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

Big Chance Missed

Sporting KC has blown a great opportunity to win the MLS Cup. With some of the other MLS heavy hitters like Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union already eliminated, it was a tremendous opportunity to win their third MLS Cup in the club’s history.

As players like Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza, Tim Melia, and Winston Reid get further from their prime, the less likely they will be capable to be as reliable in the coming years. With those players getting older and the uncertain future of Gianluca Busio, one can only hope that SKC is capable to fill those shoes quickly and continue to rebuild.

On the good side, SKC is still in a rebuilding stage and should make improvements over the offseason and have a fair shot at competing for MLS Cup in 2021. It would be much nicer to win MLS Cup in front of a packed Children’s Mercy Park in early November rather than in the middle of December.

Familiar Feeling

This feeling is all too familiar in two different aspects. The first aspect is because it was similar to how they were knocked out of the MLS Is Back Tournament against the Philadelphia Union. The second aspect is because underwhelming performances in the playoffs have happened plenty of times before in this organization.

Sporting suffered a similar defeat back in July’s MLS Is Back Tournament where SKC conceded three goals in a span of 15 minutes around the same time that happened against Minnesota. The only difference between the two matches was that Alan Pulido was able to get a goal right before halftime to make things at least a little bit interesting.

Since Sporting KC’s 2013 MLS Cup championship, SKC has had six postseason appearances and underperformed in all six. While 2014-2017 were all games on the road, they still failed to get a single win.

SKC was finally able to win a playoff tie against Real Salt Lake in 2018 but eventually fell to the Portland Timbers in the Western Conference Final. Playoff failure is a familiar feeling for SKC, and it is the same story in 2020.