Whitecaps set the tone with dominant 3-0 win vs. FC Dallas in their 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs opener
The tone has been set.
If there was ever any doubt about how the Vancouver Whitecaps might approach the first game of their first-round, best-of-three series vs. FC Dallas in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, they quickly put that to rest once the ball was kicked.
Not only did they pick up a commanding 3-0 result at BC Place on Sunday, but they dominated Dallas in such a demoralizing way that it’s hard to see the Toros coming back into this series against the Whitecaps, even as it shifts to Texas for the second game.
If anything, Dallas will feel quite fortunate that this series is a best-of-three matchup, and not a two-legged aggregate tie, as reversing that 3-0 lead would’ve been an even taller task than picking up a game #2 win - all they need next week is a gritty penalty shootout win, or a low-scoring 1-0 win, and Dallas can return to BC Place with a chance of advancing in game #3.
At the same time, if this first match is going to be any indication, they face a tall mountain to climb if they’re to dream of a game three, as the Whitecaps certainly sent a message with this performance.
“The coaching staff have been emphasizing that we needed to get out on the front foot right from game #1,” Whitecaps winger, Ali Ahmed, said after this win. “That can set the standard for the rest of the playoffs, and how far we want to go.”
Perhaps, though, this should’ve been expected from the Whitecaps. Unfortunately for Dallas, this matchup comes at a terrible time, too, as they actually beat these same Whitecaps 2-1 on the final day of the season at BC Place, using an early Vancouver red card to their advantage to help book their spot in the playoffs with that win, one that kept the Whitecaps from topping the Western Conference table.
Unfortunately, while a result like that was crucial to ensure Dallas would even reach this stage in the first place, the misfortune of that win and the Whitecaps' defeat was that it set up this playoff rematch, one that the Whitecaps suddenly became a lot more motivated for.
Granted, with dreams of a deep playoff run, one unlike any they’ve ever had in their MLS history, this Whitecaps team would’ve been just as fired up for any other matchup - this is a team hungry to finish the year on a high note after a historic campaign, one that featured a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, a top five finish in the Supporters’ Shield race and a fourth straight Canadian Championship victory.
Now, though, with this Dallas matchup, they were able to take out some frustrations from that Decision Day defeat, and that’s allowed them to get the ball rolling the way they did on Sunday.
Sticking with that point, however, it’s important to point out how thorough a performance this truly was from the Whitecaps, as a 3-0 win doesn’t exactly paint that story at first glance.
Daniel Ríos heads it in 🫡🔥🔥#VWFC | #VANvDALpic.twitter.com/PJp1UQBweA
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 27, 2025
When diving deeper into the numbers, though, they bring important context - per OPTA, the Whitecaps outshot Dallas 22-1, and even that 1 is generous, as Dallas was called offside on that one attempt that OPTA recorded.
Sticking with the Whitecaps, though, it’s worth noting that a lot of those shots were quite dangerous, too - they put 10 of them on target, generating an impressive seven big chances and 3.6 xG. They were helped by a second-half penalty from Thomas Müller, which accounted for a decent chunk of that xG, but beyond that, they still had 2.9 non-penalty xG, which shows that they were unlucky to only score three goals on the night - such was the quality of chances they created.
“It’s a little bit frustrating (not to score more),” Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sørensen, said of his team’s performance. “But on the other hand, I would rather that we have the chances and we are dominating, and we are playing well, with the right rhythm of the game, instead of not.”
He added: “We have to also profit from this very dominant performance, yes. But it came, and also, all credit to the players – they were never frustrated, they never showed any frustration – they worked hard and they kept working. And then eventually, it came.”
Yet, a big reason for that dominance in the shot department came from the Whitecaps' success on the ball, as they essentially took the ball and pinned Dallas back from minute one. As a result, they had 564 successful passes (compared to 273 for Dallas), including 319 in Dallas’s half, and 49 in their box (Dallas, by comparison, had just 72 touches in Vancouver’s half, and only two in their box).
