Tactics and Trends: Absorbing and breaking pressure

The Seattle Sounders have won three games in a row, and despite fair criticism from Cristian Roldan that the squad is still not playing up to their standard, the excellent string of results is no accident. The team is playing with the type of purpose and tactical identity not seen since their strong run of form to close out the 2017 season.

One key area that has helped the Sounders reclaim their 2017 dominance is pass completion. In 2017, the Sounders finished 2nd in the league in pass completion at 82.5%. So far this year, they’re 13th in the league at 80.6%. In the last three matches however, the Sounders have averaged 85% pass completion, better than any other team’s 2018 average. Even…