Tag: Gio Savarese

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Soccer Timbers

Kickin’ It with Eric Miller

Photo by Kris Lattimore

Entering his third season with the Portland Timbers, MLS veteran Eric Miller’s versatility has been crucial in Portland’s defense.

He played minutes at both fullback positions and at centerback in 2023. The team announced Jan. 9 that Miller signed a new contract through the 2025 MLS season.

Former Timbers head coach Gio Savarese had very appreciative words to say about him.

“We got really lucky that he became available,” former Timbers head coach Gio Savarese said. “I think every team needs players like him.”

Eric Miller is also a standout off the pitch; he has been a vocal ally to LGBTQ people and advocate for causes including pet adoption. The city of Portland and fans should feel fortunate to have a player who is a superb human being and person.

Contributor Phuoc Nguyen had the chance to sit down and chat with Miller last year. Here’s some highlights from that interview.

Photo by Kris Lattimore

Phuoc: What do you like to do for fun on an off day?

Eric Miller: We’ve been trying to get out and explore Oregon a little bit. We’ve been doing some wineries, checking out restaurants, coffee shops, kind of all that stuff there.  Just getting to know the city a little bit.

Phuoc: Have you found your favorite spots to eat or coffee shops yet?

Miller: There’s a spot—it’s like 10 minutes south [of] where I live, called South Store Café—that is amazing. That’s like in farm  country, it is so good. They have an amazing breakfast. Really cool vibe, which is like a restaurant and a house. Then Ken’s Artisan Pizza, really good too, in Southeast. It’s amazing pizza. It’s really, it’s an awesome place.

Phuoc: Do you have a favorite food and dessert?

Miller: Favorite food is probably chicken parmesan. I love it. Favorite dessert is probably anything that my mom bakes. My mom’s, like, an incredibly good baker. She’s working hard around the holidays, making really delicious baked goods.

Phuoc: What is your favorite berry?

Miller: I recently tried these berries from all around Oregon. We went to the Hill Farm Market with our buddies, and we had Mt. Hood strawberries. They were amazing. They were so good, really good blackberries from, I don’t know where they were from honestly, but just like really phenomenal berries.

Phuoc: Do you have any pets?

Miller: We have two dogs. We have a German Shepherd who’s six, named Otto, and an English Shepherd who’s nine, named Cooper.

Phuoc: Have you ever played FIFA as yourself?

Miller: Way back in the day, when I was a younger player. We used to use a bunch of guys who live in the same place, and we were, like, goalies and defenders, so we all put ourselves as forwards and tried scoring on each other, which was pretty fun.

Phuoc: Do you have a favorite movie?

Miller: My favorite movie? I’ll say Saving Private Ryan, that’s a great movie.

Phuoc: What’s your favorite music to listen to? Do you have a favorite artist?

Miller: I like a very wide variety of music. After being in Nashville—my wife was really into country before. She kind of got me to the country. I really like Chris Stapleton. He’s really good. I love seeing him live.

Phuoc: If you could pick an entrance song, what would it be?

Miller: Ah man, I don’t know. We had a guy in Nashville who’s goal song was “Danger Zone.” I would do “Danger Zone.” That’s pretty good. I might go with that, too.

Phuoc: Do you watch any television? If you do: any TV show you’re currently obsessed with?

Miller: We’ve been watching Only Murders in the Building, me and my wife. That’s a really good show. I’ve been watching The Bear, that’s a great show. We, a while ago, finished the show Downton Abbey. It’s, like, a show for old people, but I absolutely loved it. It’s phenomenal.

Phuoc: If you could have a dream vacation, or go to a place you haven’t been to, what would it be?

Miller: My dream vacation? Me and my wife went to Hawai’i on our honeymoon—that was awesome. I loved it. We went to Kauai which was super cool. So, I would say maybe my dream vacation would be to go to, like, the Mediterranean or Europe in the summer, because we don’t really get to do that.

Phuoc: Do you have any items on your bucket list you could share with us?

Miller: On my bucket list? Win MLS Cup, you know? That’d be great. I’d love to do that. Other than that, just travel, see the world. All that fun stuff.

Phuoc: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Miller: Maybe being able to teleport? So I can go see all my friends and family in different places.

Phuoc: Would you rather teleport once every 24 hours or shapeshift for the entire week.

Miller: Teleport.

Phuoc: Do you have a favorite Pokémon?

Miller: No, my mom didn’t let us have the cards. I played video games at my friend’s house, but I’m not a big Pokémon guy.

Phuoc: Who’s your best friend on the team? (Editor’s note: Reminder that this interview was from last year.)

Miller: [David] Bingham, that’s my boy! We golf a little bit together.

Phuoc: If you could take one thing from your hometown [in Minnesota] and bring it to Portland, what would it be?

Miller: Can I choose my family, or no? I choose my family because I should, and it would be great to have them out, especially when we have our daughter[…] But if I couldn’t choose people, I think I would choose like the lakes. The general lake life there is so fun, and we have great weather here [in Portland[ to just have, like, a bunch of lakes, to be able to go to and boat and fish and tube and all stuff. That would be awesome.

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 3

Photo by Kris Lattimore

A week ago today, the Portland Timbers fired the winningest coach in the history of the franchise.

Gio Savarese gave everything he had to the club, fans, and city for over six seasons as head coach. He and his family will be missed for everything they did in the community.

There will never be anyone else like him. We, at the Rose City Review, wish Gio and his family all the best.

Former assistant Miles Joseph was asked to take over as the interim head coach in this final stretch, starting at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Even with the incredible effort the Timbers showed in the second half, it was not meant to be. They fell to Vancouver 2-3.

The loss was the Timbers’ lost their fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

In the 13th minute, the Whitecaps’ Ryan Gauld got the road team on the board, when a deflection fell perfectly to him. In the 36th minute, Gauld placed a brilliant cross and found the head of Brian White to double Vancouver’s lead.

The Timbers would not go down without a fight.

In the 53rd minute, Darion Asprilla hit a perfectly pinpointed cross to find the head of Felipe Mora, who scored his first regular season goal of the year.

