Tactical Preview: Sporting Kansas City

31 clearances.

Although most of the numbers from last weekend's match between Sporting Kansas City and LAFC look fairly similar, this one stands out. When LAFC got the ball deep into KC's area, they didn't always create a chance. But they did make it difficult for the home side to work the ball out of their end. Despite this, KC was able to remain dangerous because their center backs were so good on the ball once they established a spell of possession. The two combined for only eight misplaced passes all match, and only three of those ended up both in play and in their own half.

This continues a subtle theme running through many Peter Vermes teams: You can limit them, and you can even take…