German World Cup winner Thomas Muller scored his first MLS Cup Playoff goal from the penalty spot to help spring the Vancouver Whitecaps to a thoroughly dominant 3-0 victory over visiting FC Dallas in the opener of their round one series on Sunday.
Daniel Rios opened the scoring just before halftime for Vancouver. Substitute Kenji Cabrera added a late third to put the Whitecaps, the Western Conference second seed, halfway to winning the best-of-three series.
Seventh seeded Dallas was held without a single shot, trailing Vancouver 22-0 in overall attempts and 10-0 in efforts on target, and might have endured an even heavier defeat without the heroics of goalkeeper Michael Collodi before halftime.
Vancouver will try to seal the series next Saturday in Dallas and advance beyond the opening round for the first time since 2017.
Collodi had already made five stops before Rios’ opener, including close-range denials of Emmanuel Sabbi and Ali Ahmed.
But the deserved opening goal eventually arrived in the 43rd minute.
After a flowing move through midfield, Sebastian Berhalter found Ahmed in lots of space down the left. With time to compose himself, Ahmed delivered a cross into the path of Rios’ diagonal run for a powerful header that left Collodi little chance.
Sabbi would not find the scoresheet, but he made a vital contribution on one of his many threatening runs into the box in the 58th minute, this time getting behind Osaze Urhoghide before the defender clattered into his legs.
Referee Victor Rivas immediately pointed to the spot. And Muller stepped up and converted the penalty more or less down the middle after a hesitation that appeared to induce Collodi into a dive to his left.
It was the 36-year-old former Bayern Munich star’s ninth goal in all competitions since joining Vancouver in the summer, and his sixth coming from the penalty spot.
Cabrera ended any hopes of a late Dallas rally in the 83rd minute. It was fellow substitute Rayan Elloumi who created the chance, receiving a throw-in and weathering pressure from defender Lalas Abubakar to deliver a low cross.
Cabrera then beat his marker to send a sliding finish past Collodi in a goal that was emblematic of both teams’ performance.
–Field Level Media
