9/19 - NE vs ORL

New England Revolution vs Orlando City

New England beat Orlando City 4-2 in an explosive match which showcased loads of attacking talent. It was the play of a couple young superstars that caught the eye, with Peyton Miller and Justin Ellis showing exactly why they'll be joining the senior national team for the first time this week. Miller got a brace, including the game winner, while Ellis was a constant threat with his dribbling and vision. New England completely controlled the first half, coming away with a 1-0 lead. They extended their lead in a second half which was a little more back and forth. Orlando clawed their way level, only for the Revolution to add two dramatic stoppage time goals to snatch all 3 points. The result sees New England climb into second place in the East. Meanwhile, any separation between Orlando and the race for the play-in game has disappeared, with the Lions falling to seventh. It was a game which showed the difference in class between the two teams. New England are battling for second best in the conference, while Orlando are fighting to qualify for the postseason.

New England was the far superior team in the first half. What they did really well was keeping Orlando pinned into their own half. The Revs were able to do this for a couple reasons. First, they were counter pressing well. New England had committed players high, and these forward numbers were doing a good job of putting pressure on Orlando's backline when the Lions were building. Second, Ethan Kohler and Mamadou Fofana were outstanding. The New England center backs were dismantling any Orlando attack that beat the first line of pressure with timely steps or good recovery defense. New England's defensive intent when they lost the ball kept them on the front foot in the first half. This meant they were able to play the contest on their terms, and they ran the game through Carles Gil. Gil had 104 touches in this match, an absurd number for an attacking player. Only Jeppe Tverskov, who led MLS in touches in 2025, had more touches than Gil this week(aside from a few 'Quakes players, who were up a man for most of the match). This shows the extent to which New England was able to exert pitch control in the half. More importantly, it also displays New England's ability to get their talisman heavily involved in the game. The Spaniard created the most chances in the game and scored twice, continuing his brilliant campaign. As possibly the best creator in the league since he arrived, it's always going to be a good thing for the Revolution attack if Gil records triple digit touches.

Peyton Miller playing winger has been a pleasant surprise for the Revolution attack. While he is projected to be more of a fullback long term, he has slotted into an attacking position very well. The 18 year old homegrown was fantastic in this match. He exploited Orlando's high line for both of his goals with his unmatched sprint speed and well timed runs in behind. But, he was a threat when New England were possessing high up as well. Whether arriving in the box, taking on his defender, or making darting runs to the end line, Miller just gets in great spots. For a natural defender, his attacking instincts at such a young age are unreal. His emergence has been crucial for a New England side that was overly reliant on Carles Gil's magic in the first half of the season(and for the past several years, for that matter). Miller began this match at the right wing of Marko Mitrovic's 4-1-4-1. The Revs like to push numbers high, but in a controlled manner. Brooklyn Raines always stays back at the base of the midfield, allowing his partner to release into the attack. As neither outside back is overly adventurous in their positioning, the wingers are tasked with providing width. Stretching the field horizontally creates gaps in the middle for New England's numbers inside, so it's important the wingers stay wide. Miller is good at this, another reason he's been so effective as a winger. Gazdag, who began the match at left wing, isn't as inclined to operate on the touch line, so he and Miller switched sides midway through the first half. This maximized New England's width and put Miller in his more comfortable position, where he scored both of his goals from. With their balanced structure, the Revs were able to counter press high while having cover to smother Orlando on the break. This enabled them to dictate proceedings in the first half.

The second half was a more open affair. After New England added a second, they allowed Orlando to get back into the game. The Revs stopped pressing and dropped back, giving Orlando's attacking corps the opportunity to show their quality. As a result, the Lions become more and more dangerous and eventually equalized in the 88th minute. It's the second match in a row where New England has taken a 2-0 lead and been far too passive. Of course, the game state is going to mean the trailing team will be the protagonists, but the Revolution must make sure they're maintaining a proactive approach when they're ahead in the second half. But credit to New England, they won each of these games. The home side rallied in stoppage time, showing a strong mentality that will do them well in the playoffs, where they will almost certainly be playing multiple matches at Gillette Stadium. The Revs moved to second in the East with this win, and fully deserve to be in this position. It's imperative that they keep this spot in the table, as the Revolution are the second best home team in the MLS, boasting a 9-2-2 record. If they continue their impressive performances, nobody will want to come to Foxborough in late November.

