Recap: Nashville SC outclassed in one-sided loss to Seattle Sounders

Nashville SC were handily beaten in Seattle, outclassed by the Sounders in a lopsided 3-0 defeat.

The XI

BJ Callaghan made just one change to the side that beat Real Salt Lake last weekend, taking Eddi Tagseth out of the starting lineup for the first time this season and slotting in Patrick Yazbek in his place.

On the pitch

Nashville started the match brightly. The visitors kept Seattle deep in their own half for the opening 15 minutes, creating a couple half-chances but unable to find the finishing touch.

19 minutes in, the Sounders took over. Danny Musovski opened the scoring after a bad giveaway from Hany Mukhtar. The striker was held onside by a poorly-positioned Andy Najar and was able to poke the ball past Joe Willis with yards of space in which to work.

Instead of fighting back, Nashville slipped further. The Sounders ratcheted up the pressure, smothering the Coyotes with a brutal counter-press and jumping on every loose pass. Nashville were architects of their own downfall once again, with Ahmed Qasem all too casual on the ball in his own half. The Sounders won back possession and drove into the box, cutting it back for Pedro de la Vega's trailing run and an emphatic finish.

Three minutes later, the Sounders put the final nail in the coffin. Paul Rothrock was inexplicably left wide open on the back post, and took full advantage of the time and space to curl a shot into the net and put the game completely out of Nashville's reach.

Callaghan made three changes at the half in a bid to fight back into the match, pulling off Qasem, Alex Muyl and Gastón Brugman for Josh Bauer, Eddi Tagseth and Jacob Shaffelburg. Nashville were slightly improved after the switch to a back five, and at least stopped the bleeding defensively, but overall they were simply outclassed by one of the most consistent clubs in the league.

The sole highlight of the match was the MLS debut of Chris Applewhite. The 17-year-old center back made his first appearance for Nashville after signing a homegrown contract this winter. He's just the second homegrown to play a match for Nashville after Isaiah Jones made his debut last season.

The big picture

One could argue that Nashville were the better side in two of their three matches leading into Seattle and were unfortunate not to earn results. That was far from the case here, outside of the opening 10 to 15 minutes. Seattle outclassed them brutally, and took advantage of every yard Nashville allowed.

Nashville clearly value playing out of the back and finding ways to advance through pressure, and it's been a hallmark of their new approach under Callaghan. In Seattle, though, they were far too slow and sloppy, and they compounded it with a worrying lack of defensive awareness.

It's still very early in the rebuild project under BJ Callaghan, and despite the loss they're still miles ahead of where most predictions had them. Seattle are an example for Nashville to aspire to as they continue this project, but this match was also a reality check, reminding Nashville how much work they still have to do to truly compete with the elite clubs in MLS.

Up next

Nashville are back at Geodis Park next weekend, with an Eastern Conference clash against the Chicago Fire on the calendar. It's the first time Callaghan will face off against Gregg Berhalter, under whom he coached for several years with the United States Men's National Team.

Stats

Possession: SEA 48% - 52% NSH
Passes completed: SEA 363 - 399 NSH
Shots: SEA 14 - 12 NSH
Shots on goal: SEA 7 - 8 NSH
Penalty kicks: SEA 0 - 0 NSH
Goals: SEA 3 - 0 NSH
Expected goals:
Fouls: SEA 18 - 15 NSH
Yellow cards: SEA 4 - 0 NSH
Red cards: SEA 0 - 0 NSH