Soccer <\/p>\n
Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire returns to the Pacific Northwest, this time heading to Stumptown where the Portland Timbers<\/a> host a St. Louis CITY SC<\/a> side that\u2019s in the middle of a reboot just a week and a half after dismissing head coach Olof Mellberg<\/a> (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That reboot is currently being helmed by interim head coach David Critchley, who got things off to a good start with a late, dramatic \u2013 and very, very necessary \u2013 2-1 home win<\/a> over the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> last weekend. They played like a team with something to prove, which was a nice change from what they\u2019d previously looked like under Mellberg.<\/p>\n With Portland, it\u2019s not a reboot but an evolution. Head coach Phil Neville is still trying to find the right mix in the right formation with the right game model. There have been some ups and downs, and it feels like this group is still searching.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland Timbers<\/strong><\/p>\n St. Louis CITY SC<\/strong><\/p>\n They spent most of April and May on the road, scratching and clawing to keep their heads above water \u2013 which they did \u2013 but mostly failing to build any sort of momentum. It was very much a grind.<\/p>\n That gave way to a stretch in which they\u2019re mostly at home, playing in the friendly confines of Providence Park four times in five outings from May 28 to July 5. They already kicked off that stretch with a good result \u2013 last Wednesday\u2019s 2-1 win<\/a> over the Colorado Rapids<\/a>. We saw, in that game, more of Da Costa\u2019s growth, as he\u2019s started to do a lot of the No. 10 things that elevate the play of the guys around him, and some important rotation-related things are being figured out.<\/p>\n What I\u2019m saying is everything seems to be aligning for the Timbers to build the momentum they\u2019ve been craving for the past three months, and to start climbing the Western Conference standings. If they\u2019re going to do it, this is the part of the schedule where it makes the most sense.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Mellberg made righting the defensive wrongs of the past few years his top priority, and even with B\u00fcrki injured \u2013 he really spent most of the past two years being superhuman \u2013 there was some improvement at the start of the season.<\/p>\n But that came at the cost of attacking productivity, and it all turned out to be a mirage anyway. By the time the calendar hit May, just cramming as many center backs as possible into the XI and putting numbers behind the ball was no longer enough. CITY were taking weekly beatings. Hartel, Cedric Teuchert<\/a> and Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/a> were left to carry the attack and couldn\u2019t, the midfield lacked direction without Eduard L\u00f6wen<\/a>, and none of the wingbacks created any sort of meaningful width.<\/p>\n Add in a massive and honestly fairly damning reluctance to play young players (nobody under the age of 24 got on the field for St. Louis until Matchday 8, and we\u2019re talking about a market here that produces as much local talent as anyone), and that was that.<\/p>\n Critchley reversed basically all of the above in his first outing last weekend \u2013 two center backs, overlapping fullbacks, attackers given freedom to attack, kids getting playing time, etc.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a masterpiece of a performance, but it sure felt like a good start. And the fans, both in the stadium and online, showed their approval.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland: Is the Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez era coming to an end?<\/strong><\/p>\n Perhaps it already is?<\/p>\n Very, very quietly \u2013 at least from a national perspective \u2013 the Uruguayan DP has played just 149 minutes this season. A year ago, he scored 16 goals and added seven assists after arriving on a (depending on who you trust) $4-6 million transfer from LIGA MX powerhouse Club Am\u00e9rica.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>‘s talent is unquestioned. It\u2019s his knee that\u2019s the issue.<\/p>\n So what happens next, with the transfer window set to open in less than a month? Rodr\u00edguez occupies one of the two DP spots at the Timbers\u2019 disposal \u2013 they opted for the U22 model \u2013 and his contract is guaranteed through 2026.<\/p>\n If he\u2019s not able to contribute in the short or medium term, which would be a real shame for everyone involved, can Portland maneuver to open the DP spot? Something to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n St. Louis: Can this group get back to being aggressive\u2026 defensively?<\/strong><\/p>\n Think back to the St. Louis CITY (or the current Philadelphia Union<\/a>) of Bradley Carnell.<\/p>\n What stood\/stands out? Direct play that skips lines (go back and watch Jo\u00e3o Klauss\u2019 opener last weekend<\/a> against San Jose). Then, if the second ball or possession is lost, a collective intensity and aggression to hunt the ball down and win it back in advantageous spots to go again.<\/p>\n Basically, put the opponent under pressure closer to their own goal and goal-scoring opportunities follow. The metric often used to measure pressing intensity is PPDA (passes per defensive action).<\/p>\n Guess who\u2019s talking about PPDA after one game in charge?