Five Things I Noticed During Revs v. D.C. United

It's still too early to say anything definitive, but let's talk tactics.

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

We’re early into the Caleb Porter Era so I’m still trying to avoid definitive statements about this team because it takes time to learn a new system. Also, teams tend to adapt to their opponents and I just haven’t seen enough tape of the 2024 New England Revolution to know what their identity.

So instead of three thoughts, I have five things I’m keeping an eye on after watching the Revs’ 3-1 loss to D.C. United.

Before we begin, I want to note that I’m largely analyzing the first 25 minutes because Giacomo Vrioni’s red card changed things. This is a small sample size against a high-pressing opponent. It was also the Revs’ second game in three days, which could account for some of the wayward passes.

That said, here are five observations I made from the game.

1. Switching the Point of Attack

This first point is a tactic used by many soccer teams because success can occur when the ball starts on one side and finishes on the other. This is especially true against pressing opponents that are trying to condense space.

In this first clip, the ball moves from Esmir Bajraktarevic on the right to Carles Gil in the middle before arriving at Tomas Chancalay on the left.

In the second clip, Matt Polster helps move the ball from one side to the next.

2. Short Corners

I’m genuinely curious to see how the Revolution approach set pieces this year because I noticed that the 2022 Crew had some unique plays.

One thing I observed so far is that the Revs are frequently going short on corner kicks. This happened against CA Independiente and D.C. United. Take a look at the clip below.

Moments later, the Revs again tried to find Chancalay. Honestly, it’s not a bad strategy considering he has one of the hardest shots on the team.

This isn’t to say that the Revs haven’t crossed it into the box from time to time. In fact, they should if they want to keep their opponents guessing.

3. Fouling Carles and Esmir

Anyone who has been watching Revs games since 2019 knows that opponents typically target Gil. The midfield maestro is a perennial MVP candidate and he’s now scoring goals to go along with his assists.

The high-pressing D.C. team continued the time-honored tradition of hacking Gil early and often. He got brought down in the 2nd minute.

And again approximately 10 minutes later.

This is a problem because the Revs’ attack runs through Gil. The Spaniard should be protected just like other big names in the league, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case.

Something to keep an eye on is how opponents treat Bajraktarevic. On Saturday, the 18-year-old led both teams in fouls drawn with seven.

Bajraktarevic is a crafty player who likes to come inside as he looks to advance the ball. He was a nice complement to Gil in the game against D.C.

While Gil will continue to be the central attacking piece for the Revs, the emergence of Bajraktarevic could open up space for the No. 10.

4. Going Long

Again, I’m not sure if this is a permanent trend or a reaction to a high-pressing foe, but I noticed that Henrich Ravas tended to go long. According to FotMob, he was 16/37 on accurate passes and 6/27 on accurate long balls.

Here’s an example of a long ball attempt from the D.C. game.

Here’s another one.

It’s worth noting that Ravas wasn’t the only player looking to go long. In the clip below—which was from the game’s opening minutes—Ravas goes short but his teammate goes long.

Going long isn’t necessarily a bad idea against a high-pressing team because it can relieve pressure. For example, look at this ball from the second half that leads to a really promising chance.

There just needs to be a balance between going long and short. There also needs to be a strong target available if a team chooses to go long.

5. Tomas Chancalay as a Striker

When the Revs went down to 10 men, Porter opted to play Chancalay up top. I’m not sure if this is an indicator of things to come—I think Chancalay has done well out wide—but I did ask the head coach about it after the game.

He said, “When we went down a man we felt that was the right thing to do, to basically play a 4-4-1. So we defended in a 4-4-1. We threw Tomas up top. We know he has goals in him. He had a really good chance in that first half, maybe could’ve shot it back post. But I thought he got a couple other half chances in the second half. He ran really hard, worked really hard.”