The Seattle Sounders fell 4-0 to LAFC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on Wednesday behind goals from Cengiz Ünder, Jeremy Ebobisse, Denis Bouanga and Yaw Yeboah.
LAFC nearly took an early lead three minutes in off a turnover, but Andrew Thomas made a massive save on Timothy Tillman to keep the match level.
The Sounders almost found the opener in the 14th minute when Danny Leyva’s deflected free kick left Hugo Lloris glued to his line, but the effort trickled just wide of the post.
LAFC had a great chance again in the 23rd minute when a ball skipped across the Sounders’ goal after some miscommunication, but Nouhou was there to snuff out the danger and clear it off the line.
LAFC grabbed the lead in the 26th minute when Ünder collected a clearance off a corner kick at the top of the box and hit a left-footed shot that beat Thomas in goal.
Seattle was inches away from equalizing three minutes later when Pedro de la Vega’s header off a Danny Leyva corner kick rattled the crossbar.
Frankie Amaya almost doubled the lead for the hosts in the 35th minute when his one-timed shot off a dropped pass from the end line was hit right at Thomas.
Yeimar had a header on a corner as well in the 39th minute, but it was saved comfortably by Lloris.
Ebobisse scored the second for LAFC in the 51st minute when Igor Jesus played in Ebobisse in behind on a counterattack, and the striker cut back inside before depositing his shot into the near corner.
LAFC almost added a third in the 54th minute when Bouanga had a shot destined for the back post, but Kalani Kossa-Rienzi tracked back to clear it off the line.
De la Vega had an attempt from the top of the box in the 65th minute that forced Lloris down to his right, but he couldn’t quite best the French legend in goal.
David Martínez thought he had added a third for LAFC in the 77th minute after he finished a counterattack, but Nathan Ordaz was whistled offside in the buildup.
LAFC got their third goal three minutes later when Bouanga drove the left flank in another transition moment and finished convincingly past Thomas.
LAFC made it four in the 86th minute when Yeboah got loose in the box, cut back inside and picked out the far corner.
The loss snaps Seattle’s five-match unbeaten run (4-0-1). The Sounders end the midweek action in sixth place in the West.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Heavy rotation
In the middle of three matches in eight days, all of which are on the road, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer rotated eight starters from the win at the Houston Dynamo last weekend. Only Yeimar, Nouhou and Paul Rothrock got the nod for the second straight match.
Musovski streak snapped
Danny Musovski’s historic streak of scoring in consecutive matches ended at five after coming off the bench on Wednesday and not finding the score sheet. Musovski had scored in five straight games, becoming just the fourth Sounder in club history to achieve that feat.
Quick turnaround
The Sounders will need to regroup quickly, as they head to Providence Park in Portland for a massive clash at the rival Timbers on Saturday (6:30 p.m. PT; FS1, FOX Deportes, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV)
