MLS Playoffs 2020: Philadelphia Union vs New England Revolution – tactical analysis

After an exciting first round, the MLS postseason continued to serve upsets and quality matches. One of the more anticipated matchups was Philadelphia Union hosting the New England Revolution. Due to the league schedule and restrictions on travel, MLS teams were required to play teams within their home market. This meant that the Union and the Revs were playing one another for a sixth time this season.

Philadelphia, led by the coach of the year Jim Curtin, were fresh off winning the Supporters Shield for the first time in club history. This trophy is awarded to the best team in the league at the end of the regular season. 

New England was making their second consecutive playoff appearance under Bruce Arena. The Revs were fresh off their dramatic last-minute victory against Thierry Henry’s Montreal Impact. 

At the end of regulation, New England delivered the upset against Philadelphia. In this tactical analysis, we will look at the Revolutions’ defensive tactics and how they conquered the Union in transition.

Lineups

Philadelphia Union 4-3-1-2

Jim Curtin sent his team out in their most-used formation this season. Starting strikers Kacper Przybylko and Sergio Santos have scored combined 15 goals with a combined nine assists. In the midfield, former Ligue 1 players Jamiro Monteiro and Alejandro Bedoya flanked MLS Young Player of the year Brenden Aaronson. José Martínez replaced the towering Jack Elliott as the defensive midfielder.

New England Revolution 4-2-3-1

Bruce Arena was able to welcome back former La Liga player and team captain Carles Gil. The front three of Gustavo Bou, Teal Bunbury, and Adam Buksa have combined for 17 goals. Canadian standout Tajon Buchanan, who usually operates as a right-winger, started at right-back.

Philadelphia’s offensive attempts

In the previous meetings between these two teams, Philadelphia has given the majority of the possession to the Revs. In this meeting, however, the Union had 58% of possession throughout the game. This allowed them to take 15 total shots, although only four were on target.

Their usual form of attack is through blistering counter-attacks, led by the speedy Aaronson. They were tasked with trying to break down New England’s defensive block. Using an example from the match we see how this looked.

As they have in previous games, Philly looked to stretch the defence and make runs in the halfspaces. This allows the Union to utilize cutbacks instead of aerial crosses. Typically when Curtin introduces midfielder Ilsinho as a sub, the Brazilian drifts all the way to the touchline as we can see above.

Upon receiving, we can see that he immediately has drawn the attention of a defender. This triggers Bedoya’s run into the gap created in the halfspace. Bedoya then looks to serve a cross into Santos and Przybylko, who are running into the box.