The original plan for the weekend was to watch then grade CP’s debut with Chelsea against Manchester United. Pulisic didn’t start and Chelsea got killed. 😑 That didn’t seem like much fun so I audibled to Dallas-Minnesota. I caught the last 30 minutes of this game live on Saturday and it was a ton of fun. Dallas is also my favorite MLS team to watch due to all the USMNT eligible players.

If you haven’t read one of these before click here for an explanation of the grading system.

To the grades.

The Notes

Completed +/- Grades

Interpreting the Grades

15+ Excellent game 9-14 Played well to very well 5-8 Solid 0-4 Not great, Bob Below 0 Sailing by Christopher Cross (this is aimed at a very specific person)

*The Adjusted Total uses the Elo ratings to take into account opponent and competition factors.*

MOTM – Paxton Pomykal (+12)

Let me start with something ex-USYNT coach Omid Namazi posted on Twitter a while back:

Pomykal is a gamer. What none of these charts and stats show is how clutch he is when your team needs him! In whatever capacity…. https://t.co/zoktUycuUG — Omid Namazi (@onamazi) July 5, 2019

I had Paxton down at +15 for various events. Seven(!) of those points came after the 80th minute of the game. It’s something I first noticed against France in the U20 World Cup. Pomykal tends to play better/come up with big plays later in the game. In this game he was instrumental in the 4th (winner) goal and basically created the 5th (with an assist from some dreadful defending) on his own. IMO he’s a shoe in to be called up for the next USMNT roster in September.

Pomykal has the ball on his left which threatens a shot and he waits until the last moment to draw the defender in. This creates space for Barrios’ cross to Servania who has made an intelligent run. Really good.

Other Good Performances

Bryan Acosta (+11)

Acosta was everywhere. He ended up with 21 events and they were pretty well split between offense and defense. TBH I wish he was American because he looks like he has the passing ability to play the diagonals Berhalter is looking for, but with a lot more defensive bite than Bradley or Trapp. Look at this foul from the 16th minute. Love it.

Counterattack over.

Santiago Mosquera (+10)

I can’t believe Mosquera didn’t end up MOTM. He was +12 at halftime and just killing Minnesota. Then he was invisible in the second half (-2). I’m sure almost everyone has seen the crazy chipped goal from deep, but have you seen the sublime through ball that could very easily have ended up in a goal? I don’t watch FCD every week. I parachute in for a game here and there, but if he can put together whole games like this…watch out.

Jesus Ferreira (+10)

I was a little more excited about Ferreira when he was a forward, since the US is shallow there, but he played really well in a “free 8” type of position for Dallas in this game. Ferreira displayed some of the same late game mentality that Pomykal showed (best example – the 81st minute track back/tackle).

*TANGENT* I hate running. My wife runs 13 miles twice a week. I am convinced that once you hit a certain level of fitness running becomes mental. I used to run 5 miles a couple times a week and probably (physically) could have started going longer, but once I started getting close to 5 miles I just wanted to stop. Pomykal, Acosta, Ferreira, Cannon and maybe a couple other FCD players seem to have the mental toughness it takes to keep going. It’s a valuable quality.

Michael Barrios (+10)

If Barrios’ touch were a little bit better I don’t think Dallas (or MLS) could afford him. He’s explosively quick and in the right place frequently. The problem is his can touch let him down when he gets into those positions. He still finished with 3 assists and caused problems for Minnesota all night long. I just got the sense he could be even better (Arriola vibes, but faster).

Room to Improve

Jesse Gonzalez (-6)

Gonzalez is the only player on Dallas that I would say had a “bad” game. He didn’t make any saves of note, his distribution was anonymous to bad, and I would put Minnesota’s first two goals on him. Unless his decision making and passing improve I don’t see him coming near the starting job for the US anytime soon.

Conclusions

Dallas finished with a team +/- average of +6.1, which is one of the highest for games I’ve graded (highest was US U20s vs Nigeria +7.0). With so many US-eligible players, and two guys who could legitimately start (Cannon/Pomykal), I hope this trend continues. I know FCD has had trouble scoring lately and that may be partly due to their never ending quest to find an effective #9. Badji was pretty anonymous in this game (+2, 4 total events), but if Mosquera and Barrios perform like they did in this game, goals will come.

All in all, quite an enjoyable game to watch and grade. Good luck to both teams and fan bases for the rest of the season.

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