Essentially, it was the quintessential 2025 Whitecaps performance, as they used their dominance on the ball to control both sides of the game, overwhelming their opponents' defence with relentless offensive play, while limiting the amount of chances they faced at their own end.
“It’s 3-0, but we controlled the game from the beginning, and that was our plan,” Müller offered. “To get the control, to have this fine balance between attacking – being ready for the second phase balls, being ready also for their counterattacks. They [FC Dallas] have good strength, especially with their deep runs. But we controlled them well, we shared the ball well.”
He's back at it again! 😮💨 @esmuellert_
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 27, 2025
📺 https://t.co/WY4WsHE6Rc#VWFC | #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Ce6HR5Tp4r
The good news for the Whitecaps, though, is that things, in theory, can still only get better from here. Heading into this game, they were missing three key pieces in Brian White, Tristan Blackmon and Mathías Laborda, with White and Blackmon still returning from injuries, while Laborda served a one-game suspension for the red card he picked up in the Decision Day loss to Dallas.
As a result, the Whitecaps started this game with Belal Halbouni and Ralph Priso at centre back, which in theory offered Dallas an advantage as they welcomed back striker Petar Musa, who scored 18 goals and added seven assists in all competitions, from a suspension that held him out of that Decision Day match.
With Laborda back for the next match, and Blackmon (who was nominated for MLS Defender of the Year last week) not far away from a return, the Whitecaps' backline is only about to get stronger, showing why Dallas’s no-shot performance is so worrying for them heading into game #2.
Plus, when factoring in that White is expected to be back sometime over the next few weeks, and that’s another big boost for the Whitecaps, as they’d expect White to put away some of the chances they left on the table in this game after he scored 22 goals in all competitions this season.
Yet, that’s why this first game is so encouraging to see from the Whitecaps, as it served as a reminder that it doesn’t matter who is on the field for this team - they’ve got a clear identity, and know how to hurt teams. 
All year long, the Whitecaps have flexed their depth, and it was easy to see that depth on display on their third goal, for example, which featured Rayan Elloumi teeing up Kenji Cabrera for a great marker.
Even though Elloumi is a homegrown youngster who was playing in MLS Next Pro to start this year, and Cabrera is a new signing who has hardly seen the field since arriving from Peru this summer, both were able to flex their quality in a big way on that marker, showing that this Whitecaps team is so much more than what they have at the top of their lineup.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT! 😤 Elloumi to Cabrera connection!
— X - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 27, 2025
📺 https://t.co/WY4WsHE6Rc#VWFC | #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/hv3kaG25Y7
Their big guns also played a role in this victory - Ahmed teed up Daniel Ríos for the opener, while Müller scored his first playoff goal from the penalty spot after a mazy run from Emmanuel Sabbi, while Andrés Cubas and Sebastian Berhalter were relentless on both sides of the ball in midfield - but ultimately the story of this game was that the decisive contributions came from across the lineup.
Because of that, look for the Whitecaps to keep this momentum going as they turn their attention to game #2, which comes next Saturday. It won’t be an easy match for them, as one has to think a strong response from Dallas is coming after a loss like this, and a road game in Texas is rarely a cakewalk, so the Whitecaps must keep this momentum going.
With LAFC potentially awaiting in the next round, which will shift to a single-elimination format, maintaining this level of dominance in game #2 could go a long way towards the Whitecaps finally making the deep playoff run they’ve long craved.
Certainly, their game #1 performance indicated as much, and that energy could also be felt in the crowd, which was a record attendance for a Whitecaps MLS playoff game - another reminder why this win is so big is that it guarantees another Whitecaps home playoff game, which will either be game #3 against Dallas or a matchup vs. LAFC or Austin in the next round - certainly, they’ll hope it’s the latter.
“I think it was unbelievable,” Sørensen said of the crowd. “I loved it, and I know the players did as well. Coming in and watching all the flags and the excitement and really all the support, all the love of the team, it was such a great game and such a great atmosphere. We really wanted to pay [them] back, and I think we paid back well on the pitch, so I think that was really great.”
