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3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 5-1 Leagues Cup win over Atlético San Luis
Giacomo Vrioni had his most prolific game since coming to New England.
The Revolution hammered Liga MX side Atlético San Luis 5-1 on Wednesday night, ensuring a spot in the knockout stage of the Leagues Cup.
New England forward Giacomo Vrioni scored a hat-trick (his first as a member of the Revolution) as Bruce Arena’s team fired in four first-half goals.
Here are a few takeaways from a night Revolution fans undoubtedly enjoyed:
Was this a breakthrough game for Giacomo Vrioni?
It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Vrioni since joining the Revolution a little over 12 months ago. Between injuries and sporadic playing time, it’s been hard to know exactly what to expect from the 24-year-old.
Yet he’s shown flashes of his ability as a potentially dominant center forward at times, and was finally able to put it all together on Wednesday night.
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While Bobby Wood has been a productive addition at forward for New England in 2023 — and offers energy both in and out of possession — Vrioni appears to have a higher ceiling. Getting him in rhythm has the potential to elevate the Revolution’s ability to compete with the best teams in MLS.
Asked about which of the goals was his favorite, Vrioni chose instead to dedicate his hat-trick to Olivia Knighton (daughter of former Revolution goalkeeper and current academy coach Brad Knighton), who tragically died earlier in July in a boating accident.
“I’m happy that we [won] and I want just to dedicate this win to Olivia [Knighton], she passed away a few days ago so these three goals and this win are for her.”
The Designated Players showed a promising partnership.
In a moment that New England fans have seen far too infrequently since the departure of Adam Buksa, the three Revolution Designated Players combined beautifully on the third goal.
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Carles Gil, striding forward from midfield, found Gustavo Bou to his left, who returned the ball to the Spaniard in the middle of the box. Instead of trying to force his way through and shoot, Gil intelligently let the ball pass by (having drawn in the San Luis center back).
Vrioni, lurking in the middle of the box, found the ball rolling to his feet with only the opposing goalkeeper in front of him. He applied an emphatic finish to give New England a two-goal lead:
It’s a refreshing sight for Arena, who has been reluctant in the first half of 2023 to give Vrioni consistent starts (though, to be fair, that’s partly tied to minor injuries the forward has picked up).
“[Vrioni] played very well,” Arena said. “Gustavo and Carles played well with him, and he finished his chances. The third goal was something we’ve been working on with him since he got here. He didn’t end up believing that was his job as striker. It was just great to see. The third goal was the one that I liked the best actually.”
With an eye on not only the rest of the Leagues Cup but also the eventual return of the MLS season, New England can be hopeful that the team’s three most important players — at least by the terms of their contracts — could start to develop a good rapport.
Taking a look at what might come in the knockout round
With the win, the Revolution officially qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament. New England won’t know if they will go through as the first-place team in the group or second until the Red Bulls play San Luis on Sunday.
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The other factor that needs to play out are the remaining games in the East 3 group, which contains New York City FC, Toronto FC, and Liga MX side Atlas. The structure of the tournament means that teams from East 3 and East 4 will face each other in the first round of the knockout stage.
New York has already qualified with a 5-0 win over Toronto, but the final spot is still to be determined.
Should the Revolution end up as group winners, it would mean a matchup with the runner-up in East 3. If Red Bulls defeat San Luis and win the group, New England would play the East 3 winners instead. Home field in the knockout round will be determined by which team performed better in the group stage. The tiebreaker will be whichever team had a better 2022 regular season.
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