Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC
Saturday night’s match will be defined by two words for Nashville SC — “so close.”
On two occasions, it seemed almost certain that the Boys and Gold would manage to salvage a point after going down 2-0 to the New England Revolution. However, a saved penalty kick off the boot of Hany Mukhtar and a deflection that bounced off the post in the 90+3’ minute kept Nashville’s equalizer off the board, resulting in Nashville losing to the lowest club in the table, 2-1.
Initial Thoughts
Despite entering the match riding a four-match unbeaten streak, Saturday almost felt like a must-win for Nashville. The Boys and Gold were at home against a Revolution squad that had managed only seven points through 13 matches, the worst mark in Major League Soccer. New England had scored nine goals on the season, conceded 26 times and managed only three wins.
Nashville attacked early, pressing high and breaking quickly, just as it did in Wednesday night’s win over Cincinnati. The central midfield duo of Sean Davis and Aníbal Godoy once again ventured further of the pitch and supplemented the attack as it did in its previous outing. Unfortunately, this advanced position in tandem with a Nashville turnover and soft defending is what led to New England’s second goal of the match.
Jacob Shaffelburg was also sorely missed in Nashville’s Starting XI. The Canadian was subbed on in the 62’ minute, and while Alex Muyl and Tyler Boyd were sufficient enough on the wings (combining for five shots and four chances created), the spark that Shaffelburg supplies his squad is unique and was not replicated by the others.
Upon the conclusion of the match, Nashville finished with 3.36 xG compared to New England’s 0.63 xG. To come away with nothing after registering nearly three expected goals more than the opposition is the type of thing that will keep Nashville and its fans up at night.
The Run of Play
New England needed only 18 minutes to find the opening goal, and of course it was the 2021 MLS MVP who accounted for the score, Carlos Gil. Lackadaisical defending and ball chasing by four or five members of the Nashville defense was to blame on the play as Gil ran parallel to the 18-yard-box. Each Nashville man passed the gifted Gil off to the next man, but nobody initiated a tackle as Gil found a shooting lane and buried his shot.
Three minutes later, Alex Muyl nearly equalized right in front of goal, but his shot rose well clear the crossbar. The attempt was worth 0.52 xG.
A first half that did not go Nashville’s way quickly turned disastrous in the second half when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic doubled the visitors’ lead in the 51’ minute. Again, Nashville failed to engage with a Revolution attacker and paid the price as Bajraktarevic took the space allotted him and delivered for his side.
Chaos immediately ensued when Nashville promptly charged back down the pitch, and amid a plethora of blocked shots, Shaq Moore’s attempt pinged off the hand of a New England defender. Referee Ismail Elfath pointed to the spot and flashed New England a red card for the denial of a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, but following video review, the red card was correctly rescinded in favor of a yellow card.
Not only did the Revolution escape playing the remainder of the match with 10 men, but Hany Mukhtar’s penalty attempt was saved, keeping the scoreline at 2-0.
However, New England would be whistled for another penalty in the 78’ minute against Walker Zimmerman, and this time, Mukhtar made no mistake. Mukhtar looked the goalkeeper right and opted to send his shot left, tunneling his shot into the bottom corner of the net.
An equalizer evaded Nashville by an inch in the 90+3’ minute when a Mukhtar shot deflected off a New England defender and off the post. The ricochet fell to Shaffelburg whose follow-up was subsequently blocked and guided to safety.
Key Takeaways
1) Nashville’s defenders looked incredibly timid in one-on-one defending scenarios apart from Walker Zimmerman. While a defender does not want to be circumvented mid-lunge when acting as the final man between the shooter and the goal, far too much space was allotted to New England with the ball and Nashville paid for its lack of aggression.
2) Very little of the creativity that Nashville SC displayed in Wednesday’s win was evident vs. New England. Sam Surridge only totaled six touches inside the Revolution’s penalty area and Mukhtar was covered tightly from the starting whistle, unable to create and facilitate Nashville’s transition offense. Rumba Munthali and his coaching staff will be hard at work to unlock those two ahead of a tough matchup with New York Red Bulls in two weeks.
3) This loss for Nashville is one of its worst losses in recent memory, right alongside the 5-0 thrashing it suffered in Los Angeles on March 23. To follow up its odds-defying win over Cincinnati four days ago with this performance, a performance in which it left so much on the table against the worst club in the league, will require a confidence-inspiring bounce back of epic proportions.
3.5) Here’s a bonus one for you. It’s not very professional, but perfectly sums up this match — Nashville SC did not deserve to win, but was almost unlucky not to win at the same time. That’s soccer baby.
Man of the Match
Walker Zimmerman earns our Man of the Match vote here. The captain was terrific, winning 15 of his 18 duels, 67% of his tackles, logging five clearances and making six recoveries. Zimmerman also blocked a shot and earned a penalty for Nashville to boot.
