Sebastian Berhalter lauded the culture instilled at the Vancouver Whitecaps by Jesper Sorensen, following their late turnaround against the Portland Timbers last time out.

Vancouver looked on course to suffer their second league defeat of the season, having seen Juan Mosquera and David Da Costa strike after Edier Ocampo's early opener.

But in second-half stoppage time, a penalty from Thomas Muller and a dramatic 95th-minute winner from Berhalter completed their comeback and sealed a 3-2 triumph.

It was a result that ensured Vancouver kept pace with Los Angeles FC at the top of the Western Conference, and Berhalter acknowledged the importance of the victory.

"It doesn't matter the score, we can always get the three points," Berhalter said. "It's a testament to the culture that we’ve built and that everyone still believes and no one panics.

"And it's our identity, it's who we want to be. We want to be people that, even if we're winning 3-0, want to get the fourth. If we're down 2-1, we want to get the 3-2."

Whitecaps boss Sorensen echoed those sentiments as he spoke to reporters ahead of this weekend's clash against fellow high-flyers New York City FC.

"You can never draw up a game. You can hope for something and prepare something, but you know, this game is so unpredictable," added Sorensen.

"For a neutral, I think it was entertaining. For our fans, I think they left the building very happy. And they should, because it was. I think we played a very good game in general."

NYCFC were on the wrong side of some late drama in their last match, with Brendan McSorley's stoppage-time goal helping St. Louis City SC snatch a point in a 1-1 draw.

It was a game that they had their chances in, though it was St. Louis who edged the expected goals (xG) battle, having registered a total of 1.4 compared to NYCFC's 1.14.

But speaking after the defeat, Pascal Jansen bemoaned the way in which his team conceded the equaliser, given McSorley was allowed a free header inside the box.

"It felt like a loss," Jansen conceded. "It's one point, but it feels like a loss. When we came back into the dressing room, the players were very quiet.

"The message was it was on us. We had several moments where we could have decided the game. We didn't play our A game, but we had some good phases during the contest.

"But to concede in the way that we did in the final part of the game, that is something that is simply impossible. It should not be happening. You have to put your life on the line.

"You have to keep the ball out of the box. But we didn't. We took a gamble, and they got a point from a game where we should have killed it off at an earlier stage."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Thomas Muller

Muller's equalising penalty last time out was his 13th goal contribution in his first 13 regular-season MLS matches (10 goals, three assists).

The only player with more regular-season goal contributions for Vancouver since Muller's debut last August is Berhalter (15), who scored the winner against Portland.

NYCFC – Maxi Moralez

Moralez set up Hannes Wolf for NYCFC's only goal last Saturday, his 90th career MLS assist and his fifth already this year.

This is also the eighth season that Moralez has recorded at least five assists, and only eight players have more seasons with five or more assists in MLS history.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

Vancouver's only win over NYCFC was a home victory in July 2017 (D3 L3). Three of the four meetings since then have ended in draws, with NYCFC recording a win in Vancouver in August 2019.

After their late heroics last week, Sorensen's men will be hoping to get the job done a little earlier this time around.

The Whitecaps trailed Portland entering stoppage time before scoring in the 91st and 95th minutes to win the game. It marked the first time in club history that they won a regular-season match in which they trailed in second-half stoppage time.

NYCFC, meanwhile, have won nine of their last 13 away matches in all competitions (D2 L2) dating back to mid-July. Before this run, the Pigeons had won just nine of their previous 62 away matches in all competitions, dating back to July 2022 (D21 L32).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Vancouver Whitecaps – 47.7%

Draw – 26.1%

NYCFC – 26.2%