Emmanuel Sabbi scored one goal and assisted on another as the Vancouver Whitecaps continued the best start in club history with a dominant 3-0 victory over visiting Sporting Kansas City on Friday night.
Bruno Caicedo added his first MLS goal in the 21-year-old’s third appearance — and first start — in the league as the Whitecaps raced out to their three-goal lead by the half-hour mark.
Thomas Muller added his fourth goal of the season for Vancouver (7-1-0, 21 points), which has played all but one of its first eight league matches at home while building an exceptional +18 goal differential.
The Whitecaps will have one more home game on April 25 against the Colorado Rapids. Then they will play eight straight on the road while BC Place is prepped and used as a 2026 World Cup venue.
Kansas City (1-6-1, 4 points) lost its fourth straight in MLS and fifth straight overall. Manager Raphael Wicky’s Sporting squad have been outscored 13-3 combined in those four league defeats.
Vancouver outshot Kansas City 25-3 and led 6-1 in efforts on target in a game that quickly tilted in the hosts’ favor.
Sabbi scored in the 13th minute on an attack that began when Vancouver intercepted a Kansas City goal kick at midfield.
Eventually it was White who got into the right side of the penalty area and chipped it over charging goalkeeper John Pulskamp but not into the net.
The ball arrived to Vancouver’s Mathias Laborda on the opposite post, who couldn’t direct an effort goal-bound under defensive pressure. Sabbi cleaned up the loose ball with a finish through the scrambling SKC defense, off a defender, off the crossbar and in.
Caicedo created the second goal in the 23rd minute. He snuck up field and intercepted Cielo Tschantret’s ill-advised square pass, then finished low from the edge of the area off the inside of the far right post.
Another long clearance intercepted at midfield led to the hosts making it 3-0 in the 28th minute.
This time it was Sabbi providing the service from the right wing after doing excellent work to keep the ball in play. His outswinging ball fell at the back post for Muller, who headed it firmly past the flailing Pulskamp.
–Field Level Media
