Recap:
DC United kicked off its season with a 3-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday night, making Assistant Coach Zach Prince a winner in his debut and by proxy Troy Lesesne.
First half
DC started the game on the front foot which seemed to catch New England off guard. Possibly because they had played on Wednesday and or because of the travel from Panama, New England players were constantly being beat by DC’s. Play was almost entirely in the Revolution’s half, as the Black & Red brought a frenetic energy to the game.
That said the most dangerous scoring opportunity was by the Revolution on a counter when Carles Gil found a charging Tomas Chancalay on his left. McVey disrupted Chancalay just enough and Bono made a strong foot save, denying New England the opening goal.
Not long after this, New England's Giacomo Vrioni was sent off for a red card from picking up a second yellow card in the 25th minute. This forced the Revolution to play a man down for the rest of the game. Vrioni picked up an early yellow card when he foolishly stepped in front of a free kick being taken by Mateusz Klich. This meant, later, when Giacomo Vrioni went down unnecessarily to try to block a pass by McVey, and clipped his ankle the Revolution went down to 10 men.
Nine minutes after Giacomo Vrioni was sent off, Benteke took a looping cross from Pedro Santo and headed towards the goal. It originally appeared that New England Goalkeeper Henrich Ravas had saved Benteke's header with a kick save. A VAR review however judged the ball had indeed crossed the line before Ravas stopped it.
Now up a goal seemed to inspire the Black & Red, who continued to push the attack and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions. The most dangerous was from a headed cross Benteke sent off a corner, Jarrod Stroud got free in front of New England’s goal, but his shot went off the crossbar.
The second half would close with DC United up a goal, but more than that they had really outplayed the Revolution from beginning to end.
Second half
Start of second half is rough for Pedro Santos. He turned the ball over to New England Homegrown talent 18-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic, who drives the ball up the field. Santos fouled
Bajraktarevic just centimeters outside of the penalty box. The referee initially called for a penalty, but Penalty decision overturned after a VAR review.
Carles Gil took the direct free kick which proved dangerous but the defense was able to turn New England away, yet this sequence set the tone for the beginning of the second half. Not long after that point, Carles Gil got the ball again and drove towards the Black & Red’s goal, forcing another foul in a dangerous spot just outside the penalty box. His direct free kick was on target, and only a great save from Alex Bono kept the Revolution off the board.
It was the 67th minute when Carles Gil tied the score with a MLS Goal of the Week candidate. He again had been fed the ball well into United’s half and dribbled towards goal. This time instead of trying to take the ball into the penalty box he took the shot from outside, curling the ball into the top left corner of the net from distance to pull New England level.
The Black & Red answered back with ever increasing pressure on New England. It culminated in a frantic moment in the Revolution’s penalty box where Gabriel Pirani had an initial shot blocked that rebounded high in the air, Connor Antley out leaped the defender to reach the ball on the left side of the penalty area and sent a header toward the back post. Benteke beat his man to it and put the ball into the goal with a sliding finish.
That took a lot of the wind out of New England’s sails, but as DC continued to press for another goal there were some dangerous plays. In extratime Christian Benteke was able to put the game out of range when he scored a third goal. His third goal was a header from very close range to the top right corner beating Goalkeeper Ravas to the ball. He was assisted by Aaron Herrera who delivered a perfect cross after taking the ball from a New England player and dribbling it into the final
The game ended a few minutes later with Christian Benteke and DC United getting the first victory of the season, and starting this new era with energy and enthusiasm that was sorely lacking by the end of 2023 season.
Fun Fact
United’s win sets the all time record between the two MLS Original clubs to 36-36-15 in the all-time series.
The Black & Red have a 26-13-5 record against the New England Revolution at home all-time in regular season matchups.
The defeat snapped New England’s three-game winning streak against the Black & Red.
Forward Christian Benteke scored a hat-trick with goals in the 34th minute, the 72nd minute, and the 93rd minute. He created four chances and won 12 of 14 aerial duels.
Words from the Head Coach:
“I want to congratulate Zach Prince. That was Zach Prince’s first victory as a Head Coach, and it’s our first victory of the season, which is a big deal for the club as we move forward, and a bright position to start the season.”
“Zach deserves a lot of credit as does Alex Martinez and Cody Misel, so I’m really proud of those guys for leading the group today in my absence..”
“Until you can see it with your own eyes, so-uh-so tonight I think you were able to see for your own eyes especially, whenever we were 11 v 11 about what we’re trying to be and what we aspire to do in the match, and that’s what we’ve been working on for six weeks is just trying to be an aggressive team a proactive team but also creative at the right times and I think we displayed a number of those characteristics tonight.”
Game Stats
Observations From the Upper Deck:
I know it's only been 5 minutes but this is the best we've looked in years
I feel weird not knowing who half this team is, but liking what I see in the first 8 minutes of our season.
Stroud is going to be a fan favorite
Loving what Peltola is doing so far. He’s always in the right spot
JUST TAKE THE SHOT BENTEKE
GREAT SAVE!
Bono makes the kick save to deny the
I love Bono's temperament as a keeper. always encouraging his defenders.
Peltola is really looking good in the middle of the field.
He’s covering ground, asking for the the ball, always looking to anticipate the next play, happy to sit in position to anchor without leaving holes.
Some of the shots and passes have been a bit sloppy and inaccurate, but all-in-all the team is looking good
Second yellow card for New England’s Striker!
That’s a goal!
It’s going to VAR
Benteke gets the goal, the referee rules that the goalie’s block was behind the line.
DC putting on more pressure to get the second goal
Stroud puts the ball off the crossbar
DC United head to the locker room leading 1-0
Great start for a rebuilding year
This is honestly the best l've seen DC play in a while.
This is at least one of the most entertaining matches
Second half starts
Oh! Bad turnover by Santos
Ugh hard foul by Santos
Esmir Bajraktarevic is a good talent
Referee calls for a penalty
Going to VAR
Overturned!
Shot taken by Kristian Fletcher but locked by lan Harkes.
Cristian Dajome substituted in for Theodore Ku-DiPietro.
Kristian Fletcher substituted in for Gabriel Pirani.
Christian Benteke scores with a right foot shot off of a Conner Antley headed pass. It’s tight, will go to VAR
VAR confirmed goal!
Shot on goal by Christian Benteke.
Jackson Hopkins replaces Jared Stroud
Shot taken by Gabriel Pirani but blocked by lan Harkes.
Really wish DC had brought back Harkes.
Harkes fouls Dajome just outside of the penalty box.
Klich right footed a direct free kick from outside the box just misses to the left.
Christian Benteke gets a Hat Trick!
What a cross by Aaron Herrera
Foul by Carles Gil, think if this game was to go for another 5 minutes he would pick up a second yellow
End of the Match and the crowd is ecstatic!
Match ends with United 3, New England Revolution 1.
Player Ratings:
Bono 7.4
Herrera 7.9
Bartlett 7.5
McVey 6.7
Santos 7.9
Klich 7.3
Peltola 7.6
Ku-DiPietro 7.3
Pirani 6.7
Stroud 7.9
Benteke 9.8
Subs:
Antley 7.1
Dájome 6.2
Fletcher 6.4
Hopkins N/A
Man of the Match -
Christian Benteke - The Belgian Striker starts the season with a hat-trick, and he could have had more. A quicker shot, a better placed header, a better pass from Stroud on a break away, and Benteke could have had four or five goals. In addition, if Stroud had been able to place the ball on goal or Mensah hadn’t managed to get a tip on the cross to Pinari, and Benteke would have also had a couple assists.
Up Next: At the Portland Timbers