There's just one more week left in the 2019 MLS regular season, and plenty to tackle around the league. Let's get started:
Atlanta United
The most interesting part of the 1-1 draw with Montreal was that Ezequiel Barco subbed on for Brandon Vazquez at striker. The biggest question facing Atlanta without Josef Martinez is the construction of those three attackers. In the Campeones Cup and U.S. Open Cup wins, it was Pity Martinez and Barco behind Josef. In the two games since Josef went out, Frank de Boer has played Vazquez in a like-for-like swap up top, with Pity and Emerson Hyndman as the attacking midfielders. Sunday's game presented the two options moving forward:
- Play Vazquez up top, but you have to keep at least one (probably two) of Pity, Barco, Tito Villalba or Hyndman on the bench. My math says the odd player out would probably be Pity.
- Change the dynamics of the three attackers, get the maximum amount of talent on the field, and play one of Barco, Villalba, or Pity slightly out of position as the No. 9.
So far, de Boer has gone system > talent. I'd switch that.
Chicago Fire
I'll always have a special place in my heart for this Fire team. Bastian Schweinsteiger as the deep, deep lying playmaker. Dax McCarty running the game in the middle. Aleksandar Katai dicing fools. CJ Sapong's resurrection. Brandt Bronico!
But I'll also harbor some resentment for the fact that they didn't make the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs. This team should have accomplished more.
In the "maybe this weird soccer thing interests you" category: The Fire have been man-marking with their wide players in the last few games...but only with their wide players. The central players have stayed in a zonal scheme, while the outside backs and wingers followed their opposing players wherever they went. It meant that right back Johan Kappelhof would sometimes end up right next to left back Jonathan Bornstein. I'm not sure I've ever seen – or at least noticed – a team have half of their players man-mark and half stay in a zone like that.
FC Cincinnati
There's something poetic – well, poetic isn't the word, but you get the idea – about FCC simultaneously giving up a goal that put them over the top for most goals conceded in a single season in league history, in a stretch of games in which they've only conceded twice in four matches. Their defending has improved drastically under under manager Ron Jans. I'm not about to die on the hill that FCC could have made the playoffs if they played that way all year, but it would have been fun to see them try.
Colorado Rapids
First, this:
Then, this:
If you're a neutral who wants a feel good story and the most dramatic ending possible, you're a Rapids fan on Sunday.
Congratulations and thank you to the Rapids for taking it all the way to Decision Day presented by AT&T.
Columbus Crew
One of the great joys in life is that moment when a "Baerentee" comes true. As such, I thank you, Pedro Santos. Prior to the season, I took the flier that Santos would hit double-digit goals this year. With the goal in the 2-0 win over Columbus, Santos now has 11 on the year. He went from being very, very bad at shooting in this first two years in MLS – only one goal in 37 starts on a playoff team in 2017 and 2018, with many, many shots into the stands – to doing this:
It's always fascinating when/how that happens within a 12 month span.
For fun, let's check in on the rest of the Extratime picks:
- Andrew Wiebe said that Angelo Rodriguez would score 15 goals. FAIL.
- Ben Baer said that Bradley Wright-Phillips would score 20 goals. FAIL.
- Matt Doyle said that Dominique Badji would score 14 goals. FAIL.
- David Gass said that no team would break 60 points. FAIL.
I win.
FC Dallas
Results are the only thing that matter in this business, but it's worth giving credit to Dallas for this: They are the only team near the playoff line that have stuck to their principles of play. Every team before the season outlines how they want to play and who they want to be. Everyone says they want to play "attack," play "attractive" soccer and "keep the ball on the ground." Then we get to Week 20 and beyond and teams put 10 players behind midfield and try to play on the counter — pretty much every team in the playoff race has done it. Dallas have not. They've continued to attempt to possess and play through midfield and adhere to the same ideas that they created on opening weekend.
Does all of this matter if you lose? Probably not ... although, I'll admit, it does to me.
