Something I always have to remind myself when it comes to sports: At the end of a season, it doesn’t matter how a game got into the “win” column—just that it did. Last night was a perfect example. God, that was u-g-l-y at times, particularly in the second half as the Revs (10-3-6, 36 points) started to run out of gas and Bruce Arena inexplicably failed to use three of his allotted subs (more on that in a second).
But, who cares! Three more points, and with the 2-1 decision, the Revs got all 9 points from the three-game home stand. It’s weird because this team feels like it can get better—and might through the transfer window—yet we’re second in the East. That’s wild to think about.
What was most scary about Saturday is how cooked everyone looked after about 65 minutes. Some of the guys in midfield were more like traffic cones than players at times. And still, Bruce only used two subs, one being at halftime. Maybe there is some smoke to this Victor Wanyama rumor, because there’s gotta be a problem if Bruce refuses to call on Esmir or Jack, after they both got plenty of burn in the early part of the season.
- Is Toronto a cautionary tale for Inter Miami? Lorenzo Insigne is a fucking monster and at times he had the Revs backline on 6s and 7s trying to mark him, but the rest of his team sucks, including the other DP. Having one S-tier player does not make your team an S-tier team. (side note: does Bernadeschi have a really punchable face or is it just me? Something about him just… Yeah. Idk. Back to the bullet points).
- Not surprised we gave up a goal, Toronto should be able to score. What I didn’t like was that even a team as bad as Toronto knew to pick on Ryan Spaudling. I think he had a whole ton of nerves that he carried around with him for a half and it weighed him down, but on that goal he just got bullied. With DeJuan out for the foreseeable future on USMNT duty, Ryan’s gotta get with the program ASAP. Thankfully, he did look more settled in after halftime (did he pull his hair into a ponytail too then? Seemed less free-flowing in the second half, maybe helped him turn quicker).
- What impressed me after giving up the goal, was that the Revs kept their heads up and absolutely blitzed Toronto after it. The Revs can harry the shit out of teams if they want, and they harassed the hell out of Toronto at times. When Capi is buying in to the press, you know the Revs have something cooking.
- If the US had a major international tournament this year or next, would you take Bobby Wood on the roster? Man can’t stop scoring! Tallying a goal and an assist yesterday, Wood is up to 7 goals and 4 assists, and three games with one of each. Considering he was riding the bench at RSL last year, this has to be one of the best turnaround stories in the MLS.
- It was clearly offside, but Gustavo Bou’s “goal” was the best play of the night. He makes everything look so smooth at times.
- Quick reminder that Carles Gil is playing a different game than everyone else. Some of his passes last night were bonkers, including the hockey assist that set up Vrioni’s winner. Protect this man at all costs.
- Dave Romney is quietly making the case that he is actually our MVP. He’s just so solid and calm. Protect this man at all costs.
- Speaking of Vrioni, that was a positive 45 minutes I guess. I still don’t see how he unseats Bobby until Bobby gets hurt or really has a dip in form. Still OK if we offload him for a different DP. C’est la vie.
- How much is Djordje Petrovic worth in the transfer market? Well, if I told you before the game that one team would have 10 shots on target and the other only two, you’d probably say it was the Revs that would be battering the goal. Yeah, no. Djordje was called upon time and time again Saturday to save the result—and he did. The Revs have a chance here to establish the new trend, to be the club that sells its developed players for boatloads of money to European leagues. 30M dollars (23.5M-ish pound sterling) or fuck off is what Bruce should be saying to teams.
- Speaking of the shots on target…the end of the game sucked. Revs players were chasing shadows at times, Insigne nearly got the equalizer, and in general I walked away worried about how next weekend at Cincy will go. The Revs can’t be this tired come the business end of the game next week—Cincy will make us pay. The one saving grace going into the game is that Cincy’s backline is depleted with Matt Miazga on Gold Cup duty, Yerson Mosquera (remember him!? Really hope he doesn’t play) out through injury, and now Ian Murphy will miss the game after getting two yellows in the loss to D.C. United. Might we see a flurry of goals next week? I’d take it.
- Back to the no-subs thing: Tommy Quinlan asked Bruce about the lack of subs, and I thought Bruce’s answer was…something. TL;DR is he thinks we’re too hurt at the moment, and that players coming back from injury should give us the depth he’d like to see. Pretty damning on the kids (although to be fair, outside of Jack, they are all attackers and we needed defenders on the field) but there’s probably something to it. If Noel plays, then Latif is able to come off the bench for him. If Makoun and DeJuan are there, one of them starts and the other comes in as a sub instead of Spaulding seeing the field at all; and Henry Kessler is going right back into the starting XI when he’s healthy, and Farrell is a defensive sub.
By the Numbers
- 33G/67A for Carles Gil in his Revs career. What a player.
- 100 total apperances for the Revs for Matt Polster, and 150 total including his stint in Chicago. I bet he’s sweating bullets reading the Victor Wanyama links, but for now he’s holding down that DM spot.
- 7-0-3 at home, best start ever for the Revs at home. Gillette is a fortress!
- According to Frank Dell’apa, we’re just four points off the pace from the 2021 record-setting team.
Extra Kicks
- Did DC do us a favor by smacking the shit out of Cincy? Or did they just create a pissed-off team that’s going to come out with a point to prove next week? I’m hyped already for the game.
- Am I seeing this right? NYRB put four past Atlanta? FOUR!? What a surprising result last night.
A Whately Devil 