Since everyone’s head has been in the international break for the past two weeks, now seems like a good time to go around the league team-by-team to pick out some trends and get a broader overview rather than the usual breakdowns that purely focus on the weekend’s games*. Let’s familiarize ourselves with everyone to a decent degree, shall we?
(*) Though, of course, I will be using the games themselves as a framework to talk about the teams in question.
Chicago Fire 0-0 FC Dallas
The biggest news here from a Fire perspective is that Xherdan Shaqiri limped off injured midway through the first half. Shaqiri’s been pretty good – he’s getting a ton of the ball and is involved in a lot of the good stuff the Fire are doing, even if he’s not exactly been an incisive, irresistible force out there. I like 18-year-old Homegrown Brian Gutierrez a lot, but if he’s got to do Shaqiri’s job for a prolonged period of time an already somewhat lacking Chicago attack could be in a bit of trouble.
The good news, though, is that the defense is extremely well-organized, focused and compact, and remained so even without veteran CB Rafa Czichos in this one (he missed the game for health and safety protocols). Gaga Slonina’s been getting a ton of the credit for the Fire having conceded just once in five games, and he deserves much of it, but most of the time it feels like I could be in goal and pitch a shutout with the way this team has defended.
As per Second Spectrum’s tracking data, they’re third in the league in xG allowed in transition. Combine that with the elimination of the types of errors that killed them the past few years (Calvo!!!!!!!), and it’s understandable that they’re posting lots of zeroes.
Also, Wyatt Omsberg is maybe the leading candidate for Breakout Player of the Year.
Dallas are also a much-improved defensive team over last season. Part of it is Matt Hedges being back and healthy, and part of it has been Nico Estevez’s newly constructed midfield just being better about understanding spacing both with and without the ball. Buzz over at 3rddegree.net had a great look at how Homegrown d-mid Edwin Cerrillo has played a particularly significant role in this defensive rebirth (and yes, it was a little bit weird that he didn’t start against the Fire).
Los Toros Tejanos weren’t sharp enough in the final third to break down Chicago’s well-drilled defense on Saturday, which is perhaps not surprising given that Dallas were without Paul Arriola (he’ll be gone for a couple of weeks) and Jesus Ferreira (he came in as a second-half sub following his time with the USMNT).
But even with those guys on the field they have sometimes struggled to turn the possession wrought by Estevez’s intricate system into goals. Keep an eye on that.
FC Cincinnati 3, CF Montreal 4
The day after coughing up four goals and multiple leads at home is not exactly a day for celebration, but Cincy really do have something to celebrate, because not only is Brandon Vazquez leading the Golden Boot race, but the underlying numbers say that he actually is, in fact, an elite forward in this league. He just has a knack for finding chances, and guys who find chances at a good clip generally figure out a way to finish them. And Vazquez, it should be noted, is more than just a finisher.
In addition to his goal in this one, Vazquez forced an own goal, dimed a cross to Dom Badji’s head for what should’ve been an assist, and had a handful of little moments like that one.
Between his form ending last season and what he’s shown to…
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