In the 60th minute, Evander recklessly tackled Richie Laryea in the box and gave up a penalty kick. Gauld would finish past David Bingham for his goal contribution hat trick (two goals and one assist).

In the 84th minute, the home team would respond once again. Sebastián Blanco, who came on as a second half sub, played a low driven ball near the top of the box to Evander, who made no mistake with it to cut Vancouver’s lead back to a one-goal difference.

During the final moments of the game, the Portland Timbers gave it all they had, but they couldn’t find the equalizer.

Interim

Taking over for someone as successful and beloved as Gio Savarese is a tall task.

Joseph has an uphill climb to bring Portland to the playoffs.

Still, his energy is fantastic and on display constantly. The players seem to be responding positively to it, both at training and during the game.

And he seems to have a game plan for the team.

“We trained this week on the wide triangles and trying to open up the field, especially against Vancouver,” Joseph said after the match. “The first half we were getting a little bit too narrow. So, we presented some video at halftime, and they corrected it. We needed to get to the end-line more, and we did. We got a goal out of it.

“I think as we stick to the process and move forward, we’re gonna create a lot of scoring chances.” 

No Bash Bros
Photo by Kris Lattimore

Although star center back Zac McGraw returned to training this week, he was not ready to start. Miguel Araujo took his place once again. Unfortunately, any pairing outside of Dario Župarić and McGraw has been unsuccessful for the Timbers this season.

Each time one of the stud centerback duo is not available, it is a struggle for the team.

Without McGraw starting the last two games, the Portland Timbers have surrendered eight goals.

This shows the lack of depth the team has, Araujo’s need for more time to get used to the pairings and system, and the importance of the Zs duo.

Cascadia Cup

Coming into the game, the Portland Timbers could have controlled their own destiny with a win or a draw at home against Vancouver Whitecaps.

With the loss, they now need to win next weekend in Seattle and for Vancouver to lose to Seattle in their Cascadia Cup finale.

Photo of the Match
Photo by Kris Lattimore
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Soccer Timbers

Diego Valeri Day: Portland Timbers 3, Columbus Crew 2

Photo via Portland Timbers FC

The Portland Timbers honored Diego Valeri by inducting him into the club’s ring of honor before their Saturday night match against the Columbus Crew—and by earning a 3-2 win on the field.

Coming into the game winless in their last five matchups, Portland was hoping to honor ‘The Maestro’ with three points to snap the winless streak.

Celebrating his birthday, head coach Gio Savarese wanted the win as a present.

The day was made right for both, as the Timbers secured the nail-biting 3-2 win over the Crew.

Neither team could create much early in the first half, as the game lacked any sort of rhythm or control. However, that changed after the first 25 minutes.

In the 28th minute, Claudio Bravo somehow found a way a collect the rebound to find Dario Župarić. The center back played it to Dairon Asprilla, who finished past Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to put the home side up 1-0.

Two minutes later, Franck Boli played a perfect through ball into Asprilla, who beat two defenders and Schulte double the Timbers’ lead. Evander’s pass to the frontline had sprung the counterattack.

This made the match the first time Portland had scored more than one goal in a game since their 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in May.

Still, in first half stoppage time, Columbus responded with a Lucas Zelarayán goal to cut the lead in half.

In the 49th minute, Zac McGraw headed a potential Christian Ramírez equalizer off the line.

In the 62nd minute, the Portland Timbers put out their best substitutions of the year with Sebastián Blanco, Yimmi Chará, and Felipe Mora coming on.

The party was spoiled in the 65th minute, when Zelarayán would tally a second goal for a brace. His golazo was hit perfectly from outside of the box to beat Timbers goalkeeper David Bingham.

In the 69th minute, the Crew nearly went ahead when Jacen Russell-Rowe got passed the backline. Bingham came up with the biggest save of the night to keep it level.

In the 73rd minute, Mora won the header off a set piece and to redirected it to Y. Chará, who hit off the post.

The Timbers were not going to let the party end on a sour note. In the 80th minute, Y. Chará played a ball across goal that found Blanco, who smashed it home for the 3-2 lead.

This was Seba’s first regular season goal since his amazing comeback from injury.

Diego Valeri Day

The Timbers legend was not only being honored for his successes on the pitch—but fro what he did off of it, too.

Valeri was a player who loved being in the community and giving back to people. Any time he was given the change to help, his mind way already made up.

He will go down as a legendary player in the team’s history—and as one of the best people to take the pitch for the club.

Valeri and his family have the utmost love for the city of Portland. They should be remembered for always being a light to everyone who came across them.

Thank you, Diego, Florencia, and Connie.

You all be missed very much. We are forever grateful.

Hat Trick watch

In Timbers history, no player has ever tallied a hat trick, but that could have changed Saturday.

After 30 minutes, Asprilla had already scored two goals—his first MLS brace.

Unfortunately, after 62 minutes, he was subbed out.

The wait continues.

Heavy heart

Our condolences are to Dairon Asprilla’s hometown friend and their family. His strength in the face of great loss is remarkable and inspiring. Please send all your positive thoughts and vibes to him.

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 3, Vancouver Whitecaps 1

Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

After losing to the Whitecaps 0-1 in Vancouver in April, the Portland Timbers had revenge on their mind when they hosted one of their Cascadia rivals Saturday.

In the previous matchup, the Timbers were outmatched, overwhelmed, and shorthanded. But this time, Portland got their sweet revenge, with a 3-1 win in their most complete performance of the year.

Timbers head coach Gio Savarese was very pleased with his team’s performance.

“Very important win for many, many reasons,” said Savarese. “Three points. Cascadia Cup. Home game. Then we performed very well.”

Still, he said, “I think we can still progress, we can still get better. There’s areas that we have to continue to work, but I think the first 20 minutes and the entire second half, I thought we were very, very good.”

In the second minute, Franck Boli broke out of his scoring drought to put Portland on the board first.

The Timbers continued to create chances after the opening goal, with combination play between Juan David Mosquera, Santi Moreno, and Evander putting another one away in the 18th minute.

