New England Revolution at Montreal: 3 Thoughts
Montreal's maple syrup is sub par
The New England Revolution returned to MLS play on Saturday as they faced off against CF Montreal north of the border and ended up with all three points after a 5-0 win.
Porter’s starting XI featured the inclusion of Carles Gil who spent some time on the sidelines due to a calf injury. On the other end of the spectrum, Peyton Miller was left off the squad due to a lower-body injury.
Will Sands, Dave Romney, Xavier Arreaga, and Brandon Bye were the back line in front of goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. Mark-Anthony Kaye and Matt Polster served as defensive midfielders.
Gil was back in his familiar No. 10 role while Esmir Bajraktarevic and Ema Boateng played on the wings. Bobby Wood was the lone striker up top.
On the bench, Dylan Borrero, Tim Parker, Luca Langoni, Noel Buck, and Giacomo Vrioni were all available. Jack Panayotou and Tommy McNamara failed to make the matchday squad. Panayotou started with Revs II who also had a match.
But what do you need to know about Saturday’s match? Here are three thoughts.
1 - The Wood Man
Bobby Wood might be the hottest striker in MLS. The veteran has scored four goals in his last three games.
Mr. Wood opened up the scoring in the 7th minute as Gil played in Bye who sent a cross into the box that found the sliding striker. It was a perfect display of how Porter wants his team to play
But Wood wasn’t done yet, in the 37th minute he scored quite possibly the silliest yet most gritty goal of the season. Fighting defenders from the ground, he somehow connected on a loose ball in front of goal and poked it home.
An early goal is just what New England needed on the road. It got the Revs on the right track and showed that they are ready to make a run into the playoffs. The play also showed just how important Gil is to the Revolution.
2 - The Revs Are Back
This was the most dominant performance that New England had and the best version of the club we have seen so far.
Gil returned to the starting XI and displayed his usual class with multiple assists. It isn’t the first time that this has been said but Gil is the heartbeat of New England’s attack and the team is so much better when he plays.
But Vrioni and Borrero also returned and looked well off the bench. Borrero showed the speed and skill that made Revolution fans fall in love with him and Vrioni managed to find the back of the net in the cameo.
Finally, Luca Langoni made his debut and looked great. His speed is evident and he tallied a goal and an assist on the night. It is hard to have a better debut, especially coming off the bench.
After a difficult start to the season, the Revolution team that seems impossible to stop has returned (well at least for one match). Gone are the struggles of the beginning of the season, a new era has begun and a newfound hope for the 2024 season has arrived.
3 - Bye Bye
After assisting on the first goal of the match with a beautiful cross, Bye was forced to leave the match with a lower-body injury. He seemed to pull up as he landed from sending the cross in.
If Bye is forced to miss any time, New England will be in a sticky situation. Obviously they traded DeJuan Jones with the thinking that Miller would be the out-and-out starter but he missed the Montreal match and could miss more time. The fact that Bye had to come out indicates he also could be missing some time in the future.
That leaves Nick Lima and Will Sands as the only options for outside back along with Andrew Farrell who played out wide in the beginning of his MLS career and at times this season. Unless Caleb Porter switches the formation, these two would have to play 90 minutes week in and week out.
Sands looked good against Montreal and Lima is a serviceable starter. The right back even scored the proverbial nail in the coffin goal courtesy of a great pass from Gil and a beautiful dummy by Vrioni.
But the lack of options — considering the options had before the summer transfer window opened — is quite concerning. Even having a player such as Ryan Spaulding who could provide relief off the bench would make the situation a lot less concerning.
But now New England is left hoping that the injuries are not as serious as it seemed when Bye fell down to the pitch. Not having Bye or Miller would be a big blow.
The Revolution don’t have a ton of time to recover as they face Real Salt Lake out west next weekend.
Well, it WAS an impressive win. But face it, Montreal did not play particularly well, and their record is not much better than the Revs. I will reserve judgement until they play a team with a winning record.
Look out, Barcelona! Caleb Porter can now tell all the nay- saying commenters here at TBM to eat a big helping of Kraft Mac ‘n cheese, correct?
Well, maybe, but that first Bobby Wood goal was a gorgeous 1 against 3 defenders that will be hard to replicate unless Wood becomes Haaland, and the second Wood goal was just trash - what the hell happened? From there, Gil took over in a free-flowing game, and Revs became the new juggernaut/darling of MLS, and Porter is now Guardiola. - but there are still far too many players for one side. Who becomes bench riders- Borrero, Chancaley, Ema, Harkes, the forgotten Noel Buck, Parker, Esmir, Romney, Lima?