...Especially when you're attempting to develop young players. Luchi Gonzalez may have to adapt to lock down results at some point, and Paxton Pomykal, Jesus Ferreira, Reggie Cannon, Jesse Gonzalez, Brandon Servania, and Ricardo Pepi will need to learn to slug out results throughout their careers. But there's a ton of value in trying to find solutions the hard way in moments like these. It's worth applauding a team that's trying to do it the hard way, with a vision for the future.
D.C. United
The season has come full circle for D.C. United. Early in the year, when it looked like they might run away with the East, the best part of their game was their defending. They kept clean sheets in the first three games, and seven of their first 13. They could press high, defend deep, own their own box and win second balls. Then through the middle of the year, they forgot all of those things. During a stretch in which they went 4-7-6, they only kept two shutouts and gave up nearly twice as many goals per game. They lost both the structure and the bite. Fortunately, both of those things are back. Win the 0-0 draw at Red Bull Arena, they have four straight shutouts and have only a home game against Cincinnati in front of them to cement a top-four seed.
Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo have used a a basic 4-4-2 in the last few weeks. In some ways, the 4-4-2 is old and basic and boring. In other ways, it's innovative and probably the next wave of tactics, especially in the way the Dynamo used it on Sunday. Davy Arnaud played Mauro Manotas and Alberth Elis up top together — two fast players who are excellent on the break. It was similar to how Tata Martino played Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron last year for Atlanta. While Atlanta played a 3-5-2, the point remains the same: keep two fast, counterattacking players high; give them less defensive responsibility because they have a set of eight defenders behind them.
LAFC
Eduard Atuesta has been the best non-Vela/Zlatan/Josef player in the league this year. He's been marvelous to watch. He can blow up plays defensively, connect passes, drop dimes, and get into the box for the occasional goal. He's one of the most complete players the league has seen. Remember that last year he wasn't even a lock-down starter for this LAFC team.
LA Galaxy
Vancouver coach Marc Dos Santos outlined his game plan for beating the Galaxy after Sunday's game: "I think what we spoke about during the week and what we tried to work on is number one is Jonathan [dos Santos] has a very big impact in their game, in the build ups so we tried our best with different players to eliminate that and their build up. Then when the ball is wide to make sure that we have numbers to deal with crosses because [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic doesn't need to jump. Ibra just needs to be there and it is already dangerous. Then the runs [Cristian] Pavon coming from the left inside had to be dealt with and I think overall everybody was very aware of their role and knowing what we had to do and what we had to exploit when we won the ball back."
Summary: keep someone on JDS at all times, then don't worry about the middle. Whereas the number one rule of defending is usually to keep the ball out of the middle and funnel it wide, it changes against the Galaxy. Pavon is so dangerous, and Zlatan is so lethal on crosses, that you have to stop both of those things from happening before they start. You'll have to give up the middle and risk Sebastien Lletget, Favio Alvarez or Joe Corona, but you should be willing to take that risk compared to giving Pavon and Zlatan what they want.
Montreal Impact
This week was all about the Canadian Championship win for Montreal. The Impact:
- Lifted the trophy for the first time in five years
- Beat Toronto in the process
- Qualified for the 2020 Concacaf Champions League
Winning the Canadian Championship should have been the top priority for Montreal this year, especially given that Nacho Piatti missed most of the year. They accomplished that. They might not have achieved everything they wanted, but it was a fine season.
This team, if they can find a way to retain Lassi Lappalainen and Piatti, is nicely constructed to compete in Champions League.
Minnesota United
Matt Doyle put together the perfect summary of Minnesota right now in his weekend recap: [They] are a pure "we're not going to beat ourselves, but we'll go ahead and wear you down and wait for you to beat yourself" bunch.
The auxiliary to that... it doesn't matter if they are playing well in a particular game. The only thing that matters is that you aren't playing well. That's hugely powerful heading into the playoffs, when it's rare for a team to play at their best (one of the saddest parts of the sport is how often big games turn into ugly affairs).
