Sacramento at Las Vegas: Tactical Analysis - A Firework Performance
07/04: Sacramento’s line up, the good, the bad, and what stood out
The Lineup:
Can we play Vegas every week? Sacramento now has just their second league win of the season when they have more than 50% possession, and both have come against the Las Vegas Lights. The Lights aren’t a terrible team, but I would certainly put them in the bottom third of the league at this point. Still, Republic has now outscored them 11-0 in all three matches this season, so what is Republic doing differently against Vegas compared to when they play nearly anyone else?
Well, to start with, let’s look at the starting XI. There are a few changes here after the 1-0 loss to Orange County. The biggest change in my view was Blake Willey returning to the starting XI for just the second time since his return from international duty with the US U-18’s. While he’s played in the midfield at other times throughout the season, this is the first game where he’s taken such a commanding role. The other big change was where Republic positioned themselves up top. Look at the average positioning of the top three, Cicerone, Parano, and Roro, last week against Orange County:
All three guys are pushed way to the right side for most of the game. Obviously this was deliberate; Collins and co. saw a weakness on that side for Orange County, and heavily attempted to exploit it. But what it also resulted in was the center and left attacking thirds of the pitch being vacant for large parts of the game. Compare that to this week at Vegas:
This is a much more even split, with an actual left wing, striker, and right wing in play.
Vegas, on the other hand, just didn’t have a way to break out of Republic’s press. The main reason Republic gives up goals when they hold the majority of possession is on the break: teams sit back, let Republic push forward, and then beat them over the top. Look at Republic’s average positioning this game:
Most of the team is averaging a positioning in the other team's half. This looks identical to games where Republic has lost. The difference here is that Vegas just doesn’t have a difference-maker up top to play the counter to—normally, that would be Johnny Rodriguez, but Republic completely shut him down on the night, and the rest of Vegas’ options couldn’t get anything going.
The Good:
Republic dominated the entire game. Not only did they hold the majority of possession, but when Vegas did get the ball, they struggled to get out of their own half. Republic consistently pushed them back. Look at their average positioning:
This lead to a clean sheet where Vegas has zero shots on target, and only nine *total* touches in Sacramento’s box—Republic had 36 touches in Vegas’ box on the other side of things. And when Vegas did try to counter over the top, Sacramento’s defense did an excellent job setting the offside trap, which caught Vegas offside five times. If Republic is going to continue to play this high press, having an effective offside line is paramount to warding off counterattacks.
One unsung hero in this game for me was Herrera. While he didn’t get on the score sheet, his physical play at the top of Republic’s attack regularly disrupted Vegas’ lines. Look at this moment early in the game, and watch Herrera (#9) in the middle of the box:
He runs at the center back and bodies him out of the play. This clears Benítez to shoot straight on goal instead of having a body in front; it also completely opens up Cicerone in the middle of the box, which Benítez doesn’t see. But the space is entirely created by Herrera and that isn’t something that shows up on the stat line.
You see more of that physicality in Edwards’ first goal in Old Glory Red:
This whole sequence is just... bizarre. Only one Vegas player attempts to close down Edwards, while the other two stand in no man's land, and on the back post Cicerone and Herrera are both completely winning the physical battle against each of their opposing defenders. I’m not sure if Edwards meant to cross or shoot here, but the Vegas keeper getting beat on his near post at that angle is something you don’t see often at the professional level.
Republic’s last goal was a great look from three players. First, you have a great through ball by Willey to net him his first professional assist—and to take the record for the youngest assist in Republic history. The vision here to split the defender and midfielder is fantastic:
Then Cicerone beats both men on him and has a fantastic finish under pressure. One other detail to note is Herrera’s run through the box; he drags a defender with him to the opposite side of the box, pulling the defender out of the play as he vacates the space Cicerone is shooting into. This is another one of those little moments in a game that don’t show on any stat line, but is so important in keeping an offensive engine running.
The Bad:
There isn’t much bad for me to say here. This was, overall, a very good performance.
The real question will be if Republic can replicate this against stronger opposition; both goals Republic scored were, largely if not entirely, caused by a really weak Vegas defense. Edward’s goal beat the keeper on the near post, a spot where a professional goalkeeper should never get beat, and Cicerone’s goal beat two Vegas defenders that confusingly refused to attack the ball. While Republic did have 20 shots, only 6 of them were on target, a rate of only 30%. That’s lower than the already low 42.7% the club is averaging on the season. Republic certainly deserved the win, but a solid team goal would have boosted team confidence going into the second half of the season.
What Stood Out:
A season sweep over a Western Conference foe is always going to be a positive, regardless of how poor that team is performing. There isn’t a ton to say here—Republic executed against a lower-tier team, scored the goals they could grab, and left Vegas with three points. On the other hand, many doubting Republic fans may still lack confidence in Collins’ vision. We didn’t see any new looks, and beating Vegas was expected after the two major wins earlