Sporting KC welcomed LAFC to Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night for what was billed as a re-match of the US Open Cup final and a final opportunity to close out the home season on a positive note.  What it was instead was a stark reminder of how vastly different the trajectories these two teams are at the moment.  It was so bad that anyone at the stadium within viewing distance of a television decided to watch the end of the Royals game instead of being subjected to that 2nd half performance.

It also reminded us how Sporting has to perfectly execute a game plan at their maximum capability to even compete with a team of this quality, and how quickly the dominos fall when they do not.  

We finally got a look at summer window signing Joaquin Fernandez, and while it was a short 45 minute cameo, I think there were some things to be positive about regarding his performance, even if it was clear he was not close to 90 minutes fit.

After the game there were a lot of quotes from Peter Vermes and the players regarding the need for this team to go through significant change to raise its competitive level(our favorite word mentality was thrown around again), as well as the recognition by some of the longer standing members of the team that their time may be at an end in Kansas City, whether they want it to be or not.

Finally, the Current get a goal from someone other than Temwa(if a bit un-repeatable), the MLS 22 under 22 list predictably has no SKC players on it, and both Jurgen Klopp and Gregg Berhalter find new jobs.