This was some of their finest work all year.

This team has been clicking offensively for weeks, and it showed off big time. Portland outshot and had more shots on target than Vancouver, putting up 13 and seven to the Whitecaps’ seven and four, respectively.

Unfortunately in the 24th minute, Zac McGraw went for a clearance that turned into an own goal.

In the 54th minute, Evander put on a insane move to freeze his defender and then ripped a shot for Portland’s third goal for the final score.

This was his best game as a Timber, and he has let the entire MLS know, too.

The Evander Show
Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

After early struggles with form and injury, Evander has played his best ball the past few weeks. He is playing with tons of confidence, his decision making is so much quicker, and his passing has been very crisp. This is the exact player general manager Ned Grabavoy and  Savarese wanted to sign.

Evander is one of the most in form players in MLS right now, and the Timbers are steadily climbing the table thanks to his contributions.

The Portland Timbers are playing their best football of the season, which happens to coincide with his best run of play.

Is that a coincidence? Absolutely not.

“I was going for the hat trick,” said Evander. “Of course, not doing crazy things, but I wanted one more opportunity for a goal. I knew that nobody [on the Timbers] has scored a hat trick in an MLS competition, and I wanted to be the first, but I’ll have to wait till the next opportunity.

Still, he was pleased with his team’s performance. “I think this shows us how good we are” he said, “how good we are when we play together and as a team… When we play together, when we are compact and play soccer and enjoy the game, things become much easier. The win today gives us more confidence for the rest of the season.”

All You Gotta Do is BOLIeve
Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

Boli scored his first goal for Portland in his Timbers debut. Since then, he has been hungry for his second.

His work rate and comfort level has been steadily climbing in the past couple weeks.

“I am a striker. I create goals. Last game I wanted to score so bad, I missed some goals and got angry,” said Boli. “But you’ve got to try again.

“I’m very happy to score today and also that the team won,” he said. “That’s even more important than my goal. As a striker, you want to score every time and I’m happy about that.”

Boli has continued to be get more comfortable with the team and league.

“He’s getting to understand the league,” said Savarese. “He’s getting to feel more chemistry, and he’s getting fitter as well.

“You saw his movements today,” Savarese said. “Now he knows how to move around the defenders because they’re physical here in MLS. He needs to understand how to find good areas in order to make sure to be in good places to get the ball. He created some very good moments, attacking-wise.”

Fun stats
  • xG: Portland 1.15, Vancouver 0.59
  • Evander led the team in shots, shots on goal, and goals.
  • Santiago Moreno paced the team in chances created, successful dribbles, and completed passes in the final third.
  • Juan David Mosquera had the most touches, crosses attempted, completed passes on the team.
  • Dario Zuparic was stout in defense with 10 recoveries and seven aerial duels won.
  • Diego Chará made his 350th MLS appearance.

 

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Soccer Timbers

U.S. Open Cup Takeaways: Timbers 3, RSL 4

Credit: Kris Lattimore

The Portland Timbers hosted Real Salt Lake in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with a spot in the final 16 up for grabs.

This game had end to end action, limited amounts of defending, and a bunch of fireworks.

In total, seven goals were scored, with RSL coming out on top 4-3 at Providence Park and eliminating Portland from the next round of the tournament.

Timbers head coach Gio Savarese was very honest with his post match thoughts. “We allowed them to score four goals at home,” he said, “which is not good. And the way we sometimes allow those moments to happen, we need to have a little bit more maturity.

But, he said, “It’s good for some of the players that don’t have that many minutes to be able to come and play. That makes them better, that makes them stronger, that makes them more available to be able to compete and ready to play. ”

Noel Caliskan – T2 Promotion to T1
Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

Noel Caliskan was selected 15th overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Loyola Marymount University.

He signed his first professional contract with Timbers 2 ahead of the 2023 season. In four appearances with T2, he has scored three goals.

After a strong performance in Portland’s 3-1 win over Orange County in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup, the Timbers rewarded Caliskan with a promotion to the senior team.

On April 28, the club announced that he signed a contract for the 2023 season with options in 2024 and 2025.

Caliskan moved from Germany to the United States to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional footballer.

“It’s obviously an honor,” Caliskan said. “I came to the US with a dream to pursue my career, be a pro and to finally make it and play with the like of [Sebastián Blanco], Eric [Miller], Diego [Chará], big names and MLS legends. It’s an honor to share the locker room with them and to share the field with every day.”

On Wednesday, he was one the bright spots in the team’s home loss. Caliskan recorded two assists and showed off his talent.

Gio Savarese gave Caliskan positive remarks for his performance.

“He was one of the mature guys on the field,” Savarese said. “He did really well. He managed things excellent and endured the match very well. With the ball he gave us what we needed.

“We saw how he pressed on top to create a moment for [Blanco] to score,” he said, “and how great of a moment it is for Seba to score, too.”

With the team shorthanded in midfield, Caliskan has a chance to make a difference for the Portland Timbers this season.

Sebastian Blanco scores his first goal since injury comeback
Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

Seba made his second start since his return from injury and gave the Timbers the early lead with his goal.

Just having him back is a boost to the team. He continues to get better with each appearance. A healthy Blanco will be crucial to Portland’s playoff chances.

Defense?
Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

“Losing this game at home, allowing four goals after we scored three is no good,” said Savarese. “We talked about it in the locker room and the guys take the responsibility and now we continue to work.” 

The backline of Pablo Bonilla, Larrys Mabiala, Tyler Clegg, and Justin Rasmussen had many positives from the game, but there were many moments they would like back.

Scoring three goals and not winning at home is a tough pill to swallow.

The Timbers can put together a good starting backline in Juan David Mosquera, Dario Zuparic, Zac McGraw, and Claudio Bravo. Beyond that, as Wednesday showed, it is a concern if any of them are unavailable for any reason.

The defense, especially the backline, will decide how this season goes.

