Soccer Recap 6: Frustration In Philadelphia, RSL Next, and A Look Around MLS
Minnesota Soccer Spot
Monday, April 1st
Frustration In Philadelphia, RSL Next, and A Look Around MLS
*Disclaimer: My takes are not thoughtful, and they are NOT based in knowledge.*
The Loons Have Fallen
After a four-game unbeaten run to start the season, the Philadelphia Union took down the Loons 2-0 at Subaru Park. In a performance comparable to the excitement of an accounting class, the Loons lacked that spark fans had been seeing to start the year. Were they terrible? No. We didn't see that defensive collapse we've been used to seeing in previous years. But the team lacked urgency in the attack, and two defensive blunders eventually led to their downfall.
In last week's post, I made it a point to say that lineups would be hard to predict. It was difficult to know who would be back, who would be a ninety-minute match fit, who would need rest, etc. Surprisingly, the Union rolled out what many would argue was a full-strength lineup. (Philadelphia fans may argue Bedoya would be considered full-strength over Sullivan, but Sullivan has been cooking. You cannot deny). Their number ten, Dániel Gazdag, returned from international duty, along with Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake and USYNT U23 midfielder Jack McGlynn. On the other hand, Minnesota put out one of the most surprising defensive lineups so far this season. The attack and midfield were expected and had been seen in previous weeks. It was announced earlier in the week that center back Mickey Tapias would be unavailable, which made many MNUFC fans assume center back Victor Eriksson would get his first start in Major League Soccer. To the surprise of many, Devin Padelford, who normally plays as a fullback, started in Tapias' role.
I also realized that it would be better to get the lineups from the highlight videos. I'm not sure why I hadn't been doing that this whole time, but nevertheless, we are entering a new era.
MNUFC Lineup
Union Lineup
The game started slow. It seemed both teams were feeling the game out. Philadelphia found the breakthrough in the sixteenth minute of play: A low-driven corner from Wagner skipped through everyone to find the feet of who else but Gazdag. He gets in front of DJ Taylor, who does, quite frankly, an awful job at marking him, and gets the easy tap-in. Pukki argued he was shoved: I see nothing in that argument. Philadelphia goes up 1-0 on the Loons. The rest of the first half saw the Loons fending off Philadelphia's attack. Other than a shot from Pukki right at Blake, there weren't many meaningful attacking chances generated from the away team.
The second half was a similar story: The Loons were fending off the Union attack. The Loons thought they found the equalizer in the eighty-second minute: A ball to Oluwaseyi then finds the feet of Bongi, who chips it over the substitute keeper. In real-time, I knew this goal was offside, and the flag agreed. Almost immediately after this goal is waived off, the freekick is sent up the field, and defender Victor Eriksson (who had come off the bench) heads the ball straight up into the air. It falls to the feet of Gazdag who finds the feet of Carranza who makes no mistake. The Union are up 2-0, and the score holds.
Pain
Players Of The Match: Who Stood Out?
The one standout player I have from this match would be Michael Boxall. This week (other than a couple of defensive mistakes), it was hard to dissect individuals' performances. The team overall was what professionals would describe as "meh." Boxall's defensive presence was made clear throughout the entirety of the match. A lot of Philadelphia's key chances were broken up by the veteran.
One aspect of the match I would like to touch on before moving on has to do with Victor Eriksson. His ten-minute debut with the Loons was not great: The one noticeable play he did make led to the game-winning goal. There is no denying that mistake. But fans have taken this mistake and have run with it. Much of the discussion on Twitter is that the center back is "not MLS fit" and "shouldn't be starting." While I can agree that mistake should not then lead to him starting over Boxall or Tapias (even without that mistake he shouldn't be), I think fans are reacting too quickly. The guy played ten minutes, and they've summarized his abilities as a player. Any time this happens, I always point to what I call the "Lod treatment." You all seem to forget how "bad" Lod was for almost his first full year with the team. It wasn't until halfway through the 2020 season that he really found his groove. Before then, he was constantly being scrutinized to the point where then-head coach Adrian Heath had to ask fans to back off. I'm not comparing the two players skill-wise, position-wise, or importance-wise. All I'm saying is give the guy a break. If defensive mistakes become a pattern, sure, the criticism is valid. But let him exist for more than ten minutes, that's all.
RIP Victor. You would've loved playing in MLS
RSL This Saturday
Minnesota will take on Real Salt Lake at home this Saturday, April 6th. Salt Lake, just coming off a 3-1 win at home, will look to keep the streak going, while Minnesota will be looking to right the wrongs of this past weekend.
