Wilfried Nancy wants his Columbus Crew team to continue their consistency after reaching a club-record points haul in a regular MLS season last time out.
The Crew’s 3-2 win over Philadelphia Union on Saturday took them to 60 points in the campaign, marking their 17th win of the term, also equalling the club’s single-season record set in 2008.
Columbus knows that a point will be enough to guarantee second place in the Eastern Conference ahead of the playoffs, with Nancy expressing his delight about his squad’s ability to adapt to this campaign’s hectic schedule.
“This is the idea – all the time try to grow and seek for improvement,” Nancy said. “That's why I'm really happy about this because we play 46 games.
“Last year at this moment, we didn't play the same amount of games. We have wins and we have also more points.
“For me, this is the consistency of what we are able to do, and also, this is a fact that my players want to get better. They accept all the challenges that my staff and I try to give them. For me, I'm really, really happy with that because this is so difficult.”
At the opposite end of the table, New England’s struggles continued as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to D.C. United, with Pedro Santos and Christian Benteke’s early strikes doing the damage.
The Revs have already been eliminated from the playoffs and sit just one point ahead of bottom club Chicago Fire ahead of their two final regular-season matches.
And with a trip to league leaders Inter Miami on the final day, head coach Caleb Porter said that his players have no time to feel sorry for themselves after an underwhelming campaign.
“I expect the mentality to be good. For me, nothing changes. I think about doing your job and being a pro and having pride at the end of the day,” Porter said.
“It does not matter whether you are happy or sad, it’s about doing your job. We’re still building for the future. I expect these guys to have a good mentality.
“I expect them to be motivated and wanting to do well and I expect them to have pride in their profession. I expect the group to show that they want to be here.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi
In the absence of top scorer Cucho Hernandez, who is away on international duty with Colombia, the Crew have a capable back-up in Rossi, who has 12 goals and eight assists in 32 regular-season appearances this season.
The Uruguayan has seven goal involvements in his four appearances against the Revs (three goals, four assists), only contributing more goals against the LA Galaxy (11), San Jose Earthquakes (nine) and Houston Dynamo (eight) in the MLS.
New England Revolution – Giacomo Vrioni
In a largely disappointing season for the Revs, Vrioni has been a shining light, scoring nine goals in his 29 MLS appearances this term.
The Albanian, however, has failed to beat this weekend’s opponents in his four appearances against them (D2 L2), while also failing to score since a 5-0 win over CF Montreal in August.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus are unbeaten in nine straight home matches against the Revolution (W5 D4), though the last three meetings have all ended in draws. Both teams' last win over the other in Columbus came in the playoffs; a 2020 Conference Final win for the Crew and a 2014 Conference semi-final win for the Revolution.
New England’s minus 29 goal difference (35 scored, 64 conceded) is on pace to be the worst in club history (-20 in 2011). The Revs have allowed more goals in a single season just once before (66 in 1998).
The Revs' defeat to D.C. on Saturday was the club’s 19th of the campaign, extending a single-season high for the Revolution. They have lost their last four away from home, being outscored, 11-1, in those games.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 70.9%
Draw – 16.5%
New England Revolution – 12.5%
'Cristiano is perfect' - Martinez plays down early Ronaldo substitution
Roberto Martinez took Cristiano Ronaldo off just after the hour mark against Poland but assured he was only managing the 39-year-old's minutes.
Ronaldo was on target for Portugal in their 3-1 win over Poland, doubling their tally after Bernardo Silva's opener.
Piotr Zielinski provided the Selecao with a late scare, but Jan Bednarek's own goal ensured Portugal kept their 100% record, and they are the only team to win all three games so far in League A.
The Portugal captain was replaced by Diogo Jota, who had a hand in their third goal, in the 63rd minute, having had three shots and accumulating 1.43 expected goals (xG).
And Martinez insisted Ronaldo would have a part to play against Scotland as he praised the team's resilience to get the win over the line.
"It's part of managing players when you have two games in 72 hours. Diogo Jota came on very well. Cristiano is perfect," Martinez said.
"The first half was very good. We controlled the game, created opportunities, had very good synchronisation as a team, defended Poland's strengths very well and scored great goals.
"I'm happy with the new players who came in, it seems they have several international caps.
"Conceding a goal was a difficult moment, and it was great to see the reaction and score another goal. Overall, a very good performance.
"The challenge is two away games. 72 hours, recovering well. The players showed all their commitment during training and work at the Football City."
Martinez was also impressed by debutant Renato Veiga, who started alongside Ruben Dias at centre-back.
The Chelsea defender made seven clearances, the most of any player on the team, and helped limit Robert Lewandowski to just two shots, neither of which were on target.
"He has a very special profile. In his first training session, he showed that he gained maturity during the September training camp," Martinez added.
"He is an aggressive player, with great communication skills, who can defend large spaces, play in the air, against a Poland side that is very strong in set pieces.
"It was a fantastic debut. With a striker like Lewandowski, I think it is a debut that shows Renato's potential and how he is working at the moment."
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
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