Key Stats
  • Portland had the advantage over RSL for xG: 2.02 to 1.62
  • Marvin Loría led the team with 5 chances created, crosses attempted, and completed passes in final third.
  • Victor Griffith paced the Timbers with three shots
  • Noel Caliskan led Portland in assists and completed passes in the final third.
  • Tyler Clegg won the most tackles for the team
  • Larrys Mabiala had the most completed passes and recoveries
  • The Timbers statically dominated almost every category offensively against Real Salt Lake
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Soccer Timbers

U.S. Open Cup Takeaways: Portland Timbers 3, Orange County SC 1

April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers

After a tough loss to on Saturday at FC Cincinnati, the Portland Timbers returned home to face USL team Orange County SC in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Both teams were coming off 1-2 losses in regular season play and looking for a huge bounce-back game to advance to the fourth round of the tournament. 

The Timbers received huge news and a boost for the encounter. Returning from injury for the was Sebastián Blanco, who would be available to play his first minutes for the club in 2023. 

Three players from Portland’s second team received opportunities to play this game. Tyler Clegg started at center back next to veteran Larrys Mabiala, Noel Caliskan—who today signed a one-year contract with the senior Timbers team—started in midfield, and Víctor Griffith came off the bench.

The first ten minutes saw the visitors outshoot Portland three to zero, but outside of a few shaky moments, Portland was in relative control of the match.

Portland would end up winning the game 3-1, thanks to goals from Marvin Loría in the 37th minute, Clegg in the 48th minute, and Jarosław Niezgoda in the 92nd minute.

Here’s some takeaways from the match.

April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer – Portland Timbers
The return of Seba!

Blanco is one of the best players in Timbers history. His contributions include 40 goals and 50 assists in his MLS career. He is vital for this team’s success, and his return provided a huge boost.

The star has battled through injury and adversity most of 2022 and at the start of 2023. His pain in the right knee was so excruciating, that it caused him trouble to even walk at certain times. Blanco even had doubts if his comeback was even possible, but giving up was never an option, he said.

“You know me,” he said, “and I never give up. No matter what the people or someone can say to me. If I have the possibility, I will give everything back. I tried to help my team in the minutes that I can do it and what the coach wants also, but I think I have more time for play.”

He played 34 minutes on Wednesday, but just seeing him on the pitch again should bring a smile to every single person.

Blanco, himself, said he was “very happy” to be back. “It was really hard work mentally and physically to get back,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for me, but I was so happy to pass another obstacle and try to help my team in the way that I can do it.”

Congrats on being back on the pitch again, Seba!

T2 stepping up

As discussed earlier, the Timbers made three call-ups prior to the game: Clegg, Caliskan, and Griffith.

Caliskan, 22, was selected in the first round, 15th overall, by the Timbers in the 2023 MLS Superdraft out of Loyola Marymount University.

Clegg, 22, was drafted by Portland in the third round, 85th overall,  of the 2023 MLS Superdraft out of James Madison University.

Griffith, 22, joined the club ahead of the 2022 T2 season. The Panamanian international made his first-team debut as a starter in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup match against LAFC on May 10.

Caliskan and Clegg started against Orange County, while Griffith came off the bench. Center back Clegg headed home a corner kick off a gorgeous cross from Pablo Bonilla in the 48th minute. 

All three T2-ers played major roles, and head coach Gio Savarese was full of praise.

“They played great,” he said. “They were very competitive. Caliskan [played] the entire 90 minutes, plus [and] did very well. Not only with managing a lot of the middle but also with the ball. Then Griffith came in for Paredes… Griffith did a great job. His second game in the U.S. Open Cup for us, and this is good from a club. When you’re able to play these players and they deliver… [Clegg] looked good in the back. He scored his goal.

“These are the exciting moments for us as a club,” Savarese said, “to see players step up and then deliver.”

April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer- Portland Timbers
April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer – Portland Timbers

Savarese said he could see some of the T2 players making appearances for the senior team later this season. He also credited Shannon Murray, the head coach of T2 for all the work he has done.

Stat zone
  • Portland outshot Orange County 18 to 13.
  • PTFC xG: 1.54, OCSC xG: 0.86
  • Bonilla led the team in crosses attempted, successful dribbles, and chances created.
  • Rasmussen and Caliskan led the team in tackles won.
  • Loría had four shots to lead the team.
  • Mabiala was the team’s leader in touches, passes completed, and possession won.
April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
April 26 2023; Portland, OR, USA; Timbers vs Orange County SC in the US Open Cup at Providence Park. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland 4, Seattle 1

Dairon Asprilla's bicycle kick goal in the 71st minute is a candidate for MLS goal of the year. Elite Photo Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Dairon Asprilla's bicycle kick goal in the 71st minute is a candidate for MLS goal of the year. Elite Photo Credit: Matthew Wolfe

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Seattle Sounders were first in the table and were the top scoring team in the West. The Portland Timbers, meanwhile, were 12th in the table and had not won a game since their regular season opener against Sporting KC on February 27. The Timbers were winless in their last six matches.

After losing Eryk Williamson to season ending injury, this team could of continued their downward spiral.

After playing one of their best halves of football, the Portland Timbers looked down and out.

In the 58th minute Sounders superstar Raúl Ruidíaz scored to put the visitors up 1-0.

But all it takes is one moment to change all the momentum. In the 71st minute, Dairon Asprilla scored the MLS goal of the year to tie it at 1-1 with a brilliant bicycle kick.

That goal gave the Portland Timbers a sense of belief and ignited the attack for the first time all season.

Nathan Fogaça gave Portland the 2-1 lead with a beautiful dribble and two touches to get around Sounders defender Yeimar. Seattle Goalkeeper Stefan Frei managed to get a hand on Fogaça’s shot, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from going into the back of the net.

Jarosław Niezgoda has struggled to find his form all season and was subbed in the 72nd minute for Franck Boli. Less than 10 minutes later, he put away a rebound to score his first goal of the season.

Juan David Mosquera put the game away in the 89th minute, with a rocket on a quick counter.

The Portland Timbers completed the comeback to win 4-1, with all of their goals scored in the last 20 minutes.

These are the games where we are reminded why we love this game and these players.

