Sebastian Blanco and Nathan Fogaça each had second-half braces and the Portland Timbers set a club record for goals scored in an MLS match, defeating Sporting Kansas City 7-2 at Providence Park on Saturday evening.
The win ended a five-match winless streak for Portland across all competitions (0W-2L-3D), while SKC were sent to their seventh straight non-winning result in league play (0W-4L-3D).
After Bill Tuiloma's set-piece header gave Portland a 1-0 lead inside of 15 minutes, it was doubled just seconds into the second half. Cristhian Paredes chipped a ball into the scoring area to Blanco, who struck it past SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia to open his account in 2022.
Blanco would later get his second in the 52nd minute, completing his double as the Timbers made it 3-0. Fogaça then added a fourth for Portland on his first-team debut just minutes later, later finishing off his own brace to restore the Timbers' four-goal lead after Johnny Russell ended Portland's shutout hopes in the 57th minute.
Marinos Tzionis added a consolation marker for Sporting in the 75th minute with the match already well in hand, but Marvin Loria made it a four-goal lead once more in the 88th minute. Santiago Moreno provided the exclamation point in second-half stoppage time with Portland's seventh goal of the evening.
Goals
- 12' — POR — Bill Tuiloma | WATCH
- 46' — POR — Sebastian Blanco | WATCH
- 52' — POR — Sebastian Blanco | WATCH
- 56' — POR — Nathan Fogaça | WATCH
- 57' — SKC — Johnny Russell | WATCH
- 69' — POR — Nathan Fogaça | WATCH
- 75' — SKC — Marinos Tzionis | WATCH
- 88' — POR — Marvin Loria | WATCH
- 90'+2' – POR — Santiago Moreno | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Portland not only snapped a five-match winless streak, but they did so in resounding fashion, becoming just the sixth club in MLS history to score seven goals in a match. For SKC, an already disappointing season has reached a new low as they made history in the wrong way on Saturday evening. They haven’t won a match since a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake on March 26. Both teams finished the evening with 10 men, with the Timbers' Josecarlos Van Rankin and SKC's Robert Voloder given their marching orders after both being shown their second yellow cards with about a quarter-hour remaining.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: What's better than one? Two. Sebastian Blanco found himself on the scoresheet for the first time in 2022 with a flourish, bagging a brace as part of Portland's big night.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Sebastian Blanco has to get the nod here. He turned what was a 1-0 match into a blowout in rapid fashion.
Next Up
- POR: Wednesday, May 18 at San Jose Earthquakes | 10:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- SKC: Wednesday, May 18 vs. Colorado Rapids | 8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