There's something special going in Minnesota right now; that game at Allianz Field in the First Round is going to be awesome.
New England Revolution
On Matchday Central, Susannah Collins asked whether the Revs, who secured a spot in the playoffs, could make a run in the postseason. My answer: They won't enter the first-round game, either at Atlanta or at Philadelphia, as the favorites, but any team with a potential match winner on the defensive end and a match winner in the attack has a chance. New England have both (plus one). Matt Turner can singlehandedly win a game in goal, as we saw on Sunday and multiple other times throughout the year. Up top, Gustavo Bou is the second best attacker in the East right now (behind NYCFC as a group, who have three or four match winners in their attack). Carles Gil might even be No. 3 on that list.
New York City FC
The story for NYCFC this week came from Wednesday night's win over Atlanta. They showed that they are unquestionably the best team in the East heading into the playoffs. The loss to New England on Sunday doesn't change that. They didn't have much to play for, as they had all-but-mathematically locked up the top seed in the conference. Dome Torrent rotated half of the team, and the regulars clearly didn't have the same zip that they did against Atlanta. I don't blame them for that. It's worth noting, however, that they should approach next weekend with more urgency. Everyone gets a weekend off between Decision Day and the playoffs (international break); NYCFC don't want to have three straight weeks of relaxing before they head into a single-elimination game.
New York Red Bulls
There was definitely a stretch in which it was a concern about whether the Red Bulls were still good to compete at the top of the East. Specifically, it was unclear whether they could get game played on their terms — intense and chaotic. I'm not worried about that now. They will get enough chances to win any playoff game. The bigger concern for RBNY heading into the playoffs is whether they will finish those chances. Tom Barlow hasn't shown to be a big-time scorer. Brian White is still out. BWP doesn't look like BWP. Although... wouldn't it be poetic if BWP, who's been criticized for failing to score in big games, comes back after his worst MLS season to date and scores a huge playoff goal?
Orlando City
The Lions have gone 0-2-3 when new Designated Player Mauricio Pereyra has played. It's neither surprising nor damning. OCSC hung around the playoff line because they worked extremely hard defensively, especially through the middle of the field. When you introduce a more attack-minded player into the middle, you will naturally lose that bite. Once Orlando lost that bite, they lost their thing. But it's also fair to say that Orlando might have hit their ceiling as purely industrious team and needed to find a way to get some more attacking nuance into the team — in other words, they wouldn't have made the playoffs without someone like Pereyra, either (I personally think that line of logic is wrong, but I understand it). Overall, even though Orlando are officially eliminated, I would consider this season a step forward for the Lions. If they can find a way to integrate Pereyra into their existing culture and foundation, they will be a playoff team in 2019.
Philadelphia Union
There was an audible gasp around our office when Alejandro Bedoya got hurt; you have to respect for what he's contributed on a weekly basis to Philadelphia.
I'm interested to see how Jim Curtin responds with his lineup. It seems to be a very clear split between the "more aggressive" or "more conservative" option. Does he play Warren Creavalle as a direct swap for Bedoya? Creavalle provides the same defensive attributes but doesn't get forward as well. Or does Curtin put in Marco Fabian or Andrew Wooten as more attacking options?
I expect Bedoya to be back in time for the playoff game, so it's not about the lineup choice, but rather the statement of intent. Is Curtin trying to establish an attacking, aggressive feel to the team heading into the playoffs? Or is he putting the brakes on a little bit to become a little safer heading into the single-elimination game?
Portland Timbers
We did all of these walking around to end back where we started. The starting attackers for the Timbers on Decision Day will likely be Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri and Andy Polo behind Jeremy Ebobisse — the same attacking quartet that played in 2018 MLS Cup. Heck, they should probably play that lineup even if Brian Fernandez gets his suspension rescinded.
