Sporting Kansas City reinforced their intent to claim the Western Conference’s No. 1 spot, roaring past FC Dallas 3-1 Wednesday evening at Toyota Stadium behind a Daniel Salloi brace, further sinking the hosts’ Audi MLS Cup Playoff dreams.
Salloi, whose 15 goals keep him firmly in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race, struck on either side of halftime. Johnny Russell also netted a penalty kick for the visitors, while the hosts pulled one back through rising US men’s national team star Ricardo Pepi after FCD were reduced to 10 men following Bryan Acosta’s red card in the 52nd minute.
SKC first went ahead in the 13th minute when Salloi’s right-footed blast from 25 yards out evaded goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. The homegrown forward then found his second in the 61st minute, this time firing a left-footed wobbler under the crossbar that Maurer couldn’t track.
In between, Acosta was sent off after tripping up Khiry Shelton in a DOGSO situation. FCD center back Bressan had slipped, leaving the Honduran midfielder trying to offer some last-ditch defense on Shelton’s 1-on-1 look.
Russell confidently finished the ensuing penalty kick in the 55th minute, ripping a left-footed shot into the side-netting that put the visitors in front 2-1 and opened the door for Salloi’s eventual insurance tally.
FCD’s bright moment came through Pepi, who earlier Wednesday was called into the USMNT’s October camp for World Cup Qualifying. His 68th-minute breakaway attempt was a consolation mark, making it two losses in two games since FCD parted ways with Luchi Gonzalez and appointed Marco Ferruzzi as interim head coach.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Sporting KC suffered a tough home loss to the Seattle Sounders last weekend, denting their campaign to finish atop the West table. But they roared back in this midweek road fixture, reminding league-wide observers why they're among a serious MLS Cup contender. FC Dallas aren't mathematically out of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs just yet, but the writing may be on the wall. And one has to wonder where their head coach search leads.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Any hopes of an FC Dallas comeback were dashed in the 52nd minute when Bryan Acosta was shown a straight red card.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Daniel Salloi's brace strengthened his case to claim this year's Landon Donovan MLS MVP award. The Hungarian forward's now up to 21 goal contributions (goals, assists) in 2021.
Next Up
- DAL: Saturday, October 2 vs. Minnesota United FC | 8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
- SKC: Sunday, October 3 vs. Houston Dynamo FC | 4 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter | MLS regular season
