Sporting Kansas City welcomed FC Dallas to Children’s Mercy Park, as they try to recover from a poor first half of the season. The struggles in Kansas City have resulted in them one point behind Dallas for the final playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference. A victory for the home side would put them back in the middle of the playoff race, and leave the side from north Texas on the outside.
In this tactical analysis, we will provide an analysis of the tactics to look at how FC Dallas were able to steal a 2-0 victory in Kansas City. One of the keys to the match was how successful Sporting Kansas City were attacking down the left side. We will also examine how FC Dallas were able to play around Sporting Kansas City’s pressure. Finally, we will see how the production of the strikers was a big difference between the sides.
Background
Much has been written about Sporting Kansas City’s problems this season, with two of the key issues being their defensive frailty and a shortage of goals from the strikers. These problems would be made worse in this match with a couple of key players missing from their starting XI, through suspensions for yellow card accumulation. With three wins in their last six league games, their form has improved from the dire state it was in the first couple months of the season.
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