FRISCO - It’s finally a normal week for FC Dallas after a busy stretch of international and All-Star festivity absences, and it seems to be coming at just the right time. Here are just a few things to takeaway from Saturday’s 3-1 loss against Philadelphia.
Video Review Debut
With the inaugural weekend of Video Review in place in MLS, lots of questions arose about the efficiency of stopping the game and reviewing a play. FC Dallas, fittingly it seems, was a part of the very first video review in league history when Ricardo Salazar overturned a Maxi Urruti goal in the 80th minute. From the time Salazar signaled for review to the time the decision was rendered, all of 42 seconds elapsed - no more than an injury stoppage on the field and minimally intrusive on the pace of play. After the first weekend, all signs point to review being a positive addition, regardless of how it affected FCD this weekend.
Bring Your Best
Despite the frustrations in their own attack, yet again, FC Dallas saw an incredible goalkeeping performance on the other side of the field Saturday night. John McCarthy, in his sixth start of the season, set a career-best in saves with nine during the match - one of the best individual performances by a keeper this season in MLS. It’s a trend Dallas has seen over and over again. Of the top 15 individual save totals in a match in 2017, FCD has been the stopped opponent three times (RSL’s Matt Van Oekel - 11, SKC’s Tim Melia - 9).
Minimized Magician
Mauro Diaz was replaced after just 45 minutes on Saturday night in a performance that saw just 19 passes out of 31 attempts completed (78.9 percent) and just one chance created. Oscar Pareja moved to a 4-4-2 in the second half with Cristian Colman coming on, and nearly doubled their shot output (11 vs. 6 in first half) and improving their overall passing accuracy by 10 percent (up to 85.2 percent from 74.2 in the first). I think the question of what formation works best for this team is still up in the air after back-to-back disappointing weeks.
