Sporting KC: Four things we learned in loss against Minnesota United

Defensive Fragility

It was a worry all season long, and it was evident in the playoffs that Sporting KC still has major defensive issues. As good as they finished out the regular season, SKC was exploited by conceding six goals in just two matches to end their season. Peter Vermes finally settled on the pairing of Winston Reid and Roberto Puncec. Reid was a good physical presence, but his lack of speed came back to cost SKC on a number of occasions.

Another worrying aspect of the defense was how vulnerable SKC were from wide areas. Jaylin Lindsey was the only real option at right-back and did a fine job, but wasn’t very good against Minnesota. Amadou Dia got caught forward too often and ended up being replaced by Luis Martins. Dia needs to develop a better sense of when to drop and when to push high while Lindsey needs to remain fully concentrated on his surroundings.

The final aspect of this is the transition defense. SKC has had some struggles in transition after they lose the ball, as many teams that play a 4-3-3 do. Ilie isn’t the speediest guy, but he does a decent job of stalling the opposition’s attack.

It seemed like Ilie and the two center backs weren’t on the same page for the opening two goals of this game, which resulted in a pair of goals that really took the life out of the team. SKC gets into trouble when players are out of position and unable to fill in the gaps, which is exactly what happened on Thursday.