Best lineup of the season

Since the season started, Portland has not had their strongest XI. Although Williamson is out for the year, the Timbers had a majority of their first choice squad for the first time.

This starting XI came out on the front foot and outshot Seattle 7-4 in the first half. Unfortunately, they lost control of the game early in the second half.

Once Portland head coach Gio Savarese made substitutions, they regained the upper hand. Many of the Timbers starters for the game are still coming back to full fitness.

When Yimmi Chará returns, they will have all of their first choice starters except Williamson.

The starters played well in the first half, and the substitutes’ fresh legs will give this team a lot of positives moving forward.

Franck Boli starts
Franck Boli made his first start for Portland as they took down Seattle 4-1.Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Franck Boli made his first start for Portland as they took down Seattle 4-1.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

The Timbers signed Ivorian forward Franck Boli from Hungarian top-flight side Ferencvárosi on March 13.

Boli has been getting up to speed, learning the system, and building a rapport with his new teammates over the past month.

In two sub appearances, he had played 28 total minutes before the Seattle game—including time in which he scored the game tying goal at FC Dallas.

Boli made his first start against the Seattle Sounders.

After the match, Savarese said he was impressed with Boli’s performance and extremely excited to see him with more opportunities. “He started to figure things out,” Savarese said. “You can see the special things that he has. In some moments, you saw how quick he was to get in front of the Seattle defender… He can get in good areas.”

The Timbers head coach believes Boli’s only going to get better with more time to learn the system.

“He has a good understanding of the way we want to play,” said Savarese. “Now it’s about generating the chemistry with the guys. He just arrived. Evander just started to play with him. Some of the guys started to get to know the two of them more and more.”

Forwards can score, too!
Nathan Fogaça scored his first goal of the 2023 season against the Seattle Sounders.Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Nathan scored his first goal of the 2023 season against the Seattle Sounders.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

The Timbers had only scored six goals in their first seven games. Out of those, each line had contributed two each. The only forwards who had scored prior to the Seattle game were Boli and Tega Ikoba.

That all changed in this game.

Asprilla, Fogaça, and Niezgoda all opened their scoring accounts for the season. If their frontline can continue to produce, this team is going to be scary the rest of the way.

David vs. Goliath

The first place team facing off against the 12th place team. The Sounders went into the game with a +12 goal differential, while Portland was at -6.

Still, the Timbers started off the game on the front foot, outshooting the Sounders in the first half.

At the start of the second half, Seattle could not have started much better. They found the opening goal in the 58th minute and nearly scored again on several occasions.

Seattle’s attacking soccer and ruthless barrages continued, and they kept chasing a second goal.

The Timbers being down a goal with 20 minutes left in the game, things were not looking good to even get a result.

Portland has been beat up all season, but they got up and fought like heck the rest of the way.

Thanks to their forwards, Santi Moreno’s assists, and the return of their dangerous counterattack, Portland was able to take down Goliath.

Shoutouts
JDM celebrates his second goal of the season versus the Seattle Sounders. He continues cement himself as one of the best right backs in MLS. Credit: Matthew Wolfe
JDM celebrates his second goal of the season versus the Seattle Sounders. He continues cement himself as one of the best right backs in MLS.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

Juan David Mosquera scored his second goal of the season and continues to put in the effort on the defensive end. He led the team in touches, shots, shots on goal, crosses, and possessions won.

Claudio Bravo made a goal-saving intervention in the 39th minute before Jordan Morris could put it in the back of the net. Bravo was near the team lead in a bunch of stats.

The first three goals had Santi Moreno‘s signature all over them. He assisted on the first two goals to Asprilla and Fogaça. On the third goal, he followed up Fogaça’s shot, which allowed Niezgoda to finish it.

Fun stats
  • Portland has now beaten Seattle four consecutive times
  • Portland Timbers xG: 1.38 – Seattle Sounders xG: 1.33
  • Portland had more total shots and shots on goal
    • Portland: 17/8 – Seattle 15/5
  • Diego Chará completed  97.2% of his passes
  • Dario Zuparic led the team with seven aerial duels won
  • Dairon Asprilla also had eight dribbles and six successful dribbles to lead the team.
Coaches’ corner

Savarese on the win: “When you don’t get too many good results, and you’re putting in a lot of work, and you’re trying to manage a lot of things in a difficult way, the way we started—a win like today’s is incredible. It’s amazing, because we needed it. We needed it. We needed the three points; we needed a win like this to feel that we’re capable of competing at the highest level. And we still have some players that need to come back.

“I think with that said, I felt tonight the guys wanted to win. You felt it. And I think, as I said, a goal like Asprilla’s just gives that energy at the end to make sure that the guys just felt that we can win this game.

“Now we have to continue to work. It’s not staying on one game and that’s it. It’s about all the games that are coming, and we need to prepare very well, because now we have Cincinnati. We have the U.S. Open Cup. Then we have to go to St. Louis. We have a difficult schedule, but now with players coming back and finally getting a bench that is full, we can compete to a better level.”

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer on his postgame message to the team: “I told them I don’t feel that it’s a rivalry. That’s my initial gut thought. At 1-0, we have to have that killer instinct against a team that has beat us three games in a row, that’s had our number. At their place, stick the knife in, kill the game. I don’t give a shit if it was the second goal or extending possession. After the game, some of our staff members, everybody talking, laughing. It’s like another loss. It’s not another loss; it’s against the Timbers.

“We have to get back to understanding that this is a rivalry. And that’s what I said to everybody. That’s the reflection that I have. It’s not good, it’s not good. We don’t have the killer instinct to put them away. We gave them life; we talked about it, messaged it before the game. They were using this game as a springboard. They have to go to Cincinnati next week. They get a bad result here and have to go to Cincinnati, that could doom them. But we give them life.”

Quote of the night

Asprilla, on if practicing bicycle kicks during practice attributed to his goal: “Yes. I talked to [David] Ayala before the game. ‘You wait for [the] bicycle’. It’s my confidence.”

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland 0, LA Galaxy 0

Photo by Kris Lattiore.

