Seattle Sounders Punish St. Louis City in a Goal Fest: What We Learned

Right, let's get into this one. Seattle Sounders versus St. Louis City. Fourth place hosting fourteenth place. On paper it looked like a mismatch. On the pitch? Yeah, it pretty much was.

Look, before we even kicked off, the numbers were screaming at you. Seattle sitting fourth, with ten goals scored and only three conceded across their matches this season. St. Louis rocking in at fourteenth, seven goals scored, thirteen conceded. Thirteen. Mate, that is not a defence, that is a suggestion. A polite request for the opposition not to score too many. Seattle are not the kind of side to honour that request.

Seattle Were Simply the Better Side

Listen, I don't want to be disrespectful to St. Louis here because every club has its supporters and I have got nothing but love for every fan base in this league. But Seattle were the better team from front to back, and it showed in every single department that matters. They scored more. They conceded less. They look like a side that actually has a plan and is executing it.

That goals scored and conceded record for Seattle is genuinely impressive. Ten goals scored and only three let in tells you this is not a side that flukes results. They are doing it consistently, on both sides of the ball. You do not end up fourth in this league by accident. Look at the fixtures, look at the form, and it all points to a side that is building something real right now.

St. Louis on the other hand... thirteen goals against. In a league where points are tight and every game matters, leaking goals at that rate is going to keep you down near the bottom of that table. Seven scored at the other end is not terrible, there is something there going forward, but you cannot keep gifting teams open doors at the back and expect to climb the table.

The Goalscoring Gap Tells the Real Story

Right, here is where it gets interesting for me. Ten goals for Seattle, seven for St. Louis. That is not a massive difference in attacking output if you think about it. Both sides have shown they can put the ball in the net. The real separation is at the other end. Three goals conceded versus thirteen. That is the gap. That is the gulf in class between a fourth-placed team and a fourteenth-placed team in this division right now.

I always say... and look, people roll their eyes at me for this... but the best teams in any league are the ones that stay hard to beat first and then let the quality up front do the rest. Seattle have got that balance. St. Louis are still searching for it.

Now I know what Marcus would do here. He would pull up some xG number, and honestly, xG... I am legally required to make fun of it every time... tells you how many goals a team "should" have scored based on the quality of their chances. Mate, I don't care what they should have scored. I care what they did score. And Seattle scored more. That is football.

What Does This Mean Going Forward?

For Seattle, this is exactly what you want. A home win, confidence building, defence staying solid. Fourth place is a great position to be in. They are in the mix, they are scoring goals, and they are not giving much away. If they keep this up, you would fancy them to push even higher up that table. I am going to be watching their next couple of fixtures closely because this looks like a side that could really kick on.

For St. Louis... look, it is not panic stations yet. Fourteen is not the worst position in the world at this stage of the season. There is time to turn it around. But that defensive record has to be addressed because right now it is costing them points and it is costing them momentum. Seven goals scored shows there are players in that squad who can hurt teams. The question is whether they can stop the bleeding at the other end.

Honestly, the gap between these two sides is not as big as the table might suggest in terms of attacking quality. But defensively? Seattle are operating at a completely different level. That is what third and fourth place teams do. They grind. They stay tight. They make opponents work for every single thing they get.

The Bottom Line

Seattle Sounders looked every bit like a fourth-placed side in this one. Controlled, clinical, hard to break down. St. Louis City looked every bit like a team sitting fourteenth and conceding too many. There was a logic to this result that you do not always get in football, and sometimes the table really does tell the truth.

If you are a Sounders fan, you are feeling good right now. You should be. This squad looks balanced and they are clearly doing something right. If you are following St. Louis, the hope is in that attacking record. There are goals in that team. It is just about finding a way to keep them out at the other end.

Right. That is your lot from me on this one. Seattle win, St. Louis head home to regroup, and the MLS table keeps on turning. Back to the drawing board for my acca though. Don't even ask. Don't. @ me.