The New England Revolution defeated Charlotte FC 1-0 on Matchday 11 of the 2026 MLS season. Here are three stats that defined the match.
0
Forgive me for using a season-long stat but I think it paints an important picture. Kudos to Matt Doyle to putting this on my radar.
The 0 percent paints a troubling picture that passes the eye test. Dor Turgeman has done a poor job of receiving the ball in dangerous areas. He mainly uses his speed to score goals rather than his positioning.
For the first image, each score is a percentile rank among qualifying MLS players for that action type. This shows where the player stands league-wide in that specific contribution. Receiving is described as value from holding up play and creating space.
While Turgeman is solid at hold up play, it is primarily at the halfway line rather than deep in the final third. The likes of Carles Gil, Peyton Miller and Luca Langoni have done a large amount of the goal creation.
A lack of involvement from No. 9's has been an unfortunate pattern of Mitrovic-coached teams. As noted by Doyle, this was seen on the youth national teams he coached.
Matthew Doyle
Hopefully we will see Turgeman get involved. New England needs its No.9 to be involved or the pressure on an aging Carles Gil will only increase.
16
Saturday was a bad day to be Wilfried Zaha. The former English Premier League winger lost possession 16 times.
New England did a great job of neutralizing the winger. The likes of Will Sands did a great job frustrating Zaha and limiting his opportunities.
With Zaha's contract expiring in June, the designated player could be on the move. He is struggling to make an impact and is costing Charlotte a lot of money. His showing against New England is indicative of a player who is on the decline and not a player who a club should be building around.
85
Marko Mitrovic didn't make his first substitution until the 85th minute.
As the match progressed, New England needed an injection of life. At 0-0, players were growing tired and the fact that Mitrovic took so long to make a change was pretty surprising.
Part of it is likely due to the fact that New England is dealing with a decent number of injuries. The likes of Brayan Ceballos, Leo Campana, Matt Polster, and Ilay Feingold missed the match.
Diego Fagundez was the only real impactful attacking player that Mitrovic could choose from. Malcolm Fry is still finding his game along with Cristiano Oliveira and Marcos Zambrano.
But also, Mitrovic has a belief in his squad. While only the head coach knows, it seems likely that Mitrovic believed that the guys on the field could get the job done. Considering the result, the faith in his squad paid off no matter what his substitution strategy actually was.
