Player Grades: Portland Timbers 1-2 LAFC

On Saturday, the Portland Timbers lost 1-2 in a very important game against LAFC. Considering the opposition, I thought the Timbers had one of their best games this season, but the poor defending on the second goal in the 95th minute cost the team a point.

Here’s my breakdown of how the Timbers’ players performed as they moved down into the sixth position in the Western Conference, still above the playoff line.

Aljaz Ivacic (GK) - 5.3

While Bravo contributed to the expected conceded goal count with his goal-line clearance, Ivacic once again outperformed this statistic by around 0.4, which ranks as a somewhat significant amount. He also completed 83% of his total passes and 60% of his long balls (albeit on fairly low volume). However, this was still a solid performance from Ivacic.

Juan David Mosquera (RWB) 5.9

In his first start for the Timbers, Mosquera had a solid all-around game as he ranked in the 46th percentile for his total actions, 53rd percentile for his passing, 76th percentile for his playmaking, 36th percentile for his defending, and 60th percentile for his dribbling. I think this may be the best performance at right back in terms of playmaking and dribbling for the team this season— and this was Mosquera’s first start. He did lose the ball fairly frequently in his own half (5 times to be exact), but this is common for younger players, especially considering the step up in competition that Mosquera is facing. Adding onto his grade, the Colombian recorded two shot assists, one progressive run, one carry into the penalty area, and one shot-creating action, capping off a very well-rounded performance from the youngster.

Larrys Mabiala (CB) - 5.2

Despite having a pretty solid defensive performance in the 71st percentile, Mabiala was unable to influence the game in his other categories, as he landed in only the 31st percentile for his total actions, 47th percentile for his passing, 48th percentile for his aerials, and the 47th for his carrying.

Dario Zuparic (CB) - 5.8

Zuparic had a very consistent performance in this match, as he came in the 51st percentile for total actions, 65th percentile for passing, 60th percentile for aerials, 76th percentile for defense, and the 28th percentile for his carrying. Zuparic also picked up three fouls in this match, one of which came with a yellow card, so that certainly lowered his grade despite a solid all-around performance.

Bill Tuiloma (CB) - 3.3

Tuiloma struggled to get into this game and make an impact on the ball as he couldn’t exceed the 50th percentile in any of his major categories. In fact, Tuiloma ranked in just the 36th percentile for his total actions, 38th percentile for his passing, 13th percentile for his aerials, 30th percentile for his defending, and the 21st percentile for his carrying, meaning Tuiloma failed to eclipse the 40th percentile in any of his major categories. Part of Tuiloma’s struggles to impact the game on the ball could definitely be due to the fact that he had more ground to cover because of Bravo’s aggressiveness so he was afforded limited risks, but it’s hard to discern the line between that and just having a poor performance, although I believe it was a combination of both.

Claudio Bravo (LB) - 9.8

While I think this rating is too high, Bravo did have a good all-around performance in this match all the while adding another assist to his resume. The Argentine recorded above-average grades in all of his major categories, which include his total actions (51st percentile), passing (61st percentile), playmaking (64th percentile), defending (77th percentile), and dribbling (71st percentile). As you can see, Bravo didn’t have an outstanding performance in any specific category, but his performance in the final third was very good. He recorded the aforementioned assist, three shot assists, three progressive runs, one carry into the penalty area, and two-shot creating actions, which is one massive haul for any player in the final third— especially a left back!

Diego Chara (CM) - 5.4

Diego had a fairly consistent and all-around performance against LAFC as he ranked above-average in all of his major categories. He didn’t really have any notable performances in any categories, except for maybe his passing performance, which ranked in the 60th percentile. Chara also didn’t record much in the final third, so that limited his ceiling for this match despite an average performance.

Cristhian Paredes (CM) - 3.2

Paredes struggled to find ways to consistently impact the game as he ranked around the 30th percentile for all of his major categories, with none of them ranking above the 50th percentile. Like Diego, Paredes didn’t receive much of a boost from his actions in the final third, which also provides another avenue to view Paredes’ limited effect on this game.

Santiago Moreno (CAM) - 6.3

At times, in my opinion, it looked like Santiago Moreno was the best player on the pitch. And while his performance was good according to this system, he had some decently high grades in a couple of important categories. The Colombian performed well in his total actions (64th percentile), pressing/defending (77th percentile), and offensive (65th percentile) grades. He did a good job of getting the ball into the final third through his dribbling and slick passes but once he got the ball there, the Timbers as a whole kind of stalled and struggled to create quality chances consistently (which, granted is a tough thing to do). In the final third, Moreno recorded one shot, three progressive runs, and one carry into the penalty area, so not the best or worst production from him in that area of his game.

Jaroslaw Niezgoda (CF) - 5.2

Niezgoda had a pretty solid and consistent performance, which is great to see, especially coming from a player who is known for being a poacher. He ranked in the 56th percentile for his total actions, 33rd percentile for his shooting, 42nd percentile for his passing, 58th percentile for his dribbling, 60th percentile for his aerials, and 59th percentile for his pressing. In addition to this complete performance, Niezgoda recorded two progressive runs and one carry into the penalty area.

Dairon Asprilla (CF) - 5.8

Apart from his goal, which was a great header, Asprilla was sort of inconsistent in this match, likely due to the fact that he didn’t receive the ball that often (34th percentile for total actions). He had good performances in his shooting (61st percentile) and aerials (81st percentile), however he performed slightly below-average in his passing (42nd percentile), dribbling (45th percentile), and pressing (35th percentile). In terms of production in the final third, Asprilla’s biggest contribution was obviously his goal, but he also recorded one shot assist and suffered one foul.

Substitutes:

Yimmi Chara () - N/A

Eryk Williamson () - N/A

Sebastian Blanco () - N/A

Nathan Fogaca () - N/A

These players aren’t graded because I currently do not have a grading system that will fairly evaluate players who have under 20 total actions, compared to the rest of the team, who played most of the game.