I will admit that RSL actually played better than I thought they would when I saw the lineup. It helps that Atlanta sucks and that Josef Martinez did not play in the first half. RSL is just not a great team. I try and keep reminding myself that even though they have found themselves at the top of the table. For now. The rah rah stuff from Pablo is great but if that is all you have then you're courting disaster. I don't know if that is the case, hope not, but it looks like he has a great opportunity to show he has some coaching chops if he can keep RSL from tumbling down and out of the playoff picture by the end of the season. The midfield was a problem last season and this season the midfield is still a problem. It's great that the most important player in the midfield is a rookie drafted out of college soccer but it also sucks and is pretty telling that the most important player in the midfield is a rookie drafted out of college soccer. The first half was pretty atrocious all round but damn the midfield looked AWFUL. Without Meram dropping back and getting involved this might have been even uglier. Luna looked 18. Which is fine he is 18 but Ruiz also looked 18 and that's not good. I bet Ruiz comes round though. Every game can't be great. Luna will be fine but I might have given him a few minutes in the 2nd to just go out and bust his ass and run around like a chicken with his head cut off before I subbed him and then gave Cordova 30 minutes to do the same. Nick Besler sucks. Nice to have an experienced professional on the team but damn, you could get the same from a Monarchs player possibly. Cordova, for all my love for him, needs to step up. He needs to play like he actually loves soccer. He did put one in the back of the net so maybe the fire has been lit but who knows. Rubio Rubin is just not going to make it if you ask me. It was a rookie GM mistake to get enamored with the flash in the pan. It happens all of the time when someone young or new enters MLS and makes a splash and then opposing teams actually watch some film and it's game over. He can't post or hold anyone up, he can't get on the end of a cross, he can't out run anyone but he did get MLS goal of the year last year so there is that. Chang is a sub. Brody should be a sub. Injuries are killing this team at the moment so I'm really not getting all too worked up about stuff. It is what it is. All of the good play and top of the table stuff is just a bonus. Justen Glad can't get back soon enough and strangely enough neither can Bobby Wood. Bobby may not be the answer but sadly Rubio Rubin is no Bobby Wood. I don't think that it's a coincidence that the somewhat stagnant RSL offense went kind of putrid after Bobby's injury. Defenses at least "respected" Bobby. Not the case with Rubin. Pablo needs to get these guys back on the devil may care band wagon and get back to just having fun. If not they're going to stress their way right out of the playoffs.
A GM isn't going to hit homeruns with contracts to players contributions, but if you look at the top salaries for this team compared to who is on the field it is astoundingly bad. Also: RSL (30 pts) is now 4th in the West with Nashville's win over Seattle. If Minnesota (home against DC), LA Galaxy (away to cRapids) and Dallas (Home against Austin) pick up wins on Saturday, RSL will go into the game against SKC in 7th place in the West. Seattle (at Chicago) and Portland (home against Van) can't jump us this weekend but can jump to 29 points. This is a big ********ing weekend if RSL wants to say they're in a playoff spot.
Absolutely a big weekend for RSL, at least for the positive narrative that they/we have been enjoying through the first half of the season so far. One might argue that maybe RSL finding themselves in 7th and on the playoff bubble might be the best place for them because they haven't seemed to handle the "pressure" of being at the top of the table very well. At the end of the day water finds it own level and RSL will end up pretty much where the should end up. Unless they sign Cuellar and Suarez then it's all bets are off. Amirite?
I don't look into this much, but what did the passing analysis and other advanced stats say about the formation/tactics of last night's game? I thought they were playing a bunch of people out of position in a 4-4-2, but I'm hearing more about a 3-5-2 the day after.
Looks pretty 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 to me ATLvsRSL 07-13-2022 | MLSsoccer.com The caveat being the push of the outside backs (Herrera & Schmitt) being more or less outside mids. Which allows the players in front of them (Brody & Meram) further up the field. If you had to name a shape based on the passing network it was a 2-5-3
On the broadcast, Dunny and Co pitched it as a 3-5-2 by design at least, as per the graphic they showed.
as mentioned above, the passing chart/network wasn't that. Herrera and Schmitt were essentially in the same progression/width, just opposite sides. I don't know how those passing charts/layout account for subs though. With Loffelsend and Cordova coming on at half it seems weird that they aren't accounted for in the chart somehow
Remember though, we still didn't have Blazer & Smith until February, so the team is much more (and better) than we thought it would be. Fall has done pretty well with being in the absolute worst position. Beginning of the season, we all thought that RSL was a borderline playoff team, if not worse. We are letting aberrant results cloud our thinking. Kreilach isn't playing. He'd be a serious upgrade for whatever Córdova is doing. The Glad injury is VERY concerning. Losing Bobby, even if he hasn't been what the team needs him to be, has been rough. He's been OK up there, if not scoring goals, at least causing problems for the opposing defenders and opening up play. But we got Savarino!!! He's great. Ruiz is having a slump, and that is really hurting the team right now, AND it is hard to blame him. Loefflesend has been doing well for the moment. However, getting a serious talent, like Cuellar, in there and having good competition for minutes at that spot will make this team SO much better. Then we can continue to outperform expectations again. I still believe that DM is where we need the most help right now. Getting Bobby back will help too. I agree, we have a lot of work to do if this team is to be a playoff champion contender. I'm not so worried about that right now. I just want them to play exciting soccer, stay in the playoffs, and develop young talent. Right now, the soccer has not been exciting.
I’m watching the recorded game. On the first ATL goal Holt kept Cisneros on-sides but wasn’t marking him. And then Cisneros embarrassed him 1 v 1 after receiving the pass. So, the first goal was all on Holt.
I just watched the 2nd goal. First, we turned the ball over in our own half. Second, Holt was slow to react to defend Cisneros. When he did get there Cisneros did a simple cut left, allowing Holt’s momentum to take himself out of position. Holt has had some good moments this year, but against really skillful attackers he’ll get beat almost every time. I just noticed that RSL started Schmitt, Kappelhof and Holt on the back line. The fact that ATL only scored twice is a good reflection of their problems this season.
At the 47:10 mark Cordova should have headed a perfectly corner-crossed ball from Meram, but he didn’t make contact with it. I’m not sure how he missed it, unless his look at the ball was blocked.