The three-goal win on Saturday came about in large part due to the success of a formation adopted early in the season. The 5-3-2 which Coach Wayne Rooney placed on the field relies heavily on the high work rate of its wide defenders who must carry an attack down the wings only when it is safe to do so. While he has occasionally strayed from that formation, he averred, “We changed the shape a little bit and invited them to play in the middle of the pitch.”
Saturday’s was the first game where the discipline necessary to make the formation work was on full display. The common pattern in MLS has been to leave one wide side almost vacant in a half-width approach. While that does encourage a monotonous series of switching the ball from side to side, it tends to run the entire midfield into more fatigue which in turn might lead to errors to be exploited.
The reason that Cincinnati was stifled can be seen in the rarity of forays forward by Andy Najar and Pedro Santos. If one were to take random snapshots of United’s formation, a vast majority would show a neat 5-3-2 opposing Cincinnati as soon as they controlled the ball. As the wide defenders maintained their width, the opponent was inevitably persuaded to turn their attacks inside where the three midfielders provided congestion.
This put Cincinnati’s engine, Luciano Acosta, under constant pressure which stifled his creativity. While he is industrious and seeks space to operate as he willingly takes on one or two players, their numbers cause him to turn over possession frequently. The coach explained his former teammate’s style, ”He likes to get the ball to feet and plays through balls, balls in behind, shots on goal.”
Contrast his creativity with that of Taxi Fountas who relies on his teammates to feed his attacks when he finds the space to receive a dangerous pass. His approach is one of the opportunist, popping up to challenge at random moments or sneaking into a space carelessly vacated by a defender.
While Acosta seeks to feed others and work with width, Fountas tends to the direct attack. He is enabled to do so because of the industriousness of the wide defenders when they surge forward and especially when DC’s long outlet passes are deliberately aimed at Christian Benteke, a powerful hold-up presence.
From the width, the experienced Najar will move into attack more often than Santos, his counterpart on the left. Najar attacks aggressively similarly to Fountas and thereby upsets defensive schemes by beating first one and then another defender. However, in this game, it was Santos who snuck in from the side to finish the first goal.
He described his understanding, “The coach, he always says that if we do the right things well, if we get the shape right, we are a hard team to play through – – – Offensively he always gives us freedom to go to the box and try things to score goals.”
Still one game below five hundred and barely in the final playoff spot, DC moves on to play at a strong Nashville side this Saturday, followed by a middling Dallas side on the 4th of July.
