PORTLAND, Oregon – After three games without Diego Valeri, the Portland Timbers got their "maestro" back for Sunday's match against the Seattle Sounders. His return came at just the right time.
Without Valeri, the Timbers' attack had struggled. With him, Portland got back to their high-scoring ways, putting three past the Sounders, including two from Valeri himself, in a 3-1 win at Providence Park.
Valeri was understandably thrilled after the match. Not only did he push his scoring record to nine goals on the season, to go along with five assists, but more importantly the Argentine helped the Timbers pick up a Cascadia Cup win over their archrivals.
"It was a great feeling because of the game," Valeri told reporters. "It is the most important game of the year against Seattle, always. The feeling is good when you are back to playing games, but I am very glad and very happy about the team because our performance today was great."
Timbers head coach Caleb Porter walked away with a similar feeling.
"I think it was our best performance of the year because everybody is healthy," Porter said. "It's funny how that works out. I think that what you saw today was that we had a lot of the ingredients that you want.
"You have one winger that brings a lot of pace and ability to open up teams off the dribble: [Lucas Melano]. You have got your No. 10 back, the straw that stirs the drink and makes your team go: Valeri. Then you have got [Darlington] Nagbe, your second playmaker that comes inside. And you have got your front man, your target, a guy that will hold up the ball and bang: [Fanendo Adi]. And you have got your ball-winner: [Diego] Chara."
Keeping all of those ingredients on the pitch in the coming weeks and months will be vital for the Timbers, as the club looks to make its move up the table in the Western Conference. They now sit in sixth (7-6-8, 29 pts), just above the red line.
"I think there have been some games where those ingredients are not all there," said Porter. "The goal is, like today, to have them all and I think you saw that."