Real Salt Lake
RSL always play with Jefferson Savarino on the right and someone else on the left. It looks like that someone else will be Corey Baird heading into the playoffs. As it stands, RSL would play the Galaxy in the playoffs. As mentioned in the Galaxy section, one of the keys to stopping LA is to slow down left winger Pavon. Would it be possible for RSL to switch Baird and Savarino to get Baird, the more defensively disciplined player, onto the right side so he could help defend Pavon? To add to it, Savarino has scored a couple bangers with his right foot from outside the box, so it might benefit him to be cutting inside.
San Jose Earthquakes
It's been a gut wrenching two months for the Quakes. Here's what they need to remember, though: Based on recent performances, they have been a better team than the Timbers and should feel perfectly capable of winning next weekend's season-defining clash at Portland.
Seattle Sounders
We've been lucky enough to have Ari LIljenwall working with us recently, so I asked him for the Sounders takeaway this week:
When I think about the Sounders’ chances of making a deep run into the playoffs, it comes down to a simple question: Can they defend at the level that is required? Between Raul Ruidiaz, a red-hot Jordan Morris, the always-dynamic Nicolas Lodeiro and a recently returned Victor Rodriguez, this team has enough talent to score some goals. But they’ve been shipping too many of their own lately and really haven’t defended consistently since Chad Marshall retired. Stefan Frei is still a beast between the posts, but he can only do so much.
A leaky defense is usually a death sentence in the playoffs, which is why the clean sheet in San Jose was at least an encouraging sign, even if Seattle still gave up a bunch of chances and had a center back get a red card. The X-factor here is Roman Torres. The big Panamanian made his first appearance back as a substitute against the Quakes after serving a 10-game PED suspension and figures to start on Decision Day against Minnesota United with Xavier Arreaga suspended for that aforementioned red card. Can Torres help calm down this back line and get the team playing playoff-level defense? I have no idea — he’s been out for a while — and even if he does it still might not be enough to take down LAFC. But if he can, they’ll at least have a fighting chance.
Sporting Kansas City
We under-estimated the three-year effect on Sporting. In world soccer, it's generally accepted that teams have a three-year clock between players and manager. After three years, the intensity fades. Elite coaches are so demanding that it starts to ware on players after a few years. The team loses its edge. It's nobody's fault; it's just a thing that happens. The core of SKC has been together for closer to 10 years. It's incredible that they stayed near the top as long as they did. The clock might have finally expired.
Toronto FC
The difference between the 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 is semantic and trivial. I find the distinction to be extremely important. Toronto are the perfect example for why. A 4-2-3-1 came into existence because of the rigidity of the defensive midfielders; both sit in front of the back four and rarely leave. You have an ever-present block in the middle of the field between the two center backs and the two defensive midfielders. If one of the two deeper midfielders drives into the box, it's not a 4-2-3-1; it's a 4-3-3.
As Matt Doyle pointed out on Matchday Central, Toronto have been playing a 4-3-3 the last couple games, with Jonathan Osorio and Marky Delgado in front of Michael Bradley. They need to flip the triangle and play Delgado next to Michael Bradley in a 4-2-3-1. Bradley doesn't have the range or bite to cover the ground alone on his own. They are consistently susceptible to counterattacks. If they are going to continue to be aggressive with their outside backs, they need to drop a second defensive midfielder.
Vancouver Whitecaps
Referring back to MDS's comments about his game plan for the Galaxy one more time... Another element of the game plan was playing Erik Godoy, usually a center back, at right back for the game. Godoy offered two things at right back. First, he didn't fly forward like other outside backs would, so he didn't leave space for Pavon to attack unimpeded. Second, his height and aerial ability added another body in the box to compete with Ibrahimovic. Zlatan loves those back-post headers, and they are a little tougher when the defender in that spot isn't a shorter outside back but rather a sturdy center back. It was an interesting decision from Dos Santos, and something other teams should consider as they meet the Galaxy in the playoffs.
