P/I/P Match 16: Revs vs MON, Sun 07/25/21 6:00p [R]

At 15 mins., Montréal impressive for possession. Revs. unimpressive for coordinated mid-field and defense. Yet another “slow” start for the Revs.

 

Bou translated into English is”BOOM”

what a cannon shot!!!!

 

Don’t know how this works in MLS, but I have the impression that this referee needs to be reviewed, disciplined, sanctioned. Penalties differential ought to be starkly imbalanced.

 

Bangu!

Overlapping run to the goal line with a centering pass to the penalty spot for a one time finish ….thats as pretty of a goal that you will see

 

“Sloppy defending” is right! Three Revs. defenders ball watched that ball right into the goal and made no move at all to stop it!

 

Bye ignored a wide-open Traustason to take a low-percentage shot one time, but then got into the area and made the pinpoint pass to Bou for goal #2.

I really don't get why the Bunbury goal called offsides didn't get a full VAR review - it certainly looked inch close. MLS insults its fans by not having more transparency about plays like that. We are left to infer from the referee's behavior what happened. Did the ref decide not to review it? Was there a 'quick' review from MLS Central and communication with the ref? Did the reffing crew even realize how close the play was? And that level of opacity is with the benefit of the telecast - I know from experience that in the stadium you have even less idea of what's going on.

For the most part, Mafla played well - but I think Arena really needed to get him off earlier. I understand with the absences/injuries, defensive subs were pretty limited, but Mafla's mistakes seemed to compound in the late stages, suggesting he was worn down.

In the post-game, Arena mentioned that he was expecting Jones to be back this week, so that will help.

I guess we can add one more way that Gil has managed to not score in the run of play - he's hit posts, hit teammates, now a delayed offside ...

That long-range threat of Bou's is amazing. The power/placement may be unmatched in MLS - and it opens up so much, just having the threat to launch a laser from 30 yards in.

 

Hope Buksa and Bell are okay, but neither looked good coming off. It seemed like Buksa might have dodged a bullet when he stayed on, but was clearly feeling enough effects to realize he needed to take himself off. The concussion protocol is going to take some flak after that episode.

Bell seemed unable to put his full weight on his leg, so that doesn't look good at all. We have DeLaGarza and Verfurth available - with Kessler still away - I wonder if they'll bring up anyone else from R2.

 

The Revs played quite well for stretches of the game. The ball movement, breaking pressure in the first half was impressive. I thought the 3 subs in the second half caused them to sputter a little bit. Knighton has looked better; I will chalk up the first few games as rust.

My random thought during the game last night was; why aren't there any clubs breaking down the door to get Gil!! The talk has been about Tajon, Turner, and possibly Kessler and Buksa moving to Europe, but not a peep about Gil, who is probably the best player in MLS. I know that that group of players are younger, but Carlos will only be 29 this year. I mean, PSG signed Ramos, who is 35 and past his sell-by date. I'm happy he's staying, because if we lose everybody; it's back to square one!

 

Also looks like Bunbury's goal should have counted.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/#we...-winner-should-the-revs-have-had-another-goal

 

If we didn't have turf, but instead had proper grass with shading so we could see cross-field lines more clearly, I think Charlie would be right. But if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their booties....

 

Yes! I meant to mention that myself - he looked much better, thank goodness. We might just survive until Turner gets back (though, if/when Turner leaves, I don't want to be left with Knighton as my #1).

Because he's played in the PL and La Liga and teams have seen what he can do there. He may be better now than he was, but his lack of size/strength would be a killer in the more physical leagues and I'm not sure his passing/dribbling skills would stand out in the more technical leagues.

I think he's found his sweet spot in MLS because his best skills are those that are most lacking in MLS. And, let's not forget, that having killer B's like Bou, Buksa and Buchanon present him with a lot of assist opportunities.

Pre-Arena, when we had much less talent on the field, though Gil was clearly the class of the team, he wasn't nearly as effective as he is now.

I know that how the rule is, but the rule is stupid. On offsides, if you can't say definitively that a player is in offside position at the critical moment, then the foul should not be called. Whatever the original call was, should be irrelevant - getting the play right should be paramount.

 

Give that guy space and ... boombazzo!