Orlando, as it stands, would be the team to fly up to Foxborough for the first round of the playoffs. This match was a perfect snapshot of their season. They look great in some moments yet so fragile in other moments. Starting with their strengths, Orlando are straight up scary in attack. The amount of talent on their roster is ridiculous. Marco Pasalic, who logged 17 goal contributions in his debut season, got just his 11th start of the season in this one. Martín Ojeda notched his 12th goal of the season in just his 20th appearance. But, the most impressive of all these exciting options was 19 year old Justin Ellis. The homegrown forward's innate comfort on the ball and playmaking abilities make him dangerous whenever he touches the ball. He's been unplayable of late, single handedly creating moments for Orlando City. In this match, it was Angulo's goal, where he combined brilliantly with Ojeda before the ball fell to the Colombian. It's a great example of another characteristic that separates him: his vision. Ellis sees passes that others simply don't. Whether he's deployed up top or out wide, Ellis is consistently making a difference for Orlando City this season.

As great as Orlando are in the attacking third, they really struggled in the other phases of play against the Revolution. They just could not get out of their own half in the first 45. This is what led to Gil's first goal. They were forced into a sloppy turnover building out of the back, and the Revs quickly got the ball to Gil. Orlando's struggles were twofold: zero hold up presence from their forwards and lack of composure in midfield. Neither Ojeda nor Ellis are going to physically dominate opposing center backs; that's not what they excel at. So any long ball was easily won by Kohler and Fofana for New England. However, Ojeda and Ellis are both very comfortable dropping deeper to relieve pressure. Ellis in particular likes to do this when Orlando is building out. While it can be helpful, neither forward was occupying the Revolution center backs. This allowed them the freedom to step out and erase Orlando counterattacks. It's crucial that at least one Orlando forward makes an effort to challenge the opposing center backs because it creates space for everybody else. These are the little, thankless details that a player like Daryl Dike is so good at, and what makes a center forward complete. Without Dike, the absence of a physicality up top was painfully obvious for the Lions. They also had difficulties in midfield. Eduard Atuesta was rested from the start in this match, and it showed. They missed his calmness and ground coverage, and were unable to play their way out of pressure without the Colombian. Orlando's failure to beat New England's pressure resulted in a dismal first half where they were unable to create much of anything.

But what's plagued Orlando more than anything else this season is poor defense. The Lions have adopted a high line to make their defensive shape more compact. It did not work in this game. It wasn't just Miller outrunning the Orlando back line that led to New England's goals on the break. Orlando are too open when they give the ball away. This means they commit the cardinal sin when playing a high backline: giving the opposition time to pick a pass. In Miller's first goal, Orlando just have way too many numbers forward. Angulo and Taifi, the outside backs, are Orlando's highest two players. Kohler recovers possession for New England, and with one pass forward it's a 3 against 4. Brekalo takes a bad step and Miller has acres of space to run into. For Miller's second goal, after another Kohler takeaway, Fagundez has all day to drive down the touch line and slip Miller in on goal with a perfectly placed assist. Orlando has to get pressure on the ball carrier if they're going to keep a high line, or they're going to get punished week in, week out. Defensive errors like these have been common for Orlando all season, and it's why they have allowed 60 goals. That's 28th in the league, and just 3 off the worst mark in MLS. After getting bounced in the US Open Cup at the hands of the Columbus Crew on Wednesday, it was a disappointing week for the Lions. With their inability to defend, Orlando's chances for a trophy this season are looking increasingly slim.