When the New England Revolution travel to face fellow MLS originals D.C. United on Saturday night (98.5 The Sports Hub and FREE on the Apple TV app), their Head Coach Bruce Arena hopes they will have their captain and most important playmaker back on the field.
Carles Gil has been out of the starting lineup for two games and missed the entirety of the Revs’ 1-0 win against Nashville on Saturday, the team’s third win and clean sheet of 2023. This week, Gil has worked his way back onto the field and was not listed on the Revolution’s most recent injury report on Wednesday.
“He trained today,” Arena said today on Zolak and Bertrand. “If there’s no issues tomorrow, he’ll be traveling with us.”
The Revolution improved to 3-1-0 on the year thanks to Gustavo Bou’s 52nd-minute screamer against Nashville, the first goal they had allowed all season. It was also the only time New England has scored at home against Nashville in three meetings.
“It took a heck of an effort by Gustavo Bou,” Arena said of Bou’s near-post finish. “A great goal, and we were able to hang on and get the three points, so that’s a real positive.”
The Revolution withstood a late onslaught by Nashville to protect the late lead and claim maximum points. That resiliency was a staple of the record-breaking team in 2021, but disappeared last season as the Revs missed the postseason for the first time under Arena. New England’s backline looks to have cleaned up some of the mistakes that cost them crucial points in 2022.
“The whole team collectively is doing a good job. We’re very good defending set pieces and we’ve cut down on some mental errors we had last year,” Arena said. “Last year we conceded a lot of goals on penalties, and just some bad mental errors. We’ve improved to date on those issues and hopefully, we can continue.
With Gil potentially returning to the squad, Arena is confident that the team’s offensive output, which has generated only 1.25 goals per game after four weeks, will catch up to the lockdown defense.
“I think we have the potential to be a very good attacking team as well. Hopefully, that will start to develop. As you know in any sport, the defense is generally ahead of the offense or the attacking aspect of your game. I think in time, we’re going to be a better attacking team.”
New England faces D.C. United at Audi Field on Saturday night. The Revolution have won seven of the last eight meetings against Wayne Rooney’s side. The 7:30 p.m. match is available to watch for free on the Apple TV app, or listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies call the action on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
