Revolution v. Red Bulls: Three thoughts

The New England Revolution collected full points on Saturday night when they bested the New York Red Bulls 1-0. Here are three thoughts from the game.

1. That goal was very 2018. The game-winner was scored in the 73rd minute when Cristian Penilla slipped his shot past goalkeeper Luis Robles. It was a play that we’ve seen before, as a Revs defender (Jalil Anibaba) made an interception before finding the team’s No. 10 (Carles Gil). From there it didn’t take long for the ball to get towards net as Gil played Juan Fernando Caicedo, who played Penilla. The goal was scored on a fast break like many that we saw in 2018.
2. The Revolution attackers need to be more selfish. Penilla’s 2019 hasn’t been great, but he’s still a dangerous player. The speedy midfielder wants to go forward and take people on. When he has the space, he won’t hesitate to take a shot. That’s more than you can say for the team’s other attackers, who sometimes pass too much or are too slow to shoot. On Saturday, Juan Agudelo had a good look on goal but chose to cross to Diego Fagundez. Fagundez had a separate chance that he fired over the net. A week ago, J. Caicedo failed to get his shot off because he took too many touches. Penilla’s shot on Saturday should’ve been saved, but Robles made a mistake that gave the Revs three points. If nothing else, that moment is a reminder that you have to shot to score.
3. It’s the type of win you’d expect from a team that needed to break a slump. The Revs-Red Bulls game wasn’t particularly entertaining as both teams struggled in the sloppy conditions. That said, the Revs stayed compact and took a “bend don’t break” approach to their defense. Saturday’s result will do little to ease the minds of Revs fans but the team should be happy with their performance. The players stuck together and did what needed to be done.