The Portland Timbers had lost three games in a row heading into their home game Saturday versus the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy came into the match winless in their opening three games, with their last two ending in draws. Both teams desperately needed a result coming into the game.

Both teams would play to a scoreless draw at Providence Park.

In order to inject some life into the club, Timbers head coach Gio Savarese inserted Diego “Guti” Gutierrez and Pablo Bonilla into the lineup. Nathan Fogaça earned his second consecutive start.

The Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy had an injury list that looked like an NFL midseason injury update.

LA had their fair share of issues too. They were missing seven players: Chicharito, Douglas Costa, Jonathan Bond, Marcus Ferkranus, Dejan Joveljić, Kelvin Leerdam, and Eriq Zavaleta.

The Timbers went extremely direct with their play in the first half, and all of the statistics backed it up. It was an ugly display of football and highlighted how sloppy they were with the ball.

Both teams were extremely physical, and there were a ton of fouls committed and not called in the opening 45 minutes. Guti and David Bingham were the two bright spots for the Timbers.

In the first half, the Galaxy dominated proceedings with 10 shots on goal, while Portland had one. The Timbers were out-possessed 29% to 71%. In the 13th minute, Portland got lucky when Galaxy forward Preston Judd’s shot hit the post after he got past the backline of Portland.

In the second half, play continued to be chippy. For 80 minutes, the Timbers were outplayed by the Galaxy.

In the last 15, though, Portland found some magic and dangerous moments. Tega Ikoba brought a spark to the game when he subbed in for the Timbers in the 76th minute. Portland outshot LA Galaxy 9-7 in the second half.

The final possession numbers were terrible for the Timbers: Portland with 32.8% and LA with 67.2%.

Identity crisis

I will ask continue to ask until we get an answer: who is this Portland Timbers team? What are they trying to accomplish on the pitch? Where is the creativity? Is the counterattack completely gone?

The performance early on was sloppy, and they couldn’t manage to escape a single line of pressure. In the second half, the Timbers were a lot better and finally showed the trademark counterattack in the last few minutes.

With the team finally getting healthy, we could see improvement coming sooner rather than later.

“I thought it was a performance of a team that wanted to get a win three points,” Savarese said. “When we have players missing, then players have to step up, and I saw a lot of players stepping up today. It wasn’t perfect, but when you have the desire, the heart, the commitment and determination to give everything that you have, what else can I ask?”

Jazzy benched

Through the first five games of 2023, goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič has made one start, while Bingham has made four.

Although Bingham has been good in goal, he does not possess the immense upside that Jazzy does.

However, Bingham is as reliable as they come. Savarese knows exactly what he can expect from Bingham each time he’s in goal.

He made huge saves throughout the match to keep the game scoreless. His positioning was very good and played a fine game in goal.

This was his second clean sheet on the season, but unfortunately the turf monster claimed its next injury in Bingham.

We wish him all the best in his recovery.

The tension between Ivačič and Savarese could land him on the bench for the near future. Not a good look for a struggling Timbers side.

Could we see 20-year-old Hunter Sulte start, instead? It looks like it.

Guti & Bonilla start
Diego Gutierrez made his first start against LA Galaxy. Photo by Kris Lattimore
Diego Gutierrez made his first start against LA Galaxy.
Photo by Kris Lattimore

Guti has been strong for the Timbers in the minutes he has received. Those opportunities earned Gutierrez his first start. Juan David Mosquera, who is on international duty with Colombia, was replaced by Pablo Bonilla.

Gutierrez and Bonilla were both active and energetic throughout the game. Bonilla did not have many opportunities to come forward, but he was efficient in defense. He also led the team in crosses. Guti had many bright moments with his dribbling and passing.

After the match, Gio said Guti could see more minutes moving forward if he continues his current form. “Gutierrez played very well,” he said. “Now he’s going to compete and push others, and that’s what we want.”

Injury list

At this rate, the Portland Timbers could field a whole injured side. That’s how long their list is. Players continue to get healthier each week, but so far, when they get players back, more go on it.

“Right now, we’re unlucky with the injuries,” Diego Chará said after the match. “That’s really disappointing for us.”

Still, the Timbers have no choice but to continue on.

Standouts
  • The Post: Soccer is a brutal game, especially when it comes to the score. You could dominate a match and still not get the desired outcome. The Galaxy hit the post twice, and that was the difference in the game.
  • Diego Gutierrez offers something very different as a winger and it will help the Timbers this season. Guti has the ability to dribble and keep possession or take players on. He keeps putting up good performances and should have a role on the team moving forward. He led the team with six dribbles and three successful dribbles on Saturday. He also was near the top for completed passes, crosses attempted, recoveries, and touches.
  • David Bingham got the nod over Ivačič, and it paid off. Bingham was clutch throughout the game, and his positioning was solid throughout. He came up with four saves, all in crucial moments. His injury at the end was the worst news you could get at the end of the game. He has two clean sheets in four starts this year.
  • Tega Ikoba continues to bring the energy and excitement. In his 14 minutes, the Timbers were the better team in the game. Savarese said he will see more minutes in upcoming games.
Tega Ikoba rises over everyone to win a header. Photo by Kris Lattimore
Tega Ikoba rises over everyone to win a header. Photo by Kris Lattimore
Stock down
  • Injuries: Another game, and two more injuries.
  • Officiating: This got out of hand and overly-physical. Referee Chris Penso needed to set the tone earlier and refused to do so. It was very fortunate to not see more players injured. The only consistency was that he was bad for both sides. The game ended with 29 total fouls.

Key stats: Team leaders
  • Claudio Bravo paced the team with 13 possessions won and 64 touches.
  • Zac McGraw led the team with four tackles and three blocks
  • Diego Chará conducted the show with the team’s strongest performance in passing accuracy in the final third.
  • Santiago Moreno was Portland’s most active player in the attack, with 17 passes in the final third.
Quote of the Night

Perhaps the game was best summed up by Savarese: “We are in a good place in our mind and our hearts, and now we have to get more players in.”

