Dylan Borrero "Threatening Right From the Start"

The young winger pleased Bruce Arena in the Revs 2023 season opener

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

After a 2022 season that was marred by injuries, Dylan Borrero has had a much better start to the 2023 campaign.

Borrero played 90 minutes and completed 15 of his 19 passes while tallying 40 touches and a team-high three shots. The 21-year-old won 50 percent of his ground duels and showed no fear going at defenders.

While Borrero can’t boast a goal or an assist, the fact that he was able to create chances and simply play an entire game is promising. The scoring will surely come if he continues to play as he did against Charlotte FC.

While admitting that Borrero can improve, head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena was pleased with the Colombian’s performance.

“It was good,” Arena said. “[Dylan Borrero] can get a little cleaner in the final third of the field, but he was threatening right from the start of the game and had a bunch of good attacking plays.” He was certainly a player that they had to focus on at times, and he did a good job.”

Borrero is more well known for his offensive ability compared to getting stuck in on defense. Against Charlotte, the 21-year-old had a solid display defending with four recoveries, two blocked shots, an interception, and a clearance.

Arena said that they worked on making sure that Borrero was a more complete player leading up to the 2023 regular season.

“We've really worked hard with him to play on both sides of the ball, and I thought defensively he did a very good job for us as well today,” the head coach said. “So, Dylan is coming along. I don't even know if he's ever played 90 minutes for us. We took him out probably in the 91st minute, but I don't even know last year if he actually played a full game. So, that's a good start for him. He's still a young player in the league, so a real positive day for him.”

In a game where Carles Gil and Giacomo Vrioni failed to make a real impact, Revolution fans can be excited by what they saw from Borrero. After an entire offseason with New England, he is starting to look at home with the Revs.