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n David Critchley proactively brought up his team\u2019s PPDA from this past week and if you\u2019ve ever listened to me on @FlyoverFooty<\/a>, you\u2019ll believe me when I tell you my eyes lit up at that topic.<\/p>\n CITY was 4th lowest in MLS this past week in PPDA, per Critch. #AllForCITY<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matt Baker (@MattBakerSTL) June 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Under Mellberg, CITY were more \u201cin a shell\u201d than \u201cbreaking the other team\u2019s shell.\u201d I\u2019m curious to see to what degree the group is asked or able to revert back to the old St. Louis under Critchley (and beyond).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland Timbers<\/strong><\/p>\n Neville\u2019s been somewhat flexible with the formation this year, coming out of the gates in a 3-4-2-1 \u2013 they struggled with their defensive triggers \u2013 then eventually moving into what\u2019s been a much more natural 4-2-3-1 with Da Costa pulling the strings and the wingers stretching the field both vertically and horizontally. Still, though, the 3-4-2-1 club is in the bag and Neville\u2019s been willing to play it when necessary.<\/p>\n The wingers stretching the field is most important because last year (and the year before, and the year before that) Portland\u2019s fatal flaw was the recklessness with which they threw one or both fullbacks up on the overlap, fatally compromising their rest defense and overall team structure with shocking regularity.<\/p>\n That led to a lot of turnovers, which led to a lot of five-alarm fires for the central midfield to put out. Ayala and Diego Chara<\/a> couldn\u2019t handle all of them.<\/p>\n This year they\u2019re keeping the fullbacks deeper and putting most of the responsibility for creating attacking width on the wingers. Not all, mind you; right back Juan Mosquera<\/a> is still a weapon when he gets forward. They\u2019re just asking him to be more selective about it (it\u2019s a low bar).<\/p>\n Because of all this, they\u2019ve been better at limiting opposing transition moments. It\u2019s resulted in measurable year-over-year improvement.<\/p>\n Mostly, though, the 4-2-3-1 has allowed them to get the ball in good spots to punish teams in transition, no matter if the wingers have been wide or narrow:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ???????? Antony finishes off a lethal counter to level the score. ????<\/p>\n That’s 5 goals in 5 games against the Rapids for the Brazilian. ???? pic.twitter.com\/gdyOgH6WVG<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This is who they are. They\u2019re mid-table in possession but down near the bottom of the league in field tilt because they want to create that space to run into. Doing that suits Da Costa, Antony and center forwards Felipe Mora<\/a> and Kevin Kelsy<\/a>. It works pretty well for Santi Moreno<\/a>, and it means Ayala and Chara (or Joao Ortiz<\/a> lately, as Chara has missed time with a muscle strain) don\u2019t have to do quite so much work.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a simple plan, but quite effective.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis CITY SC<\/strong><\/p>\n Similar, I think? Critchley scrapped Mellberg\u2019s 3-4-2-1 for a 4-2-3-1 in his first outing, and his players were actually allowed to cross midfield, which was a nice change. Seriously, St. Louis increased their number of passes in the final third, from Mellberg\u2019s last game to Critchley\u2019s first, by almost 60%.<\/p>\n That\u2019s an announcement, especially when combined with how CITY actually only played center backs at center back last weekend, instead of scattering them all over the backline and midfield. This team is going to attack more and they\u2019re going to throw numbers forward to do it.<\/p>\n Basic stuff that’s also necessary! And with L\u00f6wen\u2019s return \u2013 he\u2019s the midfield tempo-setter and organizer who makes everyone\u2019s job easier \u2013 it should become progressively more effective.<\/p>\n What I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll be is overly complex. Critchley obviously didn\u2019t get a preseason to work with the team, so it\u2019d be difficult to install a Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a>-esque system on the fly.<\/p>\n What I\u2019d expect instead is something that has two keys:<\/p>\n In practice that means the left back (probably Jayden Reid<\/a>) will play higher, getting forward on the overlap so Hartel has someone to combine with, and Teuchert (if healthy) will play underneath the 9 as a sort of raumdeuter.<\/p>\n He was so great at finding those spots last year:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This year, St. Louis mostly haven’t pushed enough numbers forward to get opposing backlines scrambling like that.<\/p>\n We saw that start to change against the Quakes. My hunch is there\u2019s more of it to come.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Plenty of rest since their last outing means this will be close to the Timbers\u2019 best XI that Neville gets to put out. I\u2019m including goalkeeper James Pantemis<\/a>, who\u2019s been out since April, but not DP attacker Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez (knee).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Gonna assume Teuchert is healthy and Kessler is good to go 90 minutes after his return. I could also see Critchley flip C\u00e9lio Pompeu<\/a> to the right wing after the left\/right balance didn\u2019t quite work last weekend.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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