Here's how I predict both teams to line up.
I would expect Minnesota's attacking lineup to mirror what it has been for the past few weeks. I don't expect any changes. It's hard to know exactly what Minnesota's defensive lineup will be. Assuming Tapias isn't back, I will assume Padelford will start again. He was decent this past weekend, and I can't imagine Eriksson will get the start. As far as RSL is concerned, I expect their lineup to remain consistent with what it has been the last couple of weeks. Based on Diego Luna's performance off the bench against St. Louis, I would expect him to get the start in the attack with Chicho.
Defensively, the Loons will have a tough task: Chicho Arango is an absolute baller: He currently has five goals (three of them coming from his hat trick this past weekend) and four assists to start the 2024 season. The combination of him and Diego Luna is deadly and should have the Loons worried. On the other hand, other than this past weekend, the Minnesota attack has been on the front foot as well. They'll look to the home crowd and momentum to keep their heads in the game.
A Look Around MLSHere are some of the MLS highlights from this past weekend. There were a lot of bangers.
Vassilev Goal (0:17): A great finish from Indiana Vassilev puts St. Louis up 1-0 over Real Salt Lake. This didn't last long....
Chicho Hat Trick: After going down 1-0, Chicho Arango and RSL respond with 3 goals
Boupendza Goal: Such a great team goal from FC Cincinnati to find the late equalizer against Charlotte on the road
Pedro Santos Banger (5:36): An absolute banger from Pedro Santos and DC United. This ended up being the game-winner against Montreal.
Godoy BIKE KICK: What an incredible finish here. He did also miss a sitter later in the match, so maybe this cancels that out...
Mihailovic Free Kick: A first for Mihailovic in his MLS return! This goal played a part in the Colorado Rapids' 3-2 win over LAFC. Welcome back!
Martinez Goal (4:46): This was a first for the LAFC youngster! It was a brilliant individual effort. What was more of a brilliant individual effort was him getting a second yellow card sendoff less than ten minutes later for kicking the ball away. It was classic MLS. but that cannot take away from this goal.
Walter BANGER: SKC had TWO banging goals against Toronto this past Saturday. This was one of them.
Jake Davis BANGER: And.... here's the second SKC banger. This one was from Jake Davis. These two goals were part of a 3-0 win over Toronto on the road.
This deserves so much respect. Nice job, Austin.
Here are the results from this past weekend:
And here are the standings...
That's all for this week! See ya soon!
The Loons Have Fallen
After a four-game unbeaten run to start the season, the Philadelphia Union took down the Loons 2-0 at Subaru Park. In a performance comparable to the excitement of an accounting class, the Loons lacked that spark fans had been seeing to start the year. Were they terrible? No. We didn't see that defensive collapse we've been used to seeing in previous years. But the team lacked urgency in the attack, and two defensive blunders eventually led to their downfall.
In last week's post, I made it a point to say that lineups would be hard to predict. It was difficult to know who would be back, who would be a ninety-minute match fit, who would need rest, etc. Surprisingly, the Union rolled out what many would argue was a full-strength lineup. (Philadelphia fans may argue Bedoya would be considered full-strength over Sullivan, but Sullivan has been cooking. You cannot deny). Their number ten, Dániel Gazdag, returned from international duty, along with Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake and USYNT U23 midfielder Jack McGlynn. On the other hand, Minnesota put out one of the most surprising defensive lineups so far this season. The attack and midfield were expected and had been seen in previous weeks. It was announced earlier in the week that center back Mickey Tapias would be unavailable, which made many MNUFC fans assume center back Victor Eriksson would get his first start in Major League Soccer. To the surprise of many, Devin Padelford, who normally plays as a fullback, started in Tapias' role.
I also realized that it would be better to get the lineups from the highlight videos. I'm not sure why I hadn't been doing that this whole time, but nevertheless, we are entering a new era.
 |
| MNUFC Lineup |
 |
| Union Lineup |
The game started slow. It seemed both teams were feeling the game out. Philadelphia found the breakthrough in the sixteenth minute of play: A low-driven corner from Wagner skipped through everyone to find the feet of who else but Gazdag. He gets in front of DJ Taylor, who does, quite frankly, an awful job at marking him, and gets the easy tap-in. Pukki argued he was shoved: I see nothing in that argument. Philadelphia goes up 1-0 on the Loons. The rest of the first half saw the Loons fending off Philadelphia's attack. Other than a shot from Pukki right at Blake, there weren't many meaningful attacking chances generated from the away team.
