Nashville beat Atlético San Luis 4:1 in the League Cup group stage on Sunday. The hosts had already dropped points in three of their four games before this fixture and needed a result to keep their hopes alive. They paid for a sloppy opening, but the scoreline was never really in doubt after the first quarter-hour.
R. Llorente gave Nashville the lead in the 18th minute. He had been quiet enough, but the movement was there when it mattered. S. Surridge doubled the advantage just before half-time with a drive from distance. Atlético San Luis pulled one back in the 45th minute through C. Espinoza, who was then substituted immediately after scoring. That substitution is the sort of thing that catches the eye more than the goal itself.
And here's the thing about the second half: Nashville never really got out of second gear. The visitors tried to press higher, but the structure held. R. Baker-Whiting made it four in the 88th minute, and by then Atlético San Luis had nothing left to offer. The match was over as a contest long before that final whistle.
The statistics tell a similar story. Nashville enjoyed 52 per cent possession and outshot the visitors six to three on target. There were 120 attacks compared with 63, and the hosts created two big chances to the visitors' two. The conversion rate was not spectacular, but neither was the opposition.
Nashville's recent form had been disappointing, with defeats to León and Orlando City among the results. This win does not erase those losses, but it puts the group back within reach. Atlético San Luis, meanwhile, are running out of games and the table goes out of the window in these situations.