New England Revolution
The Revolution lost 2-0 to the Sounders in Seattle on Saturday night, ending a busy three-game week on a disappointing note.
Except for the extenuating circumstances – and there have been several under these circumstances – it was New England's second loss in three games in only eight days. An early goal from Seattle forward Jordan Morris and a late strike from teammate Albert Rusnák separated the 2 teams on an evening when each offenses were fairly limited.
The result was a disappointment for the Revolution, considering how evenly matched the sport checked out times, and on condition that that is MLS (the league of ever-close margins), the outcome was removed from a foregone conclusion.
Nevertheless, the undeniable fact that that they had to play a difficult away game without several key players underlined what was already known: New England's squad is way too thin and wishes to be strengthened.
Here are some insights:
The injury crisis is slowing down the turnaround of the season.
Indicative of the Revolution's current injury crisis was the pre-match news that winger Dylan Borrero had been faraway from the lineup at short notice as a consequence of several ongoing issues. Borrero returns in 2024 from a torn ACL suffered a 12 months ago and is clearly still working his way back to full fitness.
Although it seemed that New England would have not less than one in every of its dynamic attackers on the roster, injury luck struck again on the worst possible time.
“I’m shocked that he had to go out, but he’s kind of struggling with a few little [things] – tight groins, hips, hamstrings,” Porter admitted after the game. “I think a lot of it is just a reaction to him being a year back from major surgery and injury. It's just been difficult for him. Part of it is also that we don't have enough depth, so we're trying to get him involved. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have played him at all, but we didn't have anyone to play him. [else] to get into this game.”
As the Revolution coach noted, New England is currently coping with rather more than simply Borrero's injury. MLS Injury ReportPorter's roster currently includes 10 listed players, greater than another team within the league.
The game was the third in a row without captain and playmaker Carles Gil, who was again sidelined with a lower leg injury. Porter said he hopes to have Gil back at practice next week. The Revolution have coped quite well without him, arguably higher than they’ve during other periods of his New England profession when he was injured (the 2020 regular season was dismal by comparison).
The reality, nevertheless, is that the team has a 1-2 record during that point and it’s a tall order to task 19-year-old academy graduate Esmir Bajraktarevic with replacing the previous league MVP.
Nevertheless, Bajraktarevic played the suitable role at times.
He had arguably the Revolution's best likelihood within the thirty fifth minute, when he outplayed three Seattle defenders (resulting in a double save from Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei). But he was largely held in check within the second half, completing just 74 percent of his passes – a testament to his inconsistent performances.
Given the relatively even game, it's interesting (if ultimately pointless) to take into consideration how things may need been different had the Revolution had a wider roster of players. Had New England been in a position to field Gil and Borrero, the visitors could have used parts of the sport (particularly the tip of the primary half) to attain actual goals, moderately than simply forcing a couple of errant saves from Frei.
While the Vrioni turns…
Each week, especially in games without Gil, Borrero and Tomas Chancalay (who, as a reminder, is out for the remainder of the season with a partial cruciate ligament tear), the performance of striker Giacomo Vrioni has develop into arguably the only most significant think about whether or not the Revolution gets a result.
Vrioni, New England's only Designated Player who’s currently not injured, has put together some performances in recent weeks that just about justify his status as one in every of the team's central figures, scoring two multi-goal games within the last month, each of which resulted in 2-1 wins for the Revolution.
Both of those performances were followed by disappointing games. After rising to the occasion with the game-winning goals in a win over Cincinnati on June 22, he took a complete of six shots in a 5-1 loss to Columbus on June 29 but was unable to attain despite several great probabilities.
And after one other two-goal show within the 2-1 win over Atlanta on Wednesday, he delivered one other poor night within the loss to Seattle. No one attempted more shots in the sport (4) and posted the next xG (expected goals) with 0.53. Nevertheless, he remained with none points again.
You can't expect a player not named Lionel Messi to attain in every MLS game, and the injury list (which is practically a tome now) signifies that Vrioni is being asked to do an excessive amount of immediately. But the straightforward reality stays: when Vrioni plays well and scores goals, the Revolution tends to win immediately. When he doesn't, they lose (which makes his inconsistency all of the more glaring).
The opportunity of the transfer window is looming.
With Chancalay out for the remainder of the season and so many other players currently injured, New England's recent season-saving winning streak may very well be moot. As admirable because the performances of the Revolution's backup players have been, the team currently lacks anything however the depth needed to make a serious playoff bid.
Porter underlined this when he spoke in regards to the inequality in substitutions made in the course of the game.
“To put it in perspective, Seattle is replacing a Designated Player in [Raul] Ruidíaz and a young Designated Player in [Pedro] de la Vega, who they spent $10 million on, and we’ve got to trade in a Revs II player [Marcos Dias]and a player who hasn't played in any respect this 12 months,” Porter said, referring to the return of midfielder Tommy McNamara from injury.
“That just about sums up where we’re in comparison with them,” he added. “I feel that probably had lots to do with the standard of the ultimate third and probably not with the ability to threaten them in that final third.”
To solve this problem, New England will likely need more time (and not less than one offseason) to recalibrate the present roster. In the short term, there’s hope that the upcoming transfer window could provide some relief.
The MLS second transfer window opens on July 18 and runs through August 14. The Revolution technically don't have a Designated Player spot (each team is restricted to 3), but could get a salary cap hit within the short term with Chancalay on the injured list, meaning season-ending for them.
In addition, the likely expansion of the U-22 Designated Player rule could create latest places for brand new signings.
It is evident that the Revolution need more depth in attack. Vrioni's inconsistency and the continued injuries to order Bobby Wood have only underlined the necessity for an alternative choice in attack.
Due to the injuries to Chancalay and Borrero (in addition to Nacho Gil and Emmanuel Boateng's newer thigh injury), the priority can also be so as to add one other winger or attacking midfielder.
More depth can also be needed in other positions (full-back, defensive midfield), although the likelihood of constructing 4 latest signings in the course of the season seems slim.
Sporting director Curt Onalfo's conclusion is evident: The Revolution needs support in several positions and will have the means to maneuver not less than one reinforcement. The sooner this happens, the higher for a team that’s facing an uphill battle on the point of the playoff hunt.
image credit : www.boston.com