The second half was a similar story: The Loons were fending off the Union attack. The Loons thought they found the equalizer in the eighty-second minute: A ball to Oluwaseyi then finds the feet of Bongi, who chips it over the substitute keeper. In real-time, I knew this goal was offside, and the flag agreed. Almost immediately after this goal is waived off, the freekick is sent up the field, and defender Victor Eriksson (who had come off the bench) heads the ball straight up into the air. It falls to the feet of Gazdag who finds the feet of Carranza who makes no mistake. The Union are up 2-0, and the score holds.
 |
| Pain |
Players Of The Match: Who Stood Out?
The one standout player I have from this match would be Michael Boxall. This week (other than a couple of defensive mistakes), it was hard to dissect individuals' performances. The team overall was what professionals would describe as "meh." Boxall's defensive presence was made clear throughout the entirety of the match. A lot of Philadelphia's key chances were broken up by the veteran.
One aspect of the match I would like to touch on before moving on has to do with Victor Eriksson. His ten-minute debut with the Loons was not great: The one noticeable play he did make led to the game-winning goal. There is no denying that mistake. But fans have taken this mistake and have run with it. Much of the discussion on Twitter is that the center back is "not MLS fit" and "shouldn't be starting." While I can agree that mistake should not then lead to him starting over Boxall or Tapias (even without that mistake he shouldn't be), I think fans are reacting too quickly. The guy played ten minutes, and they've summarized his abilities as a player. Any time this happens, I always point to what I call the "Lod treatment." You all seem to forget how "bad" Lod was for almost his first full year with the team. It wasn't until halfway through the 2020 season that he really found his groove. Before then, he was constantly being scrutinized to the point where then-head coach Adrian Heath had to ask fans to back off. I'm not comparing the two players skill-wise, position-wise, or importance-wise. All I'm saying is give the guy a break. If defensive mistakes become a pattern, sure, the criticism is valid. But let him exist for more than ten minutes, that's all.
 |
| RIP Victor. You would've loved playing in MLS |
RSL This Saturday
Minnesota will take on Real Salt Lake at home this Saturday, April 6th. Salt Lake, just coming off a 3-1 win at home, will look to keep the streak going, while Minnesota will be looking to right the wrongs of this past weekend.
Here's how I predict both teams to line up.
I would expect Minnesota's attacking lineup to mirror what it has been for the past few weeks. I don't expect any changes. It's hard to know exactly what Minnesota's defensive lineup will be. Assuming Tapias isn't back, I will assume Padelford will start again. He was decent this past weekend, and I can't imagine Eriksson will get the start. As far as RSL is concerned, I expect their lineup to remain consistent with what it has been the last couple of weeks. Based on Diego Luna's performance off the bench against St. Louis, I would expect him to get the start in the attack with Chicho.
Defensively, the Loons will have a tough task: Chicho Arango is an absolute baller: He currently has five goals (three of them coming from his hat trick this past weekend) and four assists to start the 2024 season. The combination of him and Diego Luna is deadly and should have the Loons worried. On the other hand, other than this past weekend, the Minnesota attack has been on the front foot as well. They'll look to the home crowd and momentum to keep their heads in the game.
A Look Around MLS
Here are some of the MLS highlights from this past weekend. There were a lot of bangers.
Vassilev Goal (0:17): A great finish from Indiana Vassilev puts St. Louis up 1-0 over Real Salt Lake. This didn't last long....
Chicho Hat Trick: After going down 1-0, Chicho Arango and RSL respond with 3 goals
Boupendza Goal: Such a great team goal from FC Cincinnati to find the late equalizer against Charlotte on the road
Pedro Santos Banger (5:36): An absolute banger from Pedro Santos and DC United. This ended up being the game-winner against Montreal.
Godoy BIKE KICK: What an incredible finish here. He did also miss a sitter later in the match, so maybe this cancels that out...
Mihailovic Free Kick: A first for Mihailovic in his MLS return! This goal played a part in the Colorado Rapids' 3-2 win over LAFC. Welcome back!
Martinez Goal (4:46): This was a first for the LAFC youngster! It was a brilliant individual effort. What was more of a brilliant individual effort was him getting a second yellow card sendoff less than ten minutes later for kicking the ball away. It was classic MLS. but that cannot take away from this goal.
Walter BANGER: SKC had TWO banging goals against Toronto this past Saturday. This was one of them.
Jake Davis BANGER: And.... here's the second SKC banger. This one was from Jake Davis. These two goals were part of a 3-0 win over Toronto on the road.
 |
| This deserves so much respect. Nice job, Austin. |
Here are the results from this past weekend:
And here are the standings...
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