FC Dallas played their rescheduled game against Colorado Rapids after the initial game was postponed due to protests.

FC Dallas defeated the Rapids 4-1 in a convincing win before heading on a two-game road trip. FC Dallas sits in 5th place with 16 points through 10 games played.

The Game

Luchi Gonzalez kept the same lineup while the new goalkeeper signing Phelipe Megiolaro make the bench.

Santiago Mosquera scored his second goal in three games to give FC Dallas the lead going into halftime.

Franco Jara got his 3rd goal in 4 games off a corner to increase FC Dallas’ lead.

Santiago Mosquera wasn’t done scoring as he grabbed his second goal of the evening.

The Rapids weren’t going to go out of the game without a fight though as they pulled a goal back to reduce Dallas’ lead.

Andres Ricaurte and Michael Barrios made way for Brandon Servania and Fafa Picault in the 64th and 74th minute.

Santiago Mosquera earned his first FC Dallas hat-trick after restoring the three-goal lead for FC Dallas.

Ricardo Pepi, Edwin Cerrillo, and Bressan entered for Santiago Mosquera, Frano Jara, and Thiago Santos respectively in the 84th minute.

Thoughts & Takeaways

Controlling the Middle

FC Dallas and Colorado both had made quality efforts to score in the first half.

While FC Dallas did grab the early goal FC Dallas appeared to lack a presence in the midfield.

There was a “hole” that FC Dallas had just north of the center circle in the first half.

Additionally, there weren’t many players occupying this space as FC Dallas preferred to attack down the flanks.

“We were moving it quick and defensively we were in a double-six with Ricaurte kind of in front of us,” Tanner Tessmann said. “And then in the second half, we were defending more at the end, trying to keep our lead and let the game run out. So we switched to a 5-4-1, so we were sitting back defending and trying to hit on the counter a little bit.”

When Luchi Gonzalez had his team attack the center more often in the second half, players like Tanner Tessman and Andres Ricaurte were able to get occupy the mentioned space and this unlocked the goal-scoring success that came.

Increase Tempo

Colorado did well in the first half to switch from defense to attack much quicker than FC Dallas did. This caused FC Dallas trouble when it came to defending against the Rapids defense.

Photo: FC Dallas

FC Dallas also maintained their shape throughout the game and refrained from playing compact on defense.

This changed in the second half where Luchi Gonzalez opted to play a faster tempo than Colorado.

As a result, this allowed FC Dallas to play balls into space, catching Colorado in awkward positions, again, leading to the attacking success witnessed in the second half.

Two Halves

What stood out this game is how Luchi Gonzalez managed both halves.

Rather than continuing with his first-half gameplan setup, Luchi adapted his tactics by increasing the speed of play and controlling the midfield battle.

Coach Gonzalez is a young coach and understandably will make mistake. This game showed growth in his young coaching career.

While the 2020 season is one that some will want to move on from, Luchi Gonzalez has taken this season to experiment and with different tactics and gameplans that can be employed in future games.

FC Dallas head on the road to play against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, September 19, at 2:30 PM.
Featured Image: FC Dallas
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