was isolated 1-v-1 with Anton Tinnerholm. With NYCFC’s team stretched out from applying pressure on Frei, Nicolás Lodeiro spotted the gap and made a darting run into the acres of space between the midfield and defensive lines.
Once Lodeiro received the entry pass, Harry Shipp made an incisive run between the right back and right-sided center back, dragging Tinnerholm with him and creating space for Roldan. Lodeiro allowed NYCFC’s defensive midfielder to recover before committing him and laying off a pass to the feet of Roldan. Shifting out wide, Lodeiro accompanied Shipp as they overloaded the left side with all three attacking midfielders, creating a numbers-up scenario. This pinned back the visitor’s defensive midfielders inside the box, as staying higher would have left Roldan 1-v-1 with Tinnerholm in the final third, a matchup Roldan would have likely won.
All of this is made possible by the high-octane motor of Lodeiro, who consistently covers the most ground every single match. The Uruguayan isn’t your prototypical No. 10, sitting between the lines and effortlessly supplying through-balls into the channels. Rather, his limitless energy, technical acuity and tactical understanding allow him to swing side-to-side like a pendulum as he sustains possession and creates numerical advantages for the Sounders, which unbalances the opposing defense. Yes, he has the vision and skill to play the final ball, but most of his work is done between the ears as he shatters the other team’s defensive structure with his relentless off-the-ball movement.
In the Sounders’ system, the two players in the double-pivot, Osvaldo Alonso and Svensson against New York City, provide the structure for the team. When the outside backs push high and wide, spreading the opponents back line from touchline to touchline, the players in the double-pivot allow the Sounders to swing the ball from left-to-right until a gap or a passing lane appears. On this play, with NYCFC defensive midfielders pinned back inside their own box, Alonso stationed himself on the right-side edge of Zone 14, or the central space just outside the 18-yard box. As Seattle’s captain prepared to settle the pass, Kelvin Leerdam backpedaled toward the sideline, creating a bit of separation from his marker.
Roldan was allowed to run through uninhibited because Tinnerholm, aware of both Shipp and Lodeiro on his blindside, passed him off to the right-sided center back, Sebastien Ibeagha. Notice how when the ball was worked to the feet of Leerdam, Raul Ruidiaz immediately sprinted between the two center backs, so he could get on the end of a cross, which forced both defenders to drop toward goal, creating the lane for Roldan. Yes, the cross took a deflection. But Roldan was in the right place at the right time because the movement of Ruidiaz, Lodeiro and Shipp generated a pocket of space for the midfielder.
Roldan’s finish and first touch are obviously instrumental — his touch takes him away from pressure while simultaneously allowing him to turn and fire a shot to the back post — but as is often the case in soccer, the chance was made possible because of the nuances in the buildup.
