Bruce Arena not concerned with lack of chances against D.C. United

Saturday’s 1-0 win over D.C. United was a much better overall performance compared to their first game of the season but there was one area of their game that could use some work.

New England struggled to create any chances in their first game at Gillette Stadium in 2021. The Revs entered halftime with only three total shots and just one was on target. After 90 minutes, New England’s total only increased to a measly six shots with only a total of two shots being on target.

Revolution Head Coach and Sporting Director Bruce Arena opened up his postgame press conference stating that there was too much fouling which made it difficult to get the attack going.

Still, the fact that New England won due to an own goal might have fans nervous. D.C. was shorthanded and the Revs are a much better squad. It was rather lucky for the club to walk away with three points seeing that they failed to get things going in the final third.

Arena was asked about the lack of chances for New England and it’s not something that he will be losing sleep over.

“No. I’m not,” Arena said when asked if he was concerned about the lack of chances. “Again, I don’t know if you saw the game tonight, but it was very difficult for us to get in to the final third of the field without being fouled. It hurt our ability to create in the attack, but at times, if we were a little bit sharper, we would’ve been a lot more dangerous. So, give D.C. [United] credit. That’s the way they play. They try to disrupt their opponent and they did a good job with it. I’m not concerned about our attack. I think, when we play other teams, the games are going to look a little different as well.”

Overall New England should be happy with how they played. They showed that they were the better team and forced D.C. to be on the defensive.

The Revs also had three players make their first start in their MLS career. Wilfrid Kaptoum, Christian Mafla, and Arnór Traustason all played well, but they are still trying to improve their chemistry with their new teammates.

Anytime a club walks away with three points they should be happy, but if New England wants to compete with some of the best MLS clubs, they will need to do better.

The Revolution will have a golden opportunity to prove that they are contenders and not pretenders in their next game as Atlanta United will be making the trip to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, May 1st.