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, St.Louis City 2

Zac McGraw against St. Louis FC on March 11 at Providence Park. Photo taken by Kris Lattimore.
Zac McGraw against St. Louis FC on Mar. 11 at Providence Park. Photo by Kris Lattimore.

After a 2-3 defeat at LAFC, the Portland Timbers faced off against MLS’s newest expansion side, St. Louis City SC. The Missouri side came into the game undefeated, with victories over Austin FC and Charlotte FC.

In a game the Timbers could have won, they were left with no points and a home defeat. The injury list continues to pile up and their identity continues to be a mystery.

With the Timbers bringing a makeshift lineup into the game, there were a lot of questions and concerns. Still, they saw the return of Claudio Bravo and the first start for Nathan Fogaça in 2023.

One of the biggest question marks is the identity of this Timbers side: Who are they? Unfortunately for Portland, St. Louis knew the answer.

St. Louis has capitalized on mistakes early this season, and this game was no different. Their side is physical, tough, and opportunistic. As a result of their ability to grit out results, they’re currently the only 3-0-0 team in MLS.

St Louis City head coach Bradley Carnell said the club has spent preseason trying to prepare their players for MLS. “We played a very competitive opponents in pre-season,” he said. “We’ve been committed to a style of play for over a year now. We’ve had a very committed group of guys and this style of play is not easy. It demands a lot of commitment, not just to the philosophy but to each other as a teammate.”

The takeaways were plentiful, but I broke it down into a few.

Injuries and Officiating

With Evander less than 100%, Portland opted to insert Cristhian Paredes in the game. Sadly, that plan quickly went awry, as the Timbers were forced to make a change in the 11th minute, with Evander coming in for Paredes.

Timbers head coach Gio Savarese said the team was “very unlucky” in terms of injuries. “We felt maybe that we still had our group to put a fight, and all of a sudden this first sprint [Paredes] gets injured,” Savarese said. He said this is the team’s second hamstring injury—the previous being to Yimmi Chará—though he is optimistic that Paredes’ is less severe.

“And then we have this situation with Evander during the week,” Savarese said. “He couldn’t train, and then we were able to make it to the game. In the game, he was feeling a little bit of groin tightness, and we didn’t want to risk in any way to get another injured player.” Saverese said the move to sub Evander out in the 69th minute was a reflection of that precaution.

“We’re very thin,” he said, “but we still have to continue to work a good fight.”

The officiating allowed physical play throughout the game without much repercussion. In a game with five yellow cards, head official Victor Rivas could have set the tone way earlier. Portland was very fortunate to not have more injuries.

St. Louis won 61.6% of duels, while the Timbers only won 38.7%. To make matters even worse, the Timbers only had nine tackles with four won, compared to St. Louis’ 29 and 17 won.

Nathan Fogaça started his first game of 2023 for the Portland Timbers versus St. Louis City SC on March 11.Photo Taken by Kris Lattimore.
Nathan Fogaça starts vs. St. Louis City SC on Mar. 11. Photo by Kris Lattimore.
Fogaça for Niezgoda 

Fogaça has provided a much-needed spark in the Timbers’ attack in each opportunity he’s received this season. He continues to have an insane work rate and relentlessness that is unmatched by any other Timber on the frontline.

Fogaça allows the Timbers to play their press higher up and consistently throughout the game, but he also has the ability to open lanes in the counterattack. This was evident early in Saturday’s match, when Fogaça almost put one away in the second minute.

The Timbers have not been able to find their trademark counterattacking this season, and it showed again this game. If they are going to sit back and counter, it has to be way better.

Fogaça should be the starter moving forward, unless another option presents. He gives them the best chance to win right now.

Jarosław Niezgoda could very well regain his finishing form, but it needs to come soon; unfortunately for Portland, he has not looked like himself this season.

CB1 and FB1: Zac McGraw and Juan Mosquera
JDM against St. Louis City SC on March 11.Photo taken by Kris Lattimore.
JDM against St. Louis City SC on Mar. 11. Photo by Kris Lattimore.

Going into the year, the Timbers’ backline was a question mark, with Juan David Mosquera and Zac McGraw being two notable exceptions. Mosquera and McGraw continue to be the two bright spots on the team.

Against St. Louis, McGraw scored his second ever goal in third minute off a beautiful corner kick by Eryk Williamson, and Mosquera routinely created chances and dominated the right side of the pitch.

Backline Changes and More of the Same

After Timbers rolled out a traditional four-back for the first two games, Savarese threw a changeup to St. Louis in the form of five defenders. The new formation allows the Timbers to maximize their attacking fullbacks in Bravo and Mosquera.

By replacing an attacker in the starting XI, the Timbers were also able to add veteran Larrys Mabiala as the third center back.

What does this formation not solve? Their set piece defending. In the 75th minute, the Portland Timbers surrendered another one, conceding their second goal of the match. If this team wants to finish in the top half of the table, this needs to be cleaned up.

Still, we must give credit to St. Louis; they played this game on their terms and made sure the Timbers were particularly ineffective coming forward.

Missing: Portland Timbers

What is this team’s identity? Where is the counterattack? Where are the dynamic runs? Where is the creativity?

Whatever product the Timbers are putting out on the pitch right now is not good enough, and there’s absolutely no rhythm to it. Portland has a lot of soul searching to do before the results start pouring in.

They can’t move forward until these questions are solved.

Standouts

Zac McGraw Opened his scoring account for 2023 and has been the best CB for Portland.

Juan David Mosquera continues to be excellent moving forward and helping on defense. As always, he was dominating the right side of the pitch and even paced the team with four chances created.

Santi Moreno led the team in four shots, with one shot on goal, and two tackles.

Santi Moreno against St. Louis on March 11.Photo taken by Kris Lattimore.
Santi Moreno against St. Louis on Mar. 11. Photo by Kris Lattimore.
Bonus Stat

On a positive note, Portland has somehow continued to find the back of the net consistently:

 

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: LAFC 3, Portland Timbers 2

Evander made his Portland Timbers regular season debut versus Sporting KC. Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

The Timbers forgot how to play soccer in the first 45 minutes, but they got their memory back in the second half. Even if it wasn’t enough for them to come away with a point against LAFC, Saturdays match saw Evander score his first goal as a Timber, and Cristhian Paredes also put his name on the score sheet.

