Urgency for complete game performance missing in loss against LAFC: “It was mentality”

For the Portland Timbers, Sunday night’s game at Los Angeles FC changed over the course of 15 minutes, going from a tight contest played on the Timbers terms to one where Portland, from halftime to the final whistle, was forced to chase the game. Allowing three goals between the match’s 37th minute and halftime, Portland never fully caught up, ultimately falling to LAFC, 4-2.

“It’s unfortunate, because there were a lot of good moments in this match,” Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese said, “and in 15 minutes, we gave up three goals.

“It wasn't positive, especially for the great 30 minutes that we played at the beginning, where we didn't give any chances to LAFC. We controlled the match,…