I can’t be the only one who feels like I blinked, and now we’re through 10 matchdays of the regular season. Okay, phew. It’s not just me.
As we look back at the latest slate of MLS matches, we’ve got Nashville SC showing their muscle, a dynamic Portland Timbers attack, and so much more.
As always, if you want to read up on the rest of Matchday 10 in detail, check out Matt Doyle’s column.
Hey, remember when I wrote this about Nashville, even after their loss to the Seattle Sounders last weekend?
Nashville, lest we forget, are no slouches this year under B.J. Callaghan, beating the Philadelphia Union and outplaying a pair of other Eastern Conference contenders.
Yeah, well, let’s go ahead and file that under ‘things that aged well.’
Nashville SC put up the performance of the season in a staggering 7-2 win over Chicago Fire FC on Saturday. Once the game settled into a rhythm – one totally dictated by Callaghan’s team – after the first few minutes, they were downright impeccable en route to taking a 7-0 lead. The Coyotes were ruthless down attacking Chicago’s left side, where Jonathan Bamba often leaves space in front of Andrew Gutman. Chance after chance came from the wide overloads that Nashville created in their 4-2-2-2 setup.
In this passmap, via MLS Analytics, you can see just how aggressive the Andy Najar - Jacob Shaffelburg - Hany Mukhtar right side was for the hosts:
The extent to which Nashville snuffed out the Fire was a surprise, but the fact they played really, really good ball wasn’t. Ever since Callaghan has had access to a pair of senior central midfielders, Nashville have shown mettle against some of the best in MLS, including Philly, Cincinnati and Charlotte.
In any conversation about the most dangerous teams in the league right now, it would be a mistake to leave out Nashville.
Speaking of the most dangerous teams in MLS… there are a whole bunch of them at or near the top of the East!
It might just be that the top six teams, outside of Vancouver, all play in the Eastern Conference. Let’s run through them, shall we?
- FC Cincinnati, 1st in the East: Despite not getting out of first gear, Cincy beat Sporting Kansas City, 2-1, on Saturday. It’s scary to imagine what this team can do once the Kévin Denkey, Evander and Luca Orellano-led attack gets fully on the same page.
- Columbus Crew, 2nd in the East: The Crew continue to play exactly how we know they will under Wilfried Nancy. They have the third-best xG differential in their conference and still haven’t seen the best out of Dániel Gazdag, even after a 2-1 win over San Jose.
- Philadelphia Union, 3rd in the East: With two convincing 3-0 wins in a row, one over Atlanta United and one over D.C. United, Philly have established themselves as a sure-fire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs team with a ceiling high enough to be something more.
- Charlotte FC, 4th in the East: Though they fell 1-0 to New England over the weekend, Charlotte still put together a strong performance. Wilfried Zaha was engaged, effective and dangerous on the right wing.
- Inter Miami, 5th in the East: Yeah, that’s right, this team is fifth in the East despite having not lost until Sunday’s 4-3 defeat against FC Dallas. But they’ve got a game in hand and put out a heavily-rotated lineup over the weekend ahead of a huge Concacaf Champions Cup clash with Vancouver. No one will make the mistake of underestimating Miami.
With Nashville in sixth, the top of the East is chock-full of elite-to-borderline-elite teams. And that’s before we get to Orlando City, whose new-look right side could propel them higher up the table.
It becomes increasingly clear every week: the East is a battle.
With at least three goals scored in five of their last six games, the Portland Timbers are officially back, folks.
Since that 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids last month, the Timbers’ attack has been firing. They’re ninth in MLS in xG per game in that stretch with 1.77, according to American Soccer Analysis, which puts them ahead of teams like Inter Miami, San Diego FC and FC Cincinnati. That stat should scare opposing defenses on its own. But it gets even scarier: Portland’s attack has found this much success without star left winger Jonathan Rodríguez starting a single game.
The DP is still working his way back from injury, having made just three substitute appearances this year. In those appearances? He’s snagged an assist and a goal, the latter coming from the spot in the Timbers’ 4-2 win over the LA Galaxy on Sunday.
The attack is only going to get stronger for Portland. Watch out, MLS.
The book is out on Minnesota United. Every team in MLS has seen enough film of Eric Ramsay’s team to know how to give themselves a better chance at beating them, and the way you do it is by forcing Minnesota to have at least a bit of the ball.
In a 0-0 draw with Toronto FC earlier this month, Toronto offloaded 50.1% possession on Minnesota and stymied their attack in the process. The next time out, FC Dallas did almost the exact same thing to earn a 0-0 draw in Minnesota. And while the Vancouver Whitecaps held all but 44.6% of the ball on Sunday, the Loons’ attack still fell flat in a 3-1 home loss.
If you can make Minnesota United use even some of the ball, you can take away their biggest strength: attacking on the break through their dynamic front two.
While that's a pretty glaring weakness, there’s good news for Minnesota fans. The club’s leadership knows the team’s lack of possession threat is a problem. And that’s where Julian Gressel comes in.
Reportedly soon to be added to the squad, Gressel is one of the most reliable wide chance creators this league has ever seen. In his seven full MLS seasons, the 31-year-old has hit the eight-assist mark five times. Between his open-play crossing and set-piece service, Gressel is a weapon like few others in this league. He’ll add a different dimension to a team in need of one.
Minnesota United are problem-solving in real-time, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like on the field.
I’d like to offer FC Dallas something of an apology. I wasn’t familiar with the potential of your attacking game.
It’s easy to pick holes in Dallas’ 4-3 win over Inter Miami on Sunday. None of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, or Sergio Busquets stepped on the field ahead of a massive CCC semifinal clash with Vancouver on Wednesday night. As a result, FC Dallas didn’t take down anything close to Inter Miami’s best group. Still, they took down a lineup that was undoubtedly more defensively sound than normal, thanks to Javier Mascherano’s inclusion of five center backs and a set of workmanlike advanced players.
…and Dallas still bagged four goals in the process.
I firmly believe Eric Quill’s team is still trying to find itself after a jam-packed offseason. Dallas are trying to answer questions like: How can we play through Lucho Acosta and Petar Musa while maximizing the strengths of some of our other more direct attacking pieces? And: How can we make the field big to let those attackers shine in space without being exposed at the back?
The win in Florida didn’t fully answer those questions, with Musa out injured and Sebastien Ibeagha struggling defensively. But Sunday was a reminder that FC Dallas have enough pieces to do some real damage in MLS this year.
Those pieces just have to gel.
