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3 takeaways from Revolution’s 2-1 win over Atlanta United

Theo

Giacomo Vrioni celebrates after scoring for the Revolution in the 2-1 win over Atlanta United. By MLS/New England Revolution

The Revolution overcame a weekend loss to Columbus with a 2-1 comeback victory over Atlanta United on Wednesday night.

A pair of goals from centre-forward Giacomo Vrioni were enough to overcome the visitors, who also got a late goal from Daniel Rios to force some tense moments in added time before New England officially clinched the victory.

Caleb Porter’s team has now won five of its last six games and, after sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference for several months, is now just two points off the playoff line (currently held by Atlanta).

Here are some points to remember:

The first half was marked by flashes of brilliance and general domination.

The Revolution entered the night without team captain Carles Gil, who missed his second straight game with what the team called a leg injury. Porter said afterward he hoped Gil would be back next week but doubted he would play in the team’s next game in Seattle on Saturday.

New England got back one of their many injured players, winger Dylan Borrero. The talented 22-year-old Colombian was the most involved player in the game in the first 45 minutes in terms of touches, and helped the Revolution build play in midfield while providing explosive attacks down the left wing.

Like New England, Atlanta was also without its star player. Thiago Almada, who is reportedly negotiating his exit from the club (potentially swapping his job to Botafogo in Brazil), did not play for Atlanta. In fact, neither of the two players who scored in Atlanta’s 4-1 win in the teams’ previous meeting in March were available Saturday (forward Giorgos Giakoumakis, who scored a hat-trick in the previous game, has since left Atlanta for Cruz Azul in Liga MX).

While United were able to generate a few chances through full-backs Caleb Wiley and Brooks Lennon, it was New England who created the better chances (with Vrioni converting the goal to give his side a 2-0 lead at half-time).

Combining defensive pressure with quick combination passes in midfield, the Revolution were the protagonists for most of the first 45 minutes. New England completed 33% more passes in Atlanta’s half (117) than in their own (78), indicating they played much of the first half on the front foot.

Giacomo Vrioni has once again shown incredible talent. Consistency remains elusive.

Vrioni, the 25-year-old New England forward, was the team’s only designated player on the field Wednesday (with Gil and Tomas Chancalay out).

And on a night when the Revolution needed Vrioni to step up to the plate, he did more than that. His first goal, which started from a vertical pass via DeJuan Jones, was created from a dazzling sequence of dribbling in which he split two Atlanta defenders before calmly scoring at the near post, beating former US international Brad Guzan.

The second goal further highlighted New England’s collective quality in the first half. After a prolonged sequence in Atlanta’s half, the Revolution recovered a loose ball in midfield and connected several passes. After moving the ball from one side of the field to the other (and back again), Noel Buck curled a perfect cross from the right side to the back post where Vrioni snuck in. The Italian-Albanian applied a deft finish for his second goal of the night, and the Revolution fans were in raptures.

It’s easy to simply give Vrioni credit for scoring twice in a win, but the fact remains that he missed several other valuable opportunities in front of goal. And after a prodigious night in Saturday’s loss to Columbus, consistency remains Vrioni’s strong suit.

If he can play consistently like he did in the first half on Wednesday, New England could be a playoff contender. If not, they’ll have a hard time reaching the playoffs.

The second half once again showed that there was still a lot of work to be done.

Just as the recent winning streak has been a recurring reminder of the talent and potential of New England’s roster, the second-half performances in many of these games have been timely reminders that the team is far from a perfect product.

While the Revolution players (particularly in midfield) seem to be gaining confidence in Porter’s system each week, the second-half dips in performance have been concerning.

For no apparent reason, other than perhaps fatigue, New England abandoned the defensive approach that had proven successful up until then (pressing) in favor of a deeper line that increasingly invited Atlanta to move forward.

The visitors enjoyed 62% possession in the final 45 minutes, generating a 7-0 advantage from corners, among other things. In the end, timely defending and a few quality saves from Revolution goalkeeper Alijaz Ivacic proved enough to preserve another one-goal victory.

If Porter’s team wants to continue to evolve, they will need to find better answers in the second half to continue to control the game. This will be partly solved by simply getting Gil back into the lineup, but the team’s collective mentality to keep the pressure on clearly still has room to improve.

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