New England Revolution at Inter Miami: 3 Thoughts

The nightmare season has come to an end

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution returned to play on Saturday evening to face Inter Miami on Decision Day as New England looked to maintain its single-season points record. Just like when Miami came to Gillette Stadium, the Herons secured three points with a 6-2 win over the Revs

New England’s starting XI returned to normal as international duty has come to a close but Carles Gil remained out. Aljaz Ivacic started in net behind the back line of Will Sands, Xavier Arreaga, Dave Romney, and Brandon Bye.

In the midfield, Alhassan Yusuf started alongside Matt Polster while Dylan Borrero lined up as a second striker behind Giacomo Vrioni. Luca Langoni and Esmir Bajraktarevic were out wide.

For Miami, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Julian Gressel, Drake Callender, and Benja Cremanschi, all earned starts. Lionel Messi and Leonardo Campana started the match on the bench.

But what do you need to know about the match? Here are three thoughts.

1 - Newbies Net Opener

After two straight games of giving up early goals and digging deep holes, New England started the match against Miami on time.

The Revolution struck on the counter with Yusuf playing Langoni in on goal. The ball squeezed by Miami’s back line and after initially having his shot saved, “Langosta” struck home the rebound in the second minute of the match.

Considering how New England has started matches as of late, the star is pleasing. It is made even better that two of the Revs’ most recent acquisitions combined on the goal.

The goal gives fans in New England hope that 2025 can be a much better season. While many players will wondering if they will be in a Revolution uniform in 2025, Langoni and Yusuf are two players who are locked in to play a crucial role in the next campaign. Hopefully this is the first of many link-ups.

2 - The Conclusion of The Vrioni Experiment

Now that Vrioni has finished his second full season in MLS, there is enough data to prove he shouldn’t be a designated player.

Vrioni has scored nine goals which might seem nice but he did in the span of a few weeks. He fails to consistently score and has only scored one goal since returning from injury post-Leagues Cup.

The lack of goals hasn’t come from a lack of chances. Vrioni’s teammates have put balls on a platter and the striker still manages to miss the net.

At this point the decision is easy. The Revolution need to buyout Vrioni and open up a DP spot. If they fail to, it is hard to see New England making a big enough improvement to become contenders in the Eastern Conference.

3 - RIP Points record

Yeah you know Lionel Messi is great but he literally helped Miami score less than a minute after he entered the match. He almost single-handedly ensured that Miami would take New England’s points record.

If you needed any more of an indication that the Revs are far from the highs of 2021, the loss to Miami and handing over of the points record etches in stone that this is a new era of Revolution soccer and that isn’t particularly a good thing.

It will take a lot of work and a lot of changes for the Revolution to get back to the promised land. At the minimum it requires a reconstruction of the roster but that might not be enough. Changes at head coach, sporting director and more front office roles might be necessary.

Porter seems to have held on to his job and it appears likely that he will be New England’s head coach come 2025. While he hasn’t been let go, his job security hasn’t exactly increased.

Curt Onalfo and Porter will have no excuses in 2025. They will have constructed the roster that they desire and will have more than a full season to imprint their tactics on the Revolution. If New England struggles in 2025, it would show that they aren’t the problem, the coaching and front office are behind the Revs’ struggles.