Three Points: Controversial red card aside, Rapids outclassed by Seattle Sounders FC

The Colorado Rapids got outclassed by the Seattle Sounders connected Sunday night, with Seattle showing wherefore it’s the champion squad successful the MLS Western Conference successful a 3-0 thrashing of the Rapids.

The Rapids showed combat successful the 2nd half, but it was ne'er going to beryllium capable to flooded the spread they dug for themselves.

Here are 3 takeaways from the roadworthy loss:

Dreadful start

After a mediocre turnover from Keegan Rosenberry, the Rapids conceded a extremity successful the archetypal 2 minutes of the crippled and weren’t capable to close the vessel aft that.

“The archetypal goal, it’s precise aboriginal on,” Jack Price said. “It’s a spot of a daze to everyone erstwhile you concede that early, but we’ve got to realize, we’ve got to quiescent the crowd, support the ball, conscionable beryllium professional. It’s an distant crippled and you person to bash your champion to nullify their threats and we conscionable gave them excessively overmuch aboriginal on, possibly excessively overmuch respect.”

In goalkeeper Clint Irwin’s archetypal commencement of the play and archetypal crippled enactment owed to a William Yarbrough wounded (knee), helium ne'er got a accidental to settee successful aft allowing that goal.

From there, the Rapids conceded a extremity 20 minutes aboriginal and different astir 20 minutes aft that, looking similar a squad that realized aboriginal connected it couldn’t play astatine the Sounders’ level.

“Just play, conscionable judge a small bit,” Price said. “Show nary fearfulness … but conscionable beryllium brave. Come to a spot similar here, we’re a precise bully squad erstwhile we judge successful each different and play bully football. I consciousness we could person done a spot amended successful presumption of, arsenic you say, calming down.”

Phantom reddish card?

It had precise small interaction connected the game, but determination was immoderate contention astir a reddish paper fixed to Lucas Esteves successful the 2nd half.

The Sounders were already up 3-0 and it was a steep elevation to ascent whether the Rapids were playing with 10 oregon 11.

Esteves was shown a reddish paper successful the 61st infinitesimal — Colorado’s archetypal of the play — and determination are inactive radical questioning if helium adjacent committed a foul.

It appeared Esteves was trying to propulsion a Maradona-like rotation move. It worked and helium went by João Paulo, but Paulo instantly grabbed his ankle and enactment his limb successful the air, causing the referee to halt the game. The paper came retired soon thereafter. They checked it with the video adjunct referee but did not spell to the monitor.

Price called it a “shocking” telephone from the referee.

“I person to laugh, this reddish paper that was fixed to Lucas tonight,” caput manager Robin Fraser said. “I deliberation if I accidental thing much I get fined. I would conscionable accidental spell backmost and look astatine it.”

The Professional Referee Organization made a connection to the excavation newsman saying, “Esteves’ situation was made with a consecutive leg, with his studs making interaction supra Jao Paulo’s ankle. He was sent disconnected for superior foul play.”

Unless they person an space we don’t have, determination doesn’t look to be any interaction supra the ankle.

It comes with superior consequences extracurricular of Sunday arsenic well: Esteves volition beryllium suspended for the adjacent lucifer unless MLS overturns the call.

The request for Will is real

There is simply a crushed Yarbrough started each crippled for the Rapids up until Sunday. He has cemented himself arsenic 1 of the apical goalkeepers successful MLS. Colorado needed Irwin to measurement up successful Yarbrough’s absence. The defence didn’t assistance him out, but the drop-off was clear.

“Regardless of whether it was Clint oregon Will, we person to bash a amended occupation aboriginal on,” Price said. “… Clint’s been fantastic, we don’t enactment immoderate blasted connected him astatine each — nary whatsoever. We conceded 3 goals contiguous and it’s not his fault.”

The Rapids suffer that crippled nary substance who is playing successful net. But if Yarbrough made a fewer large saves early, it mightiness person lit the occurrence the Rapids needed. Irwin is 1 of the champion backups successful the league, but he’s not Yarbrough.

Yarbrough is presently tied for the pb successful MLS successful cleanable sheets (11), with his 11th past week against Austin FC giving him the Rapids’ single-season nine record.

“What you guys don’t cognize is the idiosyncratic that helium is and the person that helium is and the quality that helium is successful the locker country and however important helium is to this team, speech from the zeros that we spot connected the scoreboard,” Fraser said astir Yarbrough aft the Austin game. “There’s truthful overmuch much to him than what helium gives this squad than conscionable what you spot successful presumption of making saves, getting shutouts, that benignant of thing.”

During his media availability Wednesday, Yarbrough said his genu was a small swollen but helium was capable to enactment successful that game. There has been nary authoritative diagnosis from the club.