“I’m extremely proud of my guys. We deserved something from the game, but it comes down to moments. They had one more key moment than we did and they scored from a quality chance, and Lloris made some huge saves for them.”
FCD head coach Eric Quill
FC Dallas went to a place they have never won, and still haven’t won. But the 1-0 loss was a good performance, one that can be built on. FCD isn’t a cup contender, LAFC is, but FCD is improving.
With the demise of the deep stats on FBref, I was kind of high and dry. Peter Welpton recommended Fotmob, which I’ve never been a big fan of, so I’m going to give it another try.
Lineups and Tactics… And Goals
Reminder: I used to do two sections in this space with lineups, tactics, and goals. But since Chris Winters has moved up with us and is doing game reports on FC Dallas. Go read his post for all those elements. I will concentrate on the Good, the Middle, and the Bad.
Lo Bueno
My Man of the Match for FC Dallas was Michael Collodi. And it wasn’t his 5 saves, which were nice. It was his presence, the way he carried himself. His body language spoke to his team, “I’ve got this,” and they fed off of it. Great job by “the “Rambo” Collodi. Where’s that headband at?
Excellent job by the FCD defense in the collective back 5. They limited LAFC to just 8 shots, and it took a worldie from David Martinez to win the game. FCD had a better xG (1.2 to 0.93 via Fotmob), more touches in the opposition box (30 to 16), and more shots inside the box (10 to 5). They forced LAFC to shoot from range, a good strategy against the LA stars. In fact, they did such a good job keeping LA out of the middle that Osaze Urhoghide had the fewest defensive contributions of any of the FCD backs.
“I liked the way we executed the game plan. We were front-footed and did everything I asked. I’m happy with how we went about the game. I think our fans should be proud of the direction we’re heading.”
Coach Quill
Christian Cappis‘ decision-making in the midfield is excellent, almost Asir Illarramendi like. Look, Cappis isn’t Illarra, who spent over a decade at the high levels, but the choices Cappis is making are dictating pace, breaking lines (via dribble and pass), relieving pressure, and linking play. More on him down below.
When asked to sit in the middle and keep it simple, Ramiro once again excelled. As the stay-at-home protector of the back line, he led FCD with 12 defensive contributions, 2nd most in the game. 3 tackles, 2 intercepts, 1 block, 4 recoveries, and 3 clearances. He also passed it at a 93% clip.
Congrats, Ricky Louis, on the MLS debut.
“Oh, it feels great. Unfortunately, we got the loss, but it was still an amazing experience. I’m thankful to the coaching staff for letting me be on the field. All glory to God. Just being there, training hard and learning, shows that hard work pays off. I’ve dreamed of this since I was a kid, so I’m happy my debut finally happened. It’s all about working hard, keeping focused, and hoping for the best.”
Ricky Louis
Can’t believe FCD traded Nkosi Tafari for a bag of balls. Dude is now one of the key defenders for a true MLS Cup contender. 5 clears, 3 head clears, 5 recoveries, 1 tackle, 1 intercept, 1 block, 85% passing, and 4 passes into the final third.
Camino del Medio
The switchfoot wingbacks thing was interesting. It helped Bernie Kamungo, who had his best game of the season playing on the right with 5/7 dribbles and 9/13 ground duels (which is amazing, as he always stinks on the right). Now that’s not to say it was good, but it was an improvement. Unfortunately, the swap declawed Herman Monster Johansson. You can see what boss he is on the right when he swapped back later. 87% passing, 5 passes into the final third, 3/4 crosses, 2 tackles, 2 recoveries, 3 clears, and 2 headed clears.
One side benefit of the swap, Sebastien Ibeagha didn’t spend the whole game yelling at his left wingback.
First impression of Joaquín Valiente wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great as he had little game impact. 73 minutes, 25 touches, .06 xA, just 69% passing, 1 chance created, 2 passes into the box, 3 recoveries, 3/5 ground duels, and 4 defensive contributions. He’s supposed to be the 10, compare him to linking-8 Cappis, who had 89 touches (and his team’s confidence), a standout 83% passing, near the same .08 xA, the same 1 chance created and 3 recoveries, with 5 defensive contributions and 4/7 ground duels. So, while I don’t dislike the 8-style performance by Valiente, it can be better to match Cappis or even more 10-like, getting forward and creating.
“We felt good and felt like we were the protagonists in the game. We created some clear chances, but unfortunately, they didn’t go into the net. Despite the loss, which wasn’t what we came here for, I’m pleased with the effort and attitude the team showed.”
Joaquín Valiente, giving a non-answer
Hard to blame anyone for this absolute banger of a goal. If I were to be nitpicky, I would like a 6 who could close really quickly, but that ain’t Ramiro. He is what he is. Getting a player like him, but rangy and quick, costs a lot of money.
Muy Feo
FCD did a poor job of finishing their chances. They are going to look back on this game and think, “What if?” 15 shots, 10 in the box, but just 5 on target. Yes, Hugo Lloris was good. He was probably LAFC’s man of the match, which is why you have to get more shots on target. 3 to 1 isn’t a good enough shot-to-on-target ratio; FCD needs that to be at 50%. Logan Farrington should have scored with this xG of .48, although he spent a little too much time in the middle with just 2 touches in the box. Petar Musa will be even more frustrated with his 10 touches in the box only generating 1 shot on target and a .4 xG.
“I felt like we were knocking on the door. Our guys looked like they were enjoying themselves, fighting hard, and believing in what we were doing. The positives are all over the place. We’re better than being held out of scoring for two games. We created chances, and I really like the team’s performance, how we’re training, and how we approach games like this.”
Coach Quill
Instant Reaction – 3 Things
