D.C. United seeks results through aggressive play

Could something be brewing at D.C. United? The confidence is high after the Black-and-Red defeated CF Móntreal 1-0 on Saturday night at Audi Field. The win moved DC into 8th place in the Eastern Conference, with 9 points from 6 matches.

However, the points in the standings may not accurately reflect the turnaround in the style of play that fans have seen under new head coach Troy Lesesne. Lesesne has brought aggression to the offense, and despite the fact that they have 3 matches end in draws, the message is clear: push for more.

DC United has been pushing the issue on offense in an attempt to generate more chances and make teams have to play on their heels. So far, it’s given United fans some excitement as they now get to watch a team that pushes for goals throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes.

And, they’re creating plenty of chances. According to MLS Soccer’s official stats, DC United has elevated its Expected Goals (xG) substantially early in the season. Through 6 matches, the xG numbers for DC United: 4.8 (W vs. New England Revolution), 3.4 (D vs. Portland Timbers), 0.7 (D vs. FC Cincinnati), 1.6 (L vs. Inter Miami), 2.3 (D vs. St. Louis City), and 2.6 (W vs. CF Móntreal). That’s an average of 2.6 xG over the first 6 matches of the season.

Compare that to the first 6 matches of the 2023 season, then under coach Wayne Rooney. Then, the xG numbers for the Black-and-Red: 0.8 (W vs. Toronto FC), 1.1 (L vs. Columbus Crew), 1.6 (D vs. Orlando City), 0.7 (L vs. New York City FC), 1.5 (L vs. New England), and 0.7 (D vs. Chicago Fire). That yielded a 1.1 xG average.

The pace speaks for itself. Under Lesesne so far, DC United has wanted to create lots of chances and take lots of shots. The average xG in 2024 so far is 1 point higher than the highest individual xG total from the first 6 games of 2023. And, while it hasn’t resulted in a much higher rate of goals through the first 6 matches (9 goals in 2024, 7 goals in 2023), the sense is that DC United is going for broke way more in the hopes that it generates goals that can help the team win.

The other incredible part of DC United’s resurgence is that they’re doing this despite having a lot of missing and moving parts. Team captain Steve Birnbaum and mainstay Russell Canouse have not appeared on the field yet this season due to injury, and they were missing a few players against St. Louis City due to international duty. However, players like Matti Peltola, Gabriel Pirani, Ted Ku-DiPietro, Jared Stroud, and Mateusz Klich have done a great job in the midfield of pushing DC United forward and creating the aggressive style of play that Lesesne wants.

Of course, it could backfire on them at times, as sending guys forward means they need to get back on defense. Lesesne said after the Montreal win that teams could catch them the other way on a counter with the way they aggressively try to go for goal. But, he credited the defense and Alex Bono for banding together to do the dirty work to secure a clean sheet.

DC United could be a team to watch as the season progresses. They hope to continue to push for more as they slowly creep up the standings. They are approaching a tough stretch, with matches coming up at Columbus, against Orlando, and at NYCFC. Pushing the issue on offense could help them steal some points and, coupled with some good defense, could see DC United as a team that could be a sleeper in the Eastern Conference.