New England Revolution

3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 5-1 loss against Columbus

Making defensive mistakes against a quality opponent unsurprisingly proved to be a recipe for disaster.

By Hayden Bird

June 29, 2024

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The Revolution’s four-game winning streak came crashing down in a lopsided 5-1 loss against the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

After starting the match well and grabbing an early goal via Emmanuel Boateng’s well-taken chipped finish, New England was unable to hold the high-octane Columbus attack at bay, yielding several goals off counterattacks and self-inflicted errors.

The final score was reflective of Columbus’s comprehensive dominance, and the Revolution will have plenty to study when they watch the tape back.

Here are a few takeaways:

The press initially worked well and led to the opening goal.

Forced to confront the league’s defending champions without Carles Gil and Dylan Borrero (both ruled out earlier in the week due to injuries), New England swapped the usual 4-2-3-1 for a 4-3-3.

It was always going to be an uphill battle against Columbus in such circumstances, but the first 20 minutes went surprisingly well for the home team.

The Revolution’s defensive press worked well, forcing the visitors into several first-half turnovers. This was highlighted by Boateng’s opener, which spawned from an opportunistic series of passes that Columbus — having recovered the ball — was unable to deal with:

New England was able to call on the press several more times in the early period of the game, but Columbus’s clever midfield eventually began to figure things out.

Once in the lead, the Revolution eased off and paid the price.

Having worked furiously to achieve an improbable lead against Columbus, the Revolution ceded the initiative. And unsurprisingly, the talented opposition took full advantage.

As New England midfielder Matt Polster noted after the game, the problem was simply players taking their foot off the gas.

“I thought we started really well. Game plan was going the way we wanted it. We set up properly, won the ball up high and were pressing really well, putting them under really good pressure. We got a good goal out of it, but from there we stopped doing exactly what we were doing,” Polster explained.

Asked if it was a strategic choice to drop deeper and stop pressing after taking the lead, Polster said it was simply a failure of the players on the field to continue sticking to the game plan.

“We did really well. We did what we were supposed to do, and then no, we weren’t supposed to back off and concede possession and space on the field,” said Polster. “We needed to keep putting them under pressure — which was working — and we didn’t do it.”

Despite the final score, Polster thinks New England displayed a capacity to disrupt even a top-level opponent, albeit for just a small portion of the game.

“We showed for 20 minutes we can clearly make even the best teams look average at times, but in the end they were the better team over a 90-minute game,” he concluded. “They were just better than us, but I think it was a lack of continuing to do what we did in the first 20 minutes that led to those mistakes.”

Giacomo Vrioni reverted to his earlier-season form and missed multiple chances.

After delivering two clutch goals a week ago to help New England pull off a huge win on the road against FC Cincinnati, center forward Giacomo Vrioni turned back into the misfiring striker on Saturday that he’s been for much of the 2024 season.

Vrioni had several quality looks at goal and failed to find the the back of the net.

The juxtaposition with his opposite number on Columbus — Cucho Hernández — only underlined the distance that Vrioni still has to go to become a consistent force for New England.

While Hernandez scored the Crew’s first goal to tie things up, he also assisted twice (including the third goal via a devastating counterattack) and led the game with 75 touches. His ability to find the game and play a central role (even from an occasionally wider position) showcased a level Vrioni hasn’t shown.

And while Hernandez finished as the game’s most involved player, Vrioni managed just 17 touches and six completed passes. This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but he also took six shots and failed to score.

Especially if Gil and Borrero are out for any additional time, Vrioni (as the lone healthy Designated Player) will have to step up more than he did in Saturday’s defeat.