A quick rundown of the midweek action:
- LAFC looked really good for 90 minutes, then their Achilles' heel (adventure time in central defense) reared its ugly head in stoppage time as Houston clawed back two for a 2-2 draw.
- Darwin Quintero produced the. greatest. MLS. hat-trick. I've. ever. seen. in MNUFC's 4-3 win over a cratering Toronto FC side.
- Atlanta United dominated in a 4-2-3-1, so over the final 10 minutes they switched to a 3-5-2, lost their shape, defended too high, and FC Dallas punished them with two late goals to take a 3-2 win.
- Will Bruin punished Colorado's mistakes in a 2-1 Seattle win.
- A young RSL side danced over, around and through Sporting KC in a wide-open 4-2 win.
- LA started four center backs but still managed to look rickety defensively, coughing up a late goal to steal a draw from the jaws of victory as D.C. United tied them 2-2.
The overall theme was "Boy, a bunch of these teams out there look out of gas." The heat, the travel, the grind, injuries etc. all add up, and all take their toll. Every year in July we see lots of results like these – Team A controls the game for 75 minutes, empties their tank, and then Team B charges back for a result.
My guess is we'll see a bit more of exactly that this weekend.
Let's dive in:
Saturday Slate
Philadelphia Union vs. Atlanta United
7 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
Here's what happened to Atlanta on Wednesday night:
Not sure what that will mean for them this weekend, other than "I bet Miles Robinson won't start."
The operative question in this game: Can Philly play through whatever defensive look the Five Stripes throw at them? And in doing so, can they avoid turnovers? If the answers to both questions are "yes," then they've got a healthy shot at winning this one. If no, Andre Blake's going to have a long night.
Montreal Impact vs. Colorado Rapids
7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
Montreal have hit a little jag of form and this one, on paper, is a happy match-up for them. The Rapids are on short rest, playing their third game in a week, having traveled across half the continent after Wednesday's loss. Beyond that, their defensive weakness (wingers who can get behind the wingback and isolate the wide center back) aligns almost perfectly with Montreal's attacking strength (pretty much just Ignacio Piatti).
Be warned, though: This feels like one of those classic MLS games where it looks, on paper, like a ho-hum 2-0 win for the home side. That probably means the Rapids, who've been playing out of an ultra-defensive 5-4-1 in recent weeks, takes this one 5-4.
New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders
7:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
The Sounders got the three points they needed out of this week, and now go into this weekend's game likely without Bruin, whose limped off after finishing off the Rapids.
Seattle have been better on the attack the last few weeks after a limp, unwatchable start to the year. We dove in and took a look at the how and why:
Of course, it's going to be a very different-looking Seattle team on Saturday. My guess is we see a lot of reserves.
For the Revs, who are unbeaten in six but have won just four of their last 12, that makes this game a should-win. It's really a need-to-win if you look at their upcoming schedule: They've got this, then LA at home, then five-of-six on the road through the end of August, and then a brutal five games in September. Dropped points here would loom large come the end of summer.
Sporting KC vs. Toronto FC
8:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
Sporting fans got at me earlier in the year when I pointed out that their defense just doesn't look anywhere near what it has been. And granted, they've figured out a bunch of it – they're once again one of the better defensive teams in the league by most metrics, and Tim Melia's still a hero, and they're still second in the West.
They're also still capable of getting torched on any given day because they're a little gappier at the back and a lot slower to close down through midfield than they once were. That's what happened on Wednesday when RSL's committed, energetic kids cut them apart.
And SKC lost their heads a little bit. Daniel Salloi and Roger Espinoza were both sent off, and Ilie should have been. Add in Matt Besler's injury, and you've got a team that will not look familiar.
But... against a Toronto FC team that's this bad, will it matter?
The Reds have lost three straight, and won once in seven. Half their guys are hurt and the half that aren't look completely demoralized. This now feels exactly like FC Dallas' faceplant of 2017, and I'll officially be shocked if they dig themselves out of it.
