Weekly Tactical Watch: Pressing On to New Heights

It has been an upbeat start to the 2026 season for the New England Revolution, further hope and joy has been added with two come from behind victories in the last two games and the season's first points on the road secured.

The Revs haven't had it this good to start a season since 2023 when they rattled off six wins and a draw in their first eight games on their way to the team's last playoff appearance.

We've covered the good vibes extensively here at The Blazing Musket this week and ever fewer negative questions have been poised towards the boys of Revolution Recap in recent episodes. The mentality of the team, even though this can be challenging to assess, is presenting itself in so many manifestly positive ways its improvement from 2024-2025 cannot be questioned.

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“I think it’s just a belief in each one of us as individual players, and I think he tries to bring the best out of us.”

The Blazing MusketSeth Macomber

What can we question and inspect more thoroughly in an attempt to gauge the likelihood of this period of success continuing until the World Cup break, a mere six MLS games from now?

First, we'll check in on the Revs strong right sided preference in attacking play and then we'll dive into the Revs press, an area that deserves at least a glancing eye of concern.

On Wednesday night in Atlanta, the Revs played 36% of their attacking third passes on the left side of the field. They still spent more time on the right, 49% of passes played, but this a large shift compared to previous games. Entries into the penalty area shifted even more to the left versus Atlanta, the Revs actually gained entry into the area from the left side more than the right.

This was a stark difference to the most recent preceding game against Columbus where the Revs played just 13% of their attacking third passes on the left and did not enter the penalty area at all with a left side initiated pass.

This development could be due to the Revs recognizing a need to balance their attack differently or Atlanta paying extra attention to the Revs right sided duo of Luca Langoni and Ilay Feingold. It's likely a combination of both. Carles Gil's personal right sided shift continued.

We'll have to see if this continues against Inter Miami and future games or if this was just a one time shift to the left. It was Lenin's birthday after all on Wednesday. A slight but not extreme right sided balance could be useful with Will Sands ascension to first choice left back, he can use all the extra time and space he can get when on the ball.

There should be some concern about the Revs' pressing so far in 2026. We highlighted a need to at least exert pressure an average of 40 meters away from their goal at home. That's far from an extremely high press, according to American Soccer Analysis, only twelve teams in the whole of MLS have a lower overall average than 40 meters for all games home and away.

The Revs have hit the 40+ mark in three of their four home games. They should consider pushing higher more often as they have had long spells in all their home games since the opener of conceding control of the game to the opponent.

On the road, the Revs have successfully impacted the game defensively just an average of 33.6 meters away from their goal. This reached a low point of 28.4 meters on Wednesday against Atlanta, a game in which the Revs only dominated the proceedings for the final twenty minutes or so.

We know this has worked so far this season, what we don't know is if it will continue to work. Will the Revs continue to be able to win games with set piece goals and bending and not breaking for long stretches of every game?

Perhaps.

At some point though the Revs will be in need of a goal or two from the successful forcing of high turnovers. They are one of six MLS teams in 2026, according to Opta, with no goals scored from forced high turnovers. Four of the other five currently sit outside the playoffs. The Revs can certainly expect teams to spend extra time focusing on defending set pieces when they are set to play them going forward. Goals will need to come from elsewhere.

As it stands, of the 10 lowest pressing teams, as measured by average distance of defensive actions, only four of them are in playoff positions. The Revs can certainly make the playoffs as a low pressing team but the difference maker right now is set piece goals. If that goal scoring ability from set pieces starts to wane, it could be offset with goals created from defending high up the field.

Overall, what's critical for the 2026 season to be a good one for the Revolution is how many points they pile up in the next six games, four of which are at home. They had similar spells of success over eight game periods in 2024 and 2025, we know it wasn't enough. If the good vibes and times are to continue, a slightly more balanced attack and a more engaged press may need to develop.