How soundly did Sporting KC beat Minnesota? Start with 4 goals by 4 different scorers

The last time Minnesota United visited Children’s Mercy Park, well, Sporting Kansas City fans don’t like to remember that occasion.

It was the 2020 Western Conference semifinals and Minnesota blew away the top-seeded Sporting KC 3-0 thanks to a trio of first-half goals.

Perhaps Sporting KC fans can put that memory in the rearview mirror following Wednesday night’s 4-0 victory over the Loons.

“Obviously I wish last year’s playoff game would have gone this way too, but it didn’t, so we just move on,” Sporting KC winger Daniel Salloi said. “You kind of remember those games so when you go into these games you have this in the back of your head that last time they were here they beat us and it’s not nice, you want to give it back to them.”

Similar to the playoff fixture last December, a trio of first-half goals put the game to bed as Khiry Shelton, Salloi and Johnny Russell all converted before the break.

But Sporting went one step further and continued the barrage in the second half, with Cam Duke scoring in the 52nd minute.

It was a full-frontal attack from Sporting KC, starting in the 14th minute when a Daniel Salloi knuckleball could only be palmed out by Minnesota goalkeeper Tyler Miller straight back to Shelton.

The Sporting KC forward smartly headed the rebound into the bottom-right corner, far out of Miller’s reach.

Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes pronounced in front of the whole team before the game that Shelton was going to score. It was Shelton third goal of the season and first since the July 4 win over LA Galaxy.

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Shelton said about his coach’s prediction. “I have confidence in myself that I can score goals as it’s shown so far this season, but I score goals in training.”

But from there, much of the damage came through the work of Russell and his one-on-one matchup with Minnesota left back D.J. Taylor.

The Sporting KC captain caused Taylor fits all night, beating him off the dribble time and again. The matchup was so unbalanced that the typical positional swap between Sporting’s two wingers throughout the game didn’t occur: Sporting more than happy to continue attacking with Russell down Taylor’s side.

Sporting’s persistence down Russell’s right side wasn’t something they planned going into the game, but they certainly capitalized off it.

“I wouldn’t say it was something that we 100% said this is what we are going to do coming into the game,” Vermes said. “I think that a natural progression for us, is we use the flanks in the game.”

The matchup created a couple of good chances throughout the opening half-hour, but the breakthrough finally came in the 36th minute. Russell knocked the ball past Taylor toward the byline before cutting it back to Salloi, who smashed home a first-time half-volley from the top of the box.

The move mirrored a play just two minutes earlier when Russell released Duke down the right with a pass past Taylor. That time, Salloi scuffed his shot wide from the same area.

The goal was Salloi’s 13th of the season, moving him into a tie for the league lead in goals and assists combined (19) with Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar. Salloi is also third in the Golden Boot race, trailing Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz by one goal and D.C. United’s Ola Kamara by three.

“It’s September, it’s near the end of the season and I’m still in the top three, so of course at this point, you focus on it and you realize that you have a chance to get there and I’m going to keep it as close as possible,” Salloi said.

The goal also prompted chants of “MVP, MVP” from The Cauldron, Sporting KC’s supporters section. The chant certainly wasn’t lost on Salloi.

“I actually heard that one. It’s nice, super-thankful for it,” Salloi said.

“Obviously, I’ve played here for a long time and this club means a lot to me, so giving back to the fans and having a great season, it’s important for me to be in the MVP conversation but I think it’s exciting for the fans too. I think we’re all in this together.”

Russell joined the scoring himself on the stroke of halftime from the penalty spot. And once again it was a long ball over the top of Taylor’s right side that led to the penalty.

Roger Espinoza’s lofted pass over the top allowed Shelton to reach the ball just ahead of Minnesota’s Miller before the goalkeeper took Shelton down for the spot-kick.

The Loons finally replaced Taylor in the 58th minute, but not before Russell could give him one last thing to think about.

In nearly the same fashion as the second goal, Russell beat the Minnesota defender with a quick burst to the byline before sending a low cross that Duke volleyed in from close range.

Duke was a late inclusion into the starting lineup, replacing Remi Walter who suffered a knock in practice on Tuesday. Vermes told Duke after Tuesday’s practice to mentally prepare like he was set to start on Wednesday, and confirmed that statement prior to the game.

“He came with a great mentality and I thought he played really well for like I said, 65 minutes,” Vermes said. “Good movement: I think he was elusive many times with his change of pace on the ball when he turned.”

Russell’s goal and two assists improved his regular-season tally since the start of the 2018 season to 30 goals and 30 assists. He’s just one of two players in that span to reach that mark, joining LAFC’s Carlos Vela.

The result moves Sporting KC temporarily into first place in the Western Conference, but both the Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids hold games in hand. KC’s next game is against the Sounders at Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 26.

This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 9:40 PM with the headline "How soundly did Sporting KC beat Minnesota? Start with 4 goals by 4 different scorers."