SLOWING DOWN THE CHARGE:
New York has scored the second-most goals in all of Major League Soccer over their first two games — three in their first game against San Jose and four in their second game against Toronto. Minnesota will certainly need to slow that down if they aim to get points from this matchup. That said, it remains to be seen if New York’s early success augurs a future trend or is simply a product of a small sample size. In 2021, they scored more than two goals in just one match the entire season (September 17 against Miami). Remove games against Miami from that list and they only scored three or more goals twice in 2020 and 2021 combined!
DON'T GET CAUGHT:
Minnesota’s care in possession will also be critical to their success on Sunday. In New York’s opening two victories, they recorded just 31.9% possession combined — a clear sign of their willingness to sit back, defend, and break to devastating effect. As noted previously on these pages, the Loons also have tended to be more comfortable out of possession in previous seasons. They won the possession battle against Nashville with 54.9%, but that may have been partially motivated by dropping to a 1-0 deficit just five minutes into the game. Nashville maintained a substantial possession edge during just one five-minute section of the second half — minutes 76-80, just after Minnesota had tied the game.
SET UP TO SUCCEED:
While Hassani Dotson’s goal was correctly marked as unassisted, it came about because of a free-kick opportunity created by Emanuel Reynoso and Luis Amarilla. Minnesota bodies filled the box for Reynoso’s kick from the left side, but Amarilla remained just above the eighteen-yard box unmarked. Nashville defenders rotated to him too late after the kick, and Amarilla was able to get a shot away, leaving Dotson free to clean up the ensuing mess. The strategy of not simply sending a set-piece into the box for the heads of Michael Boxall and Bakaye Dibassy among others, but adding a wrinkle like a changed angle or Amarilla’s first-time volley, is something worth keeping an eye on. What other twists has the team figured out on the training ground? This one saved them a point.