Houston Dynamo vs. Minnesota United
9 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
Houston were down 1-0 early and 2-0 late before that stoppage-time comeback. In between they strung together a lot of passes through midfield, showed themselves to be vulnerable on the break, and settled for far too many (34!!!!!) crosses for a team whose center forward, Mauro Manotas, can not head the ball.
It was a really, really weird performance, and I doubt we'll see similar against the Loons.
Minnesota have switched to a 3-5-2 the past couple of games, and while they got a result against TFC, that was Quintero, not the formation. Houston, with all that speed they've got on the wings, are much better equipped to punish any 3-5-2 (but especially one with wingbacks who are asked to dive inside and vacate the flank, which is Miguel Ibarra's job) than the Reds.
For what it's worth, I still think the Dynamo will be a playoff team. If they don't win this, it'll be time for me to start re-thinking that.
Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas
10 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
It's taken half a season but RSL have just about found their best lineup, right? Corey Baird (5g/2a in 1000 minutes) has beaten out Luis Silva and the exiled Alfredo Ortuño at center forward. Bofo Saucedo has beaten out Joao Plata at left wing. Danny Acosta is out of the doghouse at left back. Brooks Lennon's learning curve at right back has been flatter than expected (he has All-Star potential at that spot).
Most importantly: Sunny's a starter. That means one of Kyle Beckerman or Damir Kreilach isn't, and the operative question with RSL every week is "What will Mike Petke decide in that central midfield?"
FCD have decisions of their own following the Mauro Diaztransfer.
I miss him. They'll miss him, and they showed why through most of Wednesday's win, generally lacking ideas and only creating danger on the break. That was good enough to get them past Atlanta United at home and might be good enough to get them past RSL on the road, but long-term, it's no surprise Fernando Clavijo is talking about bringing in a DPNo. 10.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Chicago Fire
10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
For Vancouver, this is their final home game before they head out on the road for four of five, and they are actually below the playoff line on PPG. The math says they really, really need three points here.
How do they get it against a Fire team that's been both more dangerous (9 goals in their last 5 games) and resolute (only one loss in seven) lately? Same way they always go after it: Try to draw them upfield, absorb a bit of pressure, and then hit on the counter. Though to manage as much they'll have to do a better job of forcing and transitioning off of midfield turnovers than they've managed the past couple of weeks.
The above's not as easy a job against Chicago as it used to be. Their 4-3-3 isn't exactly "humming," but they've been using the ball well through midfield, which has meant they can take fewer risks pushing their fullbacks up. And that, in turn, has meant fewer big chances conceded. It's a virtuous cycle.
LA Galaxy vs. Columbus Crew SC
10:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
It's sort of slid under the radar, but the Galaxy are having something of an injury crisis. They lined up in a 4-2-3-1 against D.C. on Tuesday, with an XI that included Ashley Cole – yes, LB Ashley Cole – as a box-to-box midfielder. Winger Romain Alessandrini was the No. 10, just underneath Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for the first half hour, and then Baggio Husidic came on to play that spot after Alessandrini was moved out wide and Bradford Jamieson IV was subbed off.
LA got themselves a 2-0 lead. Zlatan scored yet another golazo, and Chris Pontius got a second. But then the whole team was turgid and unthreatening the rest of the night, they conceded D.C. a ton of space, possession and chances, and it largely came down to the central midfield's inability to 1) control the game, and 2) turn what possession they did manage into actual chances.
Here's the chalkboard for Perry Kitchen, Cole, Alessandrini and Husidic, the four central midfielders on the night:
Those four guys combined to complete a grand total of six passes in the attacking third against one of the worst backlines in the league. And just look at the overall lack of penetration – almost everything is side-to-side or backwards.
I'm not letting the defense off the hook here. LA started four center backs (???) and still managed to concede two goals, the equalizer coming late and after Michael Ciani ducked out of the way of Darren Mattocks' shot. It was all ungood, and was a team effort in futility.
