What a difference a few days make. After the debacle in Chicago, FC Dallas rebounded and got a road point at a place they have failed time and again. Prior to Wednesday night, FC Dallas had 1 win and 1 tie in 11 all-time trips to Seattle. So getting a road point was huge.

"It's massive. Letting up four goals on the road in Chicago in crunch time is bad, and this team responds. We responded again, and to come to Seattle, in a place where it has been a fortress for them for a long time and basically give them not very many opportunities to go ahead is a big feat and we're proud of the effort we gave tonight." - Paxton Pomykal

After the win, FC Dallas sits in 7th place in the West even on 44 points with San Jose but behind on the first tiebreaker (wins).

Let's break it down.

Lineups and Tactics

I had speculated during the week that Paxton Pomykal might play on the wing in this one and debated the idea of Reggie Cannon getting a game off after he looked gassed against Chicago... both of things came to fruition in Coach Luchi Gonzalez's XI.

The change that no one saw coming was the dropping of Zdenek Ondrasek and the move of Michael Barrios to the 9. So instead of the 4-3-3 FCD has used with success of late, this was more of a 4-5-1 look employing a 6 and a deep 8 with a counter-attacking setup.

FC Dallas starting XI at Seattle Sounders. (9-18-19) (Buzz Carrick / 3rd Degree)

After Bressan started cramping, Cannon came in for him in the 74th minute. Jacori Hayes replaced Jesus Ferreira in the 76th minute to increase possession. And finally, in a move that should have come much earlier, Santiago Mosquera replaced Dom Badji in the 81st minute.

Seattle played their usual 4-2-3-1. Jordan Morris coming off the bench was the main surprise, at least to me anyway.

Seattle Sounders starting XI vs FC Dallas. (9-18-19) (SSFC / Seattle Sounders FC)

Coach Brian Schmetzer went to the bench for Víctor Rodríguez, who replaced Nouhou Tolo, in the 65th minute; the big gun Morris came on for Jordy Delem in the 74th minute; Harry Shipp replaced the banged-up Raul Ruidiaz in the 93rd minute.

Goals

None.

El Bueno

It's the result that matters. FCD didn't "need' this point, but getting this point is huge for confidence. Grinding out a result with a defensive tactic isn't sexy but when your record at Seattle is 1-1-9 coming in you take it.

"Seattle is a tough team and tough place to play, but we were very focused and accomplished things that we wanted to. Unfortunate not to get the goal or anything but we got a good point." - Jacori Hayes

I liked the swapping going on in the front three. Dom Badji started left and Paxton Pomykal right, but they swapped at the 30-minute mark, roughly. Badji and Michael Barrios also did some swaps too. Positional flexibility and tactical shifts can make it hard for the defense to keep track. Barrios, in particular, was driving the Seattle center backs bonkers, eventually drawing the 2nd yellow on Xavier Arreaga.

FCD was really helped by the return of Bryan Acosta. I have a front-row seat on the Edwin Cerrillo bandwagon, but he's not Acosta. The experience, smooth touch, long passing, and game pace control of the Honduran International are vital. 90% passing, 3 for 4 on dribbles, 6 tackles, 6 of 9 on long balls, and only 1 foul committed. Superb.

Brandon Servania continues to shine as the linking 8. Since Carlos Gruezo left and the aforementioned Acosta became the 6, Servania has locked down the 8-spot and made himself indispensable. His lining play, possession, and calmness set up a stable base behind whichever 10 (or "free-8") Coach Gonzalez has out there. 80% passing - that could be a little higher - 1 shot, 1 key pass, 3 tackles, 2 intercepts, 1 clear, and 5 (!) recoveries... but look how much ground he was covering. Box-to-box and then some.

Brandon Servania's passing, defense, and shot chart (left) and heat map (right) against Seattle showing the massive ground the young mid covered. (9-18-19) (Whoscored.com / MLS)

The bunker and counter worked. While FCD didn't score they stifled Seattle. The Pacific Northwest club had only 14 shots on the day and - even more impressively for Dallas - just three shots on target. FCD greatly limited the scoring opportunities against a team that was enjoying 60% possession.

"I thought we were really disciplined as a block and still had moments of high press. We wanted to make it difficult for them to play out and then remain in low blocks which they had us in a few times especially at the end, so we needed to show the sacrifice and suffering for each other to keep them away from our box. So we prevailed defensively and kept zero in our net so that is positive." - Coach Luchi Gonzalez

Michael Barrios worked his tail off in this game. With just 31 touches, and 90% passing which is an amazing rate for a striker, he annoyed the Seattle center backs so much he got one sent off. What a gutsy, dogged effort. He was fouled 4 times and committed 4 fouls. The 5 dispossessions aren't great, but this was more about effort, chasing the ball, and annoying the defense.

El Camino del Medio

Jesse Gonzalez has vastly improved the obviousness of his time-wasting. He's not stopped doing it, he's just much cleverer about it. It's subtle and savvy now. I don't know that I love it at the frequency he's doing it, but it is important. And it's important he reduced the obviousness of it.

Luchi Gonzalez's cardigan was... something. You be the judge. Is this the new butter leather? Important questions must be asked!

FC Dallas Head Coach Luchi Gonzalez shows off a sweater look at the Seattle Sounders. (9-18-19) (FCD / FC Dallas)

Muy Feo

Jesus Ferreira had a poor game for the second straight outing. The penetration into the final third was missing - granted in a bunkering type set up - but he didn't take anyone on, didn't link play, and was poor in possession. 67% passing as a mid is too low, even an advanced mid, as is 32 touches. 1 shot, 0 dribbles. 3 attempted tackles, all lost, and all in the defensive end. Almost no defensive action in the offensive half of the field, which is a key component of Luchi-Ball.

Coach Gonzalez's subs are coming about 5 to 10 minutes later than I would like. He's making the right calls, but in each case, Cannon, Hayes, and Mosquera should have been on earlier.

Unlike Barrios, Dom Badji with his 31 touches did little it seemed. 67% passing isn't great, particularly when compared to Barrios' 90%, but I've seen worse. Mostly he just had no impact. I'm increasingly convinced Badji just doesn't fit this team's style of play. He's not capable of the small tic-tack passing, usually hesitates, and often kills the offensive flow.

Turf. I can't stand it. I know. It's better. Great, blah, blah. No, it's not great, it's terrible. Get some grass. The ball bounces differently, it changes the game in small ways. Even just esthetically I can't stand it.

And get off my lawn.

Next Game

FC Dallas hosts the first-place team in the East, New York City FC, on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 pm CT.

If FC Dallas hopes to make the playoffs, this is a "must-win" game.

"It's huge. That's our goal right now. From second to eighth is really tight in the West and all these points matter, so we are going to make the most of them when we go back home." - Jacori Hayes