Category: Sporting KC

A Western Conference showdown beckons Sunday as second-place Sporting Kansas City (7-3-2, 23 points) visits the third-place LA Galaxy (7-3-0, 21 points) on the Fourth of July.

Sunday’s marquee matchup will kick off at 9:30 p.m. with three hours of live coverage at Dignity Health Sports Park beginning at 9 p.m. on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app. Listeners can also catch the action locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.
The Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates. A watch party is at No Other Pub in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sunday’s battle, which continues LA Galaxy’s annual tradition of holding matches on the Fourth of July, will see two of the league’s best teams lock horns. Manager Peter Vermes’ men occupy second place in the Supporters’ Shield standings, two points behind leaders Seattle Sounders FC, while the Galaxy sit two points behind Sporting.

Both clubs boast an MLS-leading seven wins, with Sporting posting a 5-1-1 record in their last seven matches and LA securing consecutive road victories last week over Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the San Jose Earthquakes.

This particular Fourth of July spectacle could deliver fireworks on the field as both sides wield high-octane offenses.

Sporting leads MLS in most attacking metrics, including goals scored (22), goals per game (1.83) and expected goals (24.5) as well as chances created per game (12.2) and shots per game (17.2).

The club has scored in all but one match this season and has multiple goals in all seven of its wins this year.

On the opposite sideline, the Galaxy boast an MLS MVP frontrunner in Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. The Mexican star floundered during his 2020 debut in MLS, scoring just twice in 12 appearances, but has exploded for 10 goals in the first 10 games of 2021. LA’s 17 goals rank fifth in the league, with the likes U.S. international Sebastian Lletget (one goal, two assists) and experienced veteran Sacha Kljestan (two goals, two assists) contributing valuably. Between the posts, English goalkeeper Jonathan Bond tops MLS with seven wins and ranks second with 49 saves.

Sporting forward Daniel Salloi has delivered one of the feel-good stories of the year, breaking out for seven goals and three assists through Sporting’s first dozen matches.

He places third in MLS in both goals (seven) and combined goals and assists (10), notably bagging an 87th-minute winner in Sporting’s dramatic 2-1 home triumph over LAFC last Saturday.

The result stood as Sporting’s fifth comeback win this year, already tying single-season club record previously set in 1996 and 2007. Vermes’ side has claimed a remarkable 16 points from losing positions in 2021, nine more than any other team.

Salloi is one of several Sporting KC Academy products who have made palpable impacts for Sporting through the first two and a half months of the season.

Gianluca Busio sits atop the MLS chart in minutes, having started all 12 matches in 2021, and his glowing displays in the midfield have resulted in his first selection to the U.S. Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup later this month.

Fellow midfielder Felipe Hernandez had a goal and two assists in Sporting’s back-to-back home victories last week, including a 3-1 defeat of the Colorado Rapids on June 23 that saw Vermes field six Academy products in a competitive match for the first time.

The Galaxy labored to 6-12-4 record in 2020 and missed the postseason by a wide margin, but the 2021 campaign has seen newly appointed head coach Greg Vanney turn the tide. The longtime Toronto FC boss has helped LA develop innate ability to emerge victorious in close games. The Galaxy are 5-1 in matches decided by a single goal this season and their 21 points are the club’s most through 10 regular season fixtures since 2010.

Sporting went 4-0-4 against the Galaxy from 2015 to 2018, but LA swept the 2019 series with a pair of wins. The teams haven’t met since Sept. 15, 2019, when the Galaxy posted a 7-2 win at Dignity Health Sports Park, equaling Kansas City’s all-time record for most goals conceded in a match.

LA holds a narrow 26-23-15 edge in the regular season series, which has produced only three scoreless draws in 64 matches.

• Story from Sporting KC

Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi struck second-half goals to spark a dramatic comeback victory as Sporting Kansas City (7-3-2, 23 points) edged 10-man LAFC (3-4-3, 12 points) in a 2-1 thriller at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday afternoon in Kansas City, Kansas.

In a game that entertained from beginning to end, Sporting suffered a setback in the first half when Kim Moon-Hwan fired the visitors ahead against the run of play. As they have done so often this season, manager Peter Vermes’ men responded with Pulido equalizing near the hour mark — shortly after LAFC defender Tristan Blackmon was sent off — and Salloi continuing his red-hot run of form by sinking an 87th-minute winner.

The result lifts Sporting within a point of Supporters’ Shield leaders Seattle Sounders FC and gives the team a remarkable 16 points from losing positions this year, 10 more than any other club. Just 12 games into the 2021 campaign, Sporting has equaled a regular season club record with five comeback wins.

A raucous Children’s Mercy Park atmosphere provided the perfect setting for a nationally televised clash on ESPN as Vermes made one change to Sporting’s lineup from a 3-1 home triumph over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night. Pulido replaced Khiry Shelton at the tip of a three-pronged attack, flanked by Salloi and captain Johnny Russell.

Hot and humid playing conditions paved the way for Sporting to assert early dominance in territory and possession. After four minutes, Russell and Salloi combined on the left edge of the box before the latter sent a cutback pass to Jaylin Lindsey, whose blistering strike from the opposite side of the penalty area fizzed narrowly over the crossbar.

LAFC weathered an early barrage of Sporting pressure and grew into the game, taking a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Jose Cifuentes slipped a diagonal ball to Kim, who cut centrally from the right side and finished inside the near post for his first goal of the season. It marked the ninth time in 12 matches this season that Sporting has trailed, but the hosts showed their grit over the next 65 minutes.

