Timbers extend unbeaten streak with draw at LAFC

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeff Attinella saved Carlos Vela’s header in the 94th minute and the Portland Timbers played to a scoreless draw against Los Angeles FC on Sunday.

Attinella finished with six saves for his fifth clean sheet of the season and the Timbers (8-3-6) extended their unbeaten streak to 12 in MLS and 14 in all competitions.

LAFC (10-4-5) goalkeeper Tyler Miller parried away Sebastian Blanco’s close-range blast in the 70th minute and had six saves for his sixth shutout of the year.

“Overall, I was very pleased with the performance of my players, and I thought in the first half, we created enough chances to at least be two goals up,” Timbers coach Giovani Savarese said. “They we’re a little bit more dominant in the second half, so I thought it was a good game.”

Lee Nguyen was sent off in the 84th minute when his cleat caught Blanco’s leg.

LAFC remained unbeaten at home in all nine matches this season.

The teams will face each other again on Wednesday for the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.

“I think that in (U.S. Open) Cup games you have to go for it. Both teams will take more chances,” Attinella said. “At the end of the day, we haven’t even talked about Wednesday. It’s anybody’s guess, but usually in Cup games each team goes for it more.”