Usually in this spot I take a deep dive into two or three particular games, but since it's early and we're still getting used to what we're seeing, let's take a run through the whole league. There's nine games to dissect…
SATURDAY SLATE
Columbus v Montreal (1 pm ET | CTV, TSN 4/5, TVAS in Canada; MLS LIVE in the US): We all saw what Columbus did last week, yeah? The defense strangled TFC to death, the fullbacks got forward, Gyasi Zardes got a goal on a sick pass from Pedro Santos and Federico Higuain was the man:
Given where the game took place, this was the most impressive performance of Week 1 (sorry, Houston). Look for them to get their fullbacks high, to have their wingers dive inside toward the central channel, and for the central midfield trio to control proceedings.
As for Montreal, they were better than I expected them to be against the Whitecaps. Vulnerable in the air, of course – and they will be again, because new CB/RB Rod Fanni isn't exactly Chad Marshall out there – but they showed both an ability and willingness to play a little bit through midfield.
The problem, though, was what happened once they got through midfield and into the final third. Montreal launched 21 crosses, and their lack of a central playmaker was impossible to miss. Too often the default decision was to shunt play out wide and have left back Daniel Lovitz try to find the final ball.
Lovitz, to his credit, picked up an assist on Montreal's only goal. But if he's crossing 12 times per game it means 1) Montreal's playing from behind, and 2) they don't have any real ideas as to how to change that.
New England v Colorado (1:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada): Obviously the big story heading into this one is the Revs’ central defense. It looks very much like they'll be starting a rookie and a veteran journeyman, and even against an attack as un-intimidating as Colorado's, that doesn't look great.
Expect the Rapids to do what they did against the Reds in CCL play: sit deep and try to hit on the counter at speed. Also pay special attention to right wingback Marlon Hairston, who struggled defensively in the first leg vs. TFC but had a nice performance in leg 2, doing a better job of understanding how and when to push forward, and minimizing the space behind him in that 3-5-2.
If he has a leg 1-esque performance, the Revs wingers will find room and be dangerous.
I'm wondering if we'll see Stefan Aigner and Joe Mason in this one. The Rapids are expecting to get a good dose of creativity from those guys, neither of whom featured vs. TFC.
Real Salt Lake v LAFC (3:30 pm ET | Univision & UDN; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada): Everybody saw what LAFC did in Week 1, going up to Seattle and getting themselves a smash-and-grab three points. They outplayed the Sounders early then battened down the hatches for the final hour or so, getting a Team of the Week performance out of Tyler Miller. They played out of a 4-2-3-1 and kept the ball on the ground a ton. Laurent Ciman had himself a busy day:
Electric from @LaurentCiman23 ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/UW1He8AWr0
— LAFC (@LAFC) March 7, 2018
RSL's performance slid under the radar a little bit, but 1-1 at Dallas is a good result. Justen Glad was excellent, but the amount of work he had on his plate has to be something of a worry – he was constantly shifting out to shut down Michael Barrios in 1v1 situations. Glad won just about all of them (and Nick Rimando was there to slam the door the one time he got skinned), but it's not a great percentage play to constantly put your CBs into zero sum contests.
Which is to say that 1) RSL's fullbacks need to play better than they did in Week 1, and 2) the structure needs to be tighter overall. This means fewer turnovers through midfield and quicker pressure to opposing distributors.
Chicago v Sporting KC (6 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada): So I'm really interested in the Fire – I think they could end up being the most interesting team in the league this year. I expect their formation will nominally be a 4-2-3-1, but I expect it will play more as a 3-4-3 or even a 3-3-4 when in possession. The midfield trio should be Dax McCarty, Tony Tchani and Bastian Schweinsteiger (for now). All three of those guys can pass the hell out of the ball, but none's a playmaker.
Jon Bakero probably is, but in a weird way. He's most natural as a forward, but he'll almost certainly be playing on the wing. When the Fire have the ball he'll post up inside and act as a sort of fulcrum for Nemanja Nikolic, Aleksandar Katai and maybe even Matt Polster to run off of. Nobody in MLS operates quite like this.
As for Sporting, my only real question is if Yohan Croizet gets another chance from the start. If he puts in the same defensive effort he showed in Week 1's loss to NYCFC, he will not be long for the first XI.
Houston v Vancouver (6 pm ET | TSN 1/4 in Canada; MLS LIVE in the US): Houston blitzed Atlanta last week by repeatedly turning them over at central midfield and then exploiting space on the flanks. They knew the Five Stripes were going to show up and try to possess, and their game plan for dealing with that was as good as you'll see all season.
Anyone think Vancouver's gonna go out and try to possess the ball on the road? They're built for it a little better than last year, when they posted the lowest possession numbers we've ever recorded in MLS, but still… that's not their game. They will happily sit deep and force the Dynamo to try to build chances, then get out into space via Yordy Reyna, Cristian Techera, Kei Kamara and the Alphonso Davies HypeTrain Express.