Lindsey was the victim of a hamstring injury five minutes before intermission and was forced to exit, prompting the introduction of veteran defender Graham Zusi. With his introduction, the 34-year-old logged his club-record 350th appearance for Sporting in all competitions.

LAFC entered the weekend with an MLS-leading nine points dropped from winning positions and added to that total on Saturday, but not before nearly doubling their advantage 42 seconds into the second half. Kim’s low cross was met firmly by substitute Corey Baird, but his effort smacked off the head of outstretched goalkeeper Tim Melia and the score remained 1-0.

The complexion of the game changed significantly in the 58th minute when Blackmon was given his marching orders for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity by hauling Salloi to the turf just outside of the box.

Gianluca Busio’s ensuing free kick rattled the crossbar and looped out of play, much to the chagrin of the 20,213 fans in attendance.

Undeterred, Sporting claimed an equalizer in the 61st minute. Salloi’s in-swinging cross from the left channel was repelled only as far as Pulido, who expertly picked out the right corner on a left-footed blast from the top of the penalty area.

In doing so, Pulido extended Sporting’s club-record home scoring streak to 22 matches and became just the third MLS player to bag six goals in each of the last two regular seasons.

Less than 15 minutes after pulling his side level, Pulido left the contest with a foot laceration that required stitches. Sporting didn’t miss a beat, however, and Zusi twice combined with Felipe Hernandez in the 72nd and 78th minutes.

Hernandez hammered a volley wide on the first chance and LAFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero made a save on the 23-year-old’s diving header shortly thereafter.

Sporting earned its go-ahead goal in the 87th minute on a buildup in the attacking third. Zusi fed Busio, who sprayed a pass wide left to Hernandez.

The midfielder took a touch and rolled the ball to Salloi, who unleashed a right-footed curler into the far corner to ignite celebrations inside the stadium. Salloi ranks third in MLS with seven goals this season and places second with 10 combined goals and assists.

Substitute Carlos Vela was on the receiving end of a final chance for LAFC in second-half stoppage time, but the Mexican star dragged his shot inches wide of Melia’s left-hand post and Sporting held on for all three points. In doing so, they pushed the 2021 home record to 5-0-2 and extended the regular season home unbeaten run to 10 matches dating back to last fall.

With two home wins in four days under their belts, Sporting will recuperate over the next week before visiting the LA Galaxy (6-3-0, 18 points) at Dignity Health Sports Park in California on Sunday, July 4. The Fourth of July fixture will kick off at 7:30 p.m. with live coverage on Bally Sports Kansas City.

• Story from Sporting KC

A Western Conference clash will take place Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, when second-place Sporting Kansas City (6-3-2, 20 points) meets LAFC (3-3-3, 12 points) at 4:30 p.m.

A limited number of tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com while supplies last, as two perennial title contenders square off before a nationwide audience on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN app.

The nationally televised showdown will air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB. The Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates.

By most metrics, Sporting wields the best attack in MLS this season. Manager Peter Vermes’ side leads the league in goals (20), expected goals (23.4), goals per match (1.82), shots per game (17.7) and chances created per game (12.4). Sporting have bagged three goals in four of its last six matches, all of which have resulted in victories.

On the opposite sideline, LAFC wields one of the greatest attacking duos in league history. Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi have amassed 97 goals and 52 assists in regular season play since LAFC joined MLS as an expansion club in 2018.

Sporting winger Daniel Salloi was at his best in Wednesday’s 3-1 home win over the Colorado Rapids. The 24-year-old bagged a first-half brace with goals in the 14th and 38th minutes before setting up Sporting’s third to midfielder Felipe Hernandez, who opened his MLS scoring account near the hour mark.

Salloi now ranks third in MLS with six goals and is tied for second with nine combined goals and assists. He also leads the league with 66 touches in the opponent’s box.

Upon entering the league in 2018, LAFC wasted no time vaulting into the elite tier of MLS clubs. Head coach Bob Bradley’s men posted a 16-9-9 record in 2018, set a league record with 72 points during the 2019 Supporters’ Shield campaign and last year went close to becoming the first MLS team to win the modern iteration of the Concacaf Champions League.

LAFC has yet to catch fire in 2021, partially because its nine dropped points from winning positions are the most in MLS. The club is also winless in its last seven MLS road matches dating back to last fall, taking five losses and two draws during that time. LAFC will hope that Wednesday’s 2-0 shutout win over FC Dallas, sparked by a goal and an assist from Vela, will be a turning point.

Sporting and LAFC have met on four previous occasions but not since July 3, 2019. The first two meetings in 2018 belonged to Sporting, who handed LAFC its first ever home loss at Banc of California Stadium before prevailing 2-1 in a thrilling regular season finale at Children’s Mercy Park. LAFC swept the 2019 set with a season-opening 2-1 home victory and a resounding 5-1 triumph in Kansas City.

Sporting has unveiled the club’s new Americana pre-match training top in the lead-up to Saturday’s contest. It was inspired by the jerseys worn by the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

Additionally, supporters in attendance are encouraged to stick around after the game for the annual Special Olympics match, featuring two teams of players from Special Olympics Kansas and Missouri. Sixteen athletes will compete for two 20-minute halves as part of an immersive match experience at Children’s Mercy Park, which will include player introductions and a postgame medal presentation.

• Story from Sporting KC