Revs looking to get Bou up to speed after injury

Gustavo Bou returned to the starting lineup on Saturday after missing last weekend’s game against Atlanta United. It was a quiet night for the Argentine striker but the hope is that we’ll see improvement in the coming weeks.

“It wasn’t his best for sure,” head coach Bruce Arena remarked after the Revolution’s 1-0 loss to Nashville SC. “I think missing what would be two weeks today since the last game set him back a little bit. You know that typically happens when a player recovers from an injury so we got to get him back in form.”

Bou contributed 75 minutes, collecting one shot and one key pass. He had 31 touches and completed 78% of his passes.

The 31-year-old scored the equalizer in the season opener against the Chicago Fire, giving him one tally on the year. That said, La Pantera has been less active in 2021, averaging 1.33 shots per game (4 shots, 2 on goal, 1 goal) compared to 3.55 (64 shots, 22 on goal, 5 goals) in 2020, and 4.36 (61 shots, 25 on goal, 9 goals) in 2019.

Of course, it’s still early in the season and Bou is being asked to adjust to playing alongside Adam Buksa in a 4-4-2. It’s also worth noting that there have only been eleven MLS games (league and postseason) where all three Designated Players have appeared.

This gives hope that the chemistry among the attackers will grow in the coming weeks.

“I think each game and each week they keep on getting better and better and improving as a cohesive group, those three guys,” Andrew Farrell said. “As the season goes along, they’re going to keep on improving. So we’ll just keep on looking forward to those guys carrying us to the next level and improving and winning us games.”