Will Columbus capitalize? That's obviously unclear because nobody, at this point, knows if they'll show up with their finishing boots. You know how they'll play, and you know they'll create chances, but nobody should be the farm that they'll finish them.
LAFC vs. Orlando City
11 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
At this point, here's the only functional, non-envirtonmental thing I worry about from an LAFC perspective:
I worry about lots of stuff from a Purple Lions perspective. I'll also admit I'm very excited to see them for the first time under new head coach James O'Connor. If they're half as organized and entertaining as his Louisville City teams were, Orlando City fans will be happy.
Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes
11 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
My colleague Bobby Warshaw broke down how the Timbers evolved earlier in the season, and how they haven't been forced to in the three months since then:
They crowd key zones defensively, and remain disciplined to ensure they are never vacated. Consequently, opponents find it hard to get good scoring opportunities. Through the first five games, Portland had conceded 12 goals, the most in the league through that point. In the 10 games since, they have conceded nine times.
It’s not a change of formation that’s mattered, but rather the commitment to a principle.
After Portland beat LAFC, 2-1, in mid-May, LAFC head coach Bob Bradley told reporters that, "[Portland's] block of seven, their four defenders and then the way those three defenders are dropped in, they’re very compact. Your ability to get through their [defense] is challenged.”
Will the Quakes allow those counter opportunities? Probably! Things have been bad in San Jose, to the point that the front office sent out a letter to season ticket holders IN ALL CAPS. It's actually a pretty good letter that seems to indicate they understand some of the underlying, structural reasons for what's now been six seasons of mostly playoff-less existence.
At the same time: The Quakes have real talent, and have invested a lot in it. They should not be as poor as they have been.
Sunday Showdown
NYCFC vs. New York Red Bulls
7 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info
NYCFC and the Red Bulls have built-in, structural advantages. Because they are part of larger, global soccer enterprises, they're able to lose key players – or, you know, head coaches – midseason and replace them internally with a sort of "no muss, no fuss" tactical approach. There is a "Red Bulls Way" and there is a "City Football Group" way and that means Dome Torrent and Chris Armas can come in an make tweaks, not overhauls.
Torrent said as much when he replaced Patrick Vieira last month:
“I don’t change many, many things because Patrick did a fantastic job here. In fact, he plays more similar than us in Manchester City. It’s the perfect philosophy for me,” Torrent said. “But every week, we introduce a little bit of change because I like the way in general this team plays, but in life, in general, you can always improve.”
Armas hasn't said anything yet after replacing Jesse Marsch on Friday morning, but this quote from the press release was, I thought, telling:
“On behalf of the entire organization, I'd like to thank Jesse for what he helped build here over the last few years,” said general manager Marc de Grandpre. “Chris has emerged as a leader in his own right, and embodies our core values on and off the field. We are excited for him to take this opportunity and know he will perfectly represent our club."
Emphasis mine.
I understand "core values" is the type of PR-speak that most teams would put out in a similar situation, but RBNY play like RB Salzburg play like RB Leipzig, and you don't rise through the ranks unless you've shown you understand that. Armas will not be in that locker room reinventing the wheel, or – like O'Connor in Orlando – trying to get a team of underperforming veterans to show they actually do realize they're an actual factual team.
He'll be there trying to get them to do the same thing they've been doing, and – like Torrent in NYCFC – trying to get them to improve around the edges.
Which is basically saying this: I don't think a Torrent vs. Armas head coaching matchup will look any different, in terms of the fundamentals, than a Vieira vs. Marsch matchup. The operative factor will be Torrent's stubbornness:
The Red Bulls have utterly dominated this derby, going 8-3-1 across all competitions with 30 goals scored and just 11 conceded. In large part it's because Vieira just refused to budge off his "build with the ball at all costs" approach.
In the past that's put them on the edge. In 2018 that's put them in the blender, as RBNY have taken a pair of 4-0 wins so far (one in the regular season, the other in the U.S. Open Cup).
Torrent, on Sunday, gets his first chance to be more pragmatic.
One More Thing To Ponder
No way this goes badly.
Happy weekending, everybody.