One thing I'd keep a particular eye on is how deep Techera drops. If I was Carl Robinson I'd have him stay pinned so that their usual 4-2-3-1 would look almost like a 4-3-2-1. Just use that sweet left foot of his to put the other guys out into space and take a little bit of defensive responsibility off of Reyna's plate.
RBNY v Portland (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada): How much gas does New York have left in the tank after Tuesday's historic win in Tijuana? How willing will Jesse Marsch be to rest the starters and go with a bunch of reserves? Here's a guess:
GK: Luis Robles — Fidel Escobar, Tommy Redding, Aurelien Collin, Connor Lade — Sean Davis, Florian Valot — Ben Mines, Kaku, Derrick Etienne Jr. — Carlos Rivas
The only first-choice players there are Robles and Davis (who's suspended for the home leg vs. Xolos) and maybe Kaku, who I'm betting will get 60 minutes at the most. You could also talk me into Vincent Bezecourt starting over Valot.
RBNY are deeper than most teams and are smarter about using that depth. But Portland would have to like their chances here, even on the road.
The key for the Timbers will be their ability (or not) to defend just a little bit higher up the pitch. They sat way too low last week in their loss at LA, an ended up conceding 10 shots inside the box. That's almost always fatal. Combine it with the slow reactions of their center backs – both Galaxy goals came off scrambles that Portland did not do well on – and it's probably right to be a little bit miffed at how things played out in Carson if you're wearing green.
You know that RBNY love to create scrums, by the way. A huge part of their identity is playing harder and faster and being quicker to second balls than anybody else, and that's the exact spot where the Timbers failed last week.
Orlando City v Minnesota United (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada): Did Stefano Pinho's one-touch finish earn him a starting job in Week 2? Are any of the "on the verge of fitness" guys – Josue Colman, Uri Rosell and Lamine Sané especially – good to go? Can Justin Meram play that well again, and would it make sense to play him at the point of the midfield diamond with Pinho and Chris Mueller up top?
For the most part, Jason Kreis has good problems to solve and a lot of talent to solve them with. Even down a man last week, the Lions looked good.
The Loons mostly didn't. They were played off the pitch for the first 70 minutes in San Jose before a too little, too late comeback made for a respectable enough 3-2 scoreline. Two things for Minnesota to do heading to Orlando:
- Collen Warner's got to start as a backline shield/Zone 14 disruptor.
- Blow up the diamond with long diagonals direct to the wings, who can run.
If they go with the Ibson/Rasmus Schuller deep-lying central midfield combo again, Orlando City will create way too much up the gut, just like the Quakes did.
SUNDAY SLATE
Atlanta v D.C. United (3 pm ET | ESPN in the US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada): If D.C. sit and counter the Five Stripes to death again, as they did three times last year, Atlanta fans will just about lose their minds. Twitter is a wonderland during these games.
That's exactly what United will try to do, for what it's worth. Even playing 11-v-10 last week in Florida, the Black-and-Red were content to collapse into a shell and let Orlando City knock the ball around. It proved to be a bad decision as Meram, Pinho et al carved them up for a late and well-deserved equalizer.
Will the fourth time be the charm for Atlanta's attack? Probably! For as thoroughly unprepared as they were defensively against the Dynamo, they still generated some damn good chances:
D.C. better come to play at least a little bit. If they go into a shell I don't think it's going to have a happy ending for them.
And obviously keep an eye on where Jeff Larentowicz lines up for the hosts. I still maintain they need him a d-mid.
NYCFC v LA Galaxy (5 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada): NYCFC's 2-0 win at Sporting was probably the most overlooked result of Week 1 for some reason. I'm not sure why, since it was the type of win you just don't see teams inflict upon SKC in Kansas City. NYCFC went toe-to-toe with the hosts in terms of possession, weren't out-toughed for a single second, and were murderous on the break. It was good and ultimately decisive soccer, and it didn't even require David Villa to perform at superhero levels.
Truth is, though, that I'm not sure that Villa's the key to this team's ceiling (which is in large part a credit to Villa – you know you're going to get excellence from him every week). To me, defensive midfielder Alex Ring is the guy who determines how far NYCFC can go. Here's his passing map from the win:
Green arrows are completed passes, red incomplete and yellow are key passes (passes that lead to a shot). This isn't the tidiest distribution chart for a d-mid, but that's to be expected against a midfield as compact, relentless and ruthless as Sporting's. What's not to be expected are so many vertical passes, real zone-movers that allow Villa and the rest of the attackers to get on the ball in the best spots.
Ring's ability to do that at a high level while, at the same time, protecting the central defense allows both his central midfield partners – Yangel Herrera and Maxi Moralez – to play higher themselves. Herrera creates havoc with his pressing, athleticism and energy; Moralez finds and creates chances. NYCFC thrive when those three guys are healthy and clicking.
The Galaxy have to be fully prepared to stop that. If I was Sigi Schmid I'd have Gio Dos Santos man-mark Ring and force as many square passes as possible.
One more thing to ponder:
Go see something cool this weekend.
