4/13/15 - STL 1 - 2 CBS
Results or Process?
It feels like half of these #MLSMondays have been released on Tuesday so far in 2025, but we’ve got to stick to the hashtag. With absolutely fabulous weather, CITY welcomed one of MLS’ best to STL on Sunday, and based on recent form and player availability reports, it felt impossible…
Until the sixth minute.
So, let’s talk about it.
Team Selection/Tactics:
Roman Bürki. Joakim Nilsson. Jannes Horn. Tomas Totland. Chris Durkin. Eduard Löwen.
There are player-shaped holes in this XI fitting all of those descriptions. A couple of those would start on every team in the league.
But that doesn’t mean this was the automatic XI.
Initially, I thought Wallem and Hiebert were on opposite sides, and I wasn’t thrilled about it. However, it didn't make a big difference because everything changed after the Yaro injury. Still, I applaud Olof for recognizing a weakness and making an adjustment. Many managers are too dogmatic to acknowledge weaknesses in their system or philosophy (see my Tottenham Hotspur).
But I wasn’t excited about the idea due to the width. Width, width, width. That’s the name of the modern game. With Pompeu on the left, he naturally provides width, as that’s just who he is as a player. Teuchert, on the right, looks to drift centrally and run beyond, which doesn’t deliver the natural width that Pompeu does. Wallem runs the entire pitch, drifting centrally or pushing wide, depending on the moment. Hiebert stands wide but doesn’t push vertically, either with or without the ball (except for that one wild moment when he tried to run beyond the defense).
So, with my assumption that Wallem and Hiebert were left and right, there was a lot of width on the left and none on the right. Olof switched it. Pompeu starts wide and attacks, while Hiebert can stay in his comfort zone. Teuchert can go central as Wallem runs and provides width outside of him. On paper, that’s exactly what we want to see. Unfortunately, we didn’t see much of it. Yaro took a blow and SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO STAY ON THE PITCH (we take brain injuries and prevention seriously in this house), resulting in Watts going right, Hiebert to RCB, and Wallem back to the left. With that one unfortunate injury, and given CITY's injuries at the moment, the Bar of Death returns (not a triangle because only two members).
The Pass Flows below once again highlight the lack of balance to this team and how CITY cannot go up the right.
I don’t think he was very good, especially by his standards, but Wallem led the team with 6 progressive passes, was second in carries, and had a progressive carry. He was looking to move the ball up the field. Compare that to the right, where Watts had 1 progressive pass and zero progressive carries, and combined, Watts and Hiebert had fewer carries than Wallem.
Timo Time
But let's talk about another change that Olof made, which I really liked: Timo Baumgartl. Because Nilsson (RIP) is dust and has primarily been dust since he signed, CITY has never really had a ball-playing CB on the left who is comfortable using their left foot. Horn is proving to be an excellent defensive WCB and is very comfortable in tight spaces due to his history as an LB.
Timo on Sunday provided a new look. He led the team in carries as LCB and had the second- highest distance carried. His passing was wayward at times, as expected in his first start against a team like Columbus, but it reflected the profile CITY desperately needs to move the ball up the field.
This brings me to a larger point, and there has been a lot of discussion about what CITY needs to do to score more goals. For me, it has always been about ball progression. CITY has goal- scorers, but not elite ones. So, you must consistently generate chances to make up for missed opportunities. We've seen for some time that CITY has a significant group of players, largely leftover from the initial Carnell-minded roster, who either can't or won't value possession and hold onto the ball while taking calculated risks. That results in CITY spending long periods without control of the ball, because in instances where they defend well and win it back, you never really know if this will be the ball- playing CITY that Olof and Hack envisioned or the kick-it-and-press CITY that Carnell implemented.
What Timo did on the ball is noticeable. It stands out because I believe that's what Kessler could have provided all season if Nilsson hadn't been dust. When Horn returns to that LCB spot, I will be very curious to see who plays at CB and RCB. Are we content with Kessler potentially being the best sweeping center-back in MLS at the cost of his on-ball talent, or are we going to unleash those talents and possibly lose some of his defensive dominance? Just look at this: Kessler is putting up one of the greatest Defensive g+ seasons of the past decade plus (the sweeping aspect makes g- very difficult to assess)
Timo Time (Part Zwei)
It’s not just on-ball Timo that was interesting and got me excited.
I’m not here to say that Olof has done a wonderful job; far from it. However, as a firm believer in process over results- especially in soccer, where one random moment can make the difference between winning and losing (like not doing a VAR check)- I try to observe what the manager is doing differently, what he is trying, testing, etc., to fix problems.
And with Timo, he attempted what is probably the most innovative defensive change we’ve seen in St. Louis’ MLS history. CITY started the season playing a secure defense. As CITY sought to incorporate more offense into the game plan, injuries occurred, as they often do. Now, CITY relies on an almost 35-year-old to be the defensive presence in the middle, and he doesn’t have the physical capability for that anymore. Alongside him is CITY’s most talented attacker, partly because CITY is trying to be more attacking, but also due to player availability.
So, Olof had Timo, at CB, push into midfield, and sometimes into the attack, to start the press. We’ve seen it this season with Durkin leading the line, but I find it hard to recall another instance of watching a CB pressing an opponent’s CB like Timo did. To me, that screams of a manager who is actively seeking for creative solutions, and that’s something which stands behind. The system worked for defense but not for offense. Therefore, he slowly added attackers. This has led to an increase in xG, but we’ve lost some defensive stability. Instead of reverting to adding defenders, he keeps offensive-minded players on the pitch while trying different ways to maintain the offense and improve defensive stability.
Final Thoughts
Without 5-6 starters, CITY went 1.8 to 1.7 xG against Columbus on Sunday. Klauss scored 1 (possibly 2) and was notably denied a 0.69 PSxG goal by STL’s Schulte. Becher combined two excellent xG efforts of 0.9, which resulted in 0.28 PSxG. CITY should have scored at least one of those.
CITY created opportunities through pressing and possession, utilizing carries, cutbacks, and crosses. CITY tried tactical adjustments; some were effective, some were not, and others never had a chance. This performance was not characteristic of a bad team, ineffective manager, or a mix of both. Instead, it resembled a team beginning to find its footing, with players willingly stepping up to support their injured and absent teammates, delivering a performance worthy of the Pink in the stands.
Nothing I’ve seen indicates we should give up on this team. We are currently facing an incredibly challenging schedule. If MLS had changed the rules so that the league standings in April would reflect those in October, I must have missed that announcement.
#AllForCITY, forever and always. Don’t forget it.