The odds weren’t right

The Timbers went to California searching to spoil the LAFC title party, but they fell short. According to The Analyst, Portland was the underdogs, with only an 18% chance of winning against the MLS reigning champions, and they just couldn’t beat those odds.

LAFC started to move the ball fast and find spaces from the get-go, putting the entire Timbers XI to work to stop the fast transitions. Portland could only break the pressure twice before LAFC scored the first goal of the game

The host showed they can use the half spaces very well, as we could see in the previous play to the goal. It was Kellyn Acosta who sent a long pass through the half-space, full back Juan David Mosquera lost Denis Bouanga, who got to the ball before it went out, forcing Timbers goalkeeper David Bingham to make the save and send the ball to the corner.

Defending set pieces

One of the many weaknesses the Timbers showed in the first half was their defense of set pieces. That’s how Giorgio Chiellini scored the match’s first goal. Justin Rasmussen lost the mark on Chiellini, and the Italian finished with a tap. Marvin Loría and Zac McGraw contributed to the defensive mistake, obstructing one another and favoring the bouncing of the ball toward Chiellini.

Before the end of the first half hour, the hosts could’ve scored their second goal, but the referee deemed it as a foul. This time, Portland double-marked Chiellini, with McGraw helping Rasmussen. It was the latter who couldn’t clear the ball and gave LAFC’s Ryan Hollingshead the chance to tap it and score. Loría was marking him, but for some reason he stopped following Hollingshead closely and let him get to the ball. The visitors had to thank the referee for calling it off.

Not long after that, LAFC had another corner. Bingham got to punch the ball but it fell to Kwadwo Opoku. Santiago Moreno came too aggressively on him, and the referee granted the home team the PK. LAFC star Carlos Vela took it and scored, and it seemed like the Timbers would have a long afternoon.

Set pieces and defensive problems aside, some of the players looked slow when taking decisions. LA was pressing high during the entire first half, and they were taking advantage of turnovers in the midfield, which led to fast transitions in the attack. So, you would expect the Timbers to pass the ball quickly and be aware of their surroundings.

Well, that wasn’t always the case.

Moreno giveaway. Credit: Fox Sports.
Moreno giveaway. Credit: Fox Sports.

We had to wait almost 50 minutes to see a decent chance from Portland in the attack. This started with Rasmussen sending a good service to the far post. Loría headed the ball but goalkeeper John McCarthy reacted quickly and made a save with his chest. The Timbers created one more chance, but weren’t able to finish it.

Starting the second half with a bang

Just seconds after the start of the second half, Vela could’ve scored a brace, but a great tackle by McGraw denied him of the opportunity.

But LAFC was on a mission, and the slowness of some players was this time reflected in Diego Chará, when José Cifuentes stole the ball from him. The turnover led to Portland’s defense being outnumbered and to Opoku scoring. (Fun fact: Opoku was the LAFC player most involved in attacking sequences in 2022, with Vela coming in second, according to Opta.)

Defense outnumbered and bad positioning. Source: Fox Sports
Defense outnumbered and bad positioning. Source: Fox Sports

So yeah, LAFC was actually the one starting their second half with a bang.

The impact of the subs

By 54′, it was obvious the Timbers needed some subs to change the dynamic of the game… and quickly.

Župarić with the giveaway when trying to build from the back. Source: Fox Sports
Župarić with the giveaway when trying to build from the back. Source: Fox Sports

Head coach Gio Savarese moved the bench. Christian Paredes replaced Loría, Larrys Mabiala entered for Moreno, and Claudio Bravo came in for Rasmussen.

The Timbers finally put one in in minute 62 with a fast transition, outnumbering LA’s defense. Paredes showcased nice off-the-ball work, and left the ball to Evander after sucking the attention of LAFC defenders. That made it possible for the Brazilian to shoot, unmarked.

Jarosław Niezgoda didn’t have a good game in the attack. True, no Timber did in the first half, but at the end of his 72 minutes, he registered zero shots on target, zero duels won, and zero chances created, and he barely stepped a foot inside LAFC’s box.

No wonder he was replaced by Nathan Fogaça. The Brazilian didn’t do well in duels or passes—he missed three out of seven passes total and lost nine duels—but he made his presence notorious in the last 10 minutes of the game. After a corner, McCarthy couldn’t get ahold of the ball and left his goal open for Mosquera to score. The defense reacted, but Fogaça kept the ball inside the box and, by doing so, assisted Paredes.

After that, both teams could’ve scored at least one more, but the hosts kept the three points at home.

What Gio said

If anything, the game against Sporting KC showed us Savarese has some decisions to make regarding the Timbers’ starting XI.

The coach spoke about Fogaça, Paredes, and Bravo and what they brought to the game after the LAFC loss. “[Bravo] didn’t look off at all,” Savarese said. “It looked like he was comfortable, and he created a lot of good moments going forward.

“Bravo and Paredes brought a lot of energy into the team,” he said, “and I think that’s also the reason why the team elevated their level at a particular time.”

Claudio Bravo vs LAFC. Credit: Timbers FC
Congrats on your 50 games as a Timber, Claudio Bravo! Credit: Timbers FC

Fogaça surely made a case to be in the starting position next game. “Nathan is competing very well,” Savarese said, “and he’s putting himself in a situation that he’s pushing me to get more playing time.”

It is true that the Timbers were missing Sebastián Blanco, Dairon Asprilla, Felipe Mora, and Yimmy Chará, but part of the coach’s job is to find a way for the team to work without them. And this game against LAFC showed that maybe there’s a way for Savarese to do so.

Two of the things to look at are the style and system of play. “We pressed completely differently,” Saverese said. “We pressed 4-4-2 last game. We played more with a 4-3-3 [in this game] that ended up being with five midfielders. That’s why we changed, to be a little more aggressive, to press a little bit higher.”