Post match: ups! I did it again

The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the Portland Timbers 4: 1 thanks to 4 goal contributions from Jayden Nelson. I will keep it real with you, even in my wildest fantasies I would never have predicted it.

Now we should be honest, have a lot of things for the white caps in this game, which you cannot count on in the future. Portland is reduced to 10 men early to be the most obvious example. But I think the greater influence was that Portland seemed to have no idea how to react to it. Even 20 minutes after the red card, Phil Neville and his coaching team still called the players to the page lines for new tactical instructions and they have only reduced two goals. Other teams certainly offer stiff resistance. Maxime Crepeau disapproved of a pass and Pedro Vite, who picked the upper corner at the right time to hit demoralizing blows, also played in the hands of the Whitecaps.

But even taking happiness into account, the whitecaps attack the wood absolutely. On the MLS website, the Whitecaps wins the XG Battle 3.6-0.7. Unless something crazy happens in the Galaxy/San Diego game that the biggest beat of the weekend is a lot. My greatest concern when Jesper Sørensen came in and announced a more owned system was that we would drive a lot around our back, but only limited penetration. That was certainly not a problem today! MLS has a very strong inclination of Heimatfeld. The vast majority of the teams have a negative expected goal difference on the street in the course of a season, and even bad teams are usually much harder at home. Going onto the street and delivering such a spanking is a serious shot about the bug for the Western Conference, even if happiness is involved. It's a game, so we have to see how this develops, but it is an incredibly good start to the season.

How legitimate is Jayden Nelson? I would say that his first two templates, although intelligent games, were not necessarily the result of a penetrating attack game. But his third support and his goal were absolutely and there were also good chances a few other times. Put aside for a moment when Nelson put his TFC goal in a appearance for Vancouver in the shade, and become even more impressive when we see how many shots he has created. In his time with TFC, Nelson achieved an average of 2.24 fir contributions (shots of him and times when he passed the ball on to someone who then shot). In his 60 minutes of action today he had 8. All reservations about the craziness of the game apply, but the promising appearances before the season look much less like a coincidence.

Pedro Vite really seems to be in his new role. I think he aroused a lot of unfair criticism last season when his goal posts were dried up after playing in a lower position. But being back in the attack site #8 seems to give Vite the scope for glow.

Most recently, I liked the game of Jevan Badwal and Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau in their Cameo appearances. Badwal had some defensive interventions and a few quick passes. The Chateau showed a good hustle and bustle and had a good chance thanks to a nice movement outside the ball. I don't expect a super-star level game from one of these boys this season, but if you can play here and there for a few minutes and give net-positive participants, this helps Vancouver's deep situation considerably.

Related