Sometimes you have to win a bit ugly in this league to get by. For FC Dallas, to complete its first three-game winning streak since 2020, Saturday was certainly not the prettiest of performances.
For a team playing its third match in seven days, with travel mixed into the stretch and not having your top player for part of it, there is something to be said about winning without needing to control every phase of the game. In the 2-1 win over Portland on Saturday, Dallas picked its moments, finished two of them and made sure to make those goals stand.
Let’s dive into the numbers from this one to see how Dallas pulled it off.
xG Battle/Attacking numbers
Dallas spent much of Saturday night without the ball, finishing with under 40% possession, while the Timbers completed nearly 500 passes and generated 18 shots to Dallas’ nine.
But the standout on those shots for Portland was the quality of them, most came from an average or poor location, which kept the xG numbers at a pretty low rate. Dallas on the other hand had a higher percentage of their attempts on target, which once again showed that Dallas made the most of the opportunities that they got.
Sometimes volume doesn’t mean quality.
The other interesting item in the attack was how Petar Musa immediately impacted the game off the bench. For a guy to only play around 15 minutes, Musa ended the night with the club’s highest xG total and provided the game-winning assist to Joaquin Valiente.
Defensive recap
Again, the Timbers held a good chunk of the possession on the night, including 33 touches inside the Dallas penalty area, forcing FCD to spend long stretches without the ball. Dallas responded well with 20 tackles, eight interceptions, five blocks and 27 clearances. Portland got into dangerous areas, but Dallas repeatedly found ways to get the ball out.
Dallas also stayed compact in this one, with Sebastien Ibeagha, Shaq Moore and Nolan Norris finding ways to clog passing lanes, while keeping some pressure off Daniel in goal.
Here are the final defensive numbers on the night (FCD on the left, POR on the right):
- Interceptions: 7 - 9
- Challenges: 6 - 1
- Clearances: 25 - 18
- Recoveries: 31 - 42
- Blocked Passes: 11 - 4
- Tackles: 19 -12
Drew Epperley
Individual Stat Leaders
Here were some of the individual leaders on the night for FC Dallas:
Most shots on target - Musa (2)
Most chances created - Five players (1)
Most touches inside the penalty area - Farrington (4)
Most touches overall - Kaick (78)
Most duels won - Kaick (9)
Highest xG - Musa (0.34)
