Four Quick Takeaways from Minnesota United's 1-0 Win over Portland

Photo Credit -- Brian Curski, Zone Coverage

Minnesota United narrowly defeated the Portland Timbers, 1-0, on Sunday to remain undefeated in its last 10 matches in all competitions and vault higher up the MLS standings. Our soccer analyst Nicolas Hallett gives us his main takeaways from the match with a special social media emphasis.

1. In the waning moments of hard-fought, neck-and-neck game, Ethan Finlay came through with the goods.

2. Minnesota snatches 2nd in the West. 

With the win and a big-time loss by the Seattle Sounders to Sporting KC late Sunday evening, Minnesota United now sits in sole possession of the cherished position of second place in the Western Conference.

As my colleague David Naylor points out here, United have remained undefeated in their last 10 matches, and during that stretch have picked up an impressive 17 of a possible 21 points in league play.

3. Taylor Twellman delivers a freezing cold hot take. 

During the ESPN telecast of this match, Taylor Twellman did his best Alexi Lalas impression, insofar as to state a wild and crazy opinion in hopes it grows legs on social media and brings him further notoriety.

The best way to describe this take is with the word laughable. Though Quintero has proven not to be the utter god-like creature we may have initially thought he was, it is still incredibly obvious that the Colombian is by far the most talented offensive player the club possesses.

What’s more, even if he suddenly wasn’t, his capabilities would still be considerably valuable to the club in some way, shape or form. Unearthing quality starting-caliber players is hard. Unearthing effective designated players even harder. Finding a player who is willing to come to Minnesota and on his day is among the top-five players in the league?

Astronomical.

Good luck ever finding that again.

I enjoyed this response tweet from a fan.

4. Speaking of Quintero…

Sometimes Minnesota United’s best player doesn’t always look like he’s trying his absolute hardest. Combine that with a few goal-scoring droughts here and there and you might find yourself wondering how much the 31-year-old actually cares about his team’s success.

This video of Quintero watching Finlay’s winning penalty kick seems to speak for itself.

 

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