# 2021 Portland Timbers season

The 2021 Portland Timbers season was the club's 35th season of existence and the 11th season for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The season covers the period from the end of the Timber's last match in MLS or MLS Playoffs in 2020 (November 22, 2020) to their final match in MLS Cup Plays on December 11, 2021.

## Background

The 2020 season was heavily altered due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland played its first two matches as scheduled, before the season was suspended on March 12, 2020. The season resumed with a bubble tournament near Orlando, Florida, dubbed the MLS is Back Tournament, which began on July 13, 2020, and concluded on August 11, 2020. Portland defeated Orlando City SC in the championship, and earned a berth into the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League for winning the tournament.
The league resumed, with Portland playing their remaining matches behind closed doors. The number of regular season matches from 2020 decreased from 34 to 23 due to the pandemic. Ultimately Portland finished with an 11–6–6 regular season record, and earned a berth into the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. Portland was defeated by FC Dallas in the opening round. Diego Valeri lead the team in MLS goals with six total, and Jeremy Ebobisse lead Portland in goals across all competitions with eight.

## Season review

The season was postponed from the normal late February 27–28 starting weekend and instead began on the weekend of April 16–18 due to the pandemic. Ahead of the start of the regular season, Portland began competitive fixtures in the Champions League on April 6, 2021.

## Non-competitive
### Preseason friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Upcoming fixture

### Midseason friendlies
## Competitive
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings
##### Western Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 61 | Qualification for the Playoffs Conference semifinals and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 58 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round |
| 4 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 55 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round |
| 5 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 49 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round |
| 6 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 49 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round |
| 7 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 48 | Qualification for the Playoffs first round |
| 8 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 48 | |
| 9 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 45 | |
| 10 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 41 | |
| 11 | FC Dallas | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 33 | |
| 12 | Austin FC | 34 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 31 | |
| 13 | Houston Dynamo FC | 34 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 30 | |
* ↑ Canadian clubs cannot qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.

##### Overall

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 58 | |
| 5 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 55 | |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 54 | |
| 7 | Nashville SC | 34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 54 | |
* ↑ As highest-ranked U.S. based Division I club (based on 2021 MLS regular season record) not already qualified (USA4)

#### MLS Cup Playoffs
##### MLS Cup
### CONCACAF Champions League
#### Round of 16
#### Quarter-finals
## Statistics
### Appearances and discipline

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as a substitute.
(T2) = Players called up from Portland Timbers 2 for short-term contracts.
| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Total | Total | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | | | | Apps | | | | Apps | | | | Apps | | | |

### Goalkeeper stats

The list is sorted by total minutes played then by jersey number.
| No. | Player | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | MLS Playoffs | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Total | Total | Total | Total |
| No. | Player | MIN | GA | GAA | SV | MIN | GA | GAA | SV | MIN | GA | GAA | SV | MIN | GA | GAA | SV |

### Top assists

The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal.
| Rnk | Pos | No. | Player | MLS | MLS Cup Playoffs | Champions League | Total |

### Shutouts

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.
| Rnk | No. | Player | MLS | MLS Cup Playoffs | Champions League | Total |

### Summary

| Games played | 2 (2 Champions League) |
| Games won | 1 (1 Champions League) |
| Games drawn | 1 (1 Champions League) |
| Games lost | 0 |
| Goals scored | 7 (7 Champions League) |
| Goals conceded | 2 (2 Champions League) |
| Goal difference | +5 (+5 Champions League) |
| Clean sheets | 1 (1 Champions League) |
| Yellow cards | 3 (3 Champions League) |
| Red cards | 0 |
| Most appearances | Tied (2 appearances) |
| Top scorer | Yimmi Chará (3 goals) |
| Top assists | Josecarlos Van Rankin (2 assists) |
| Top shutouts | Steve Clark (1 shutout) |
| Winning percentage | Overall: 1/2 (50%) |
Last updated: April 13, 2021. Source: Competitions

### Top scorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| Rnk | Pos | No. | Player | MLS | MLS Cup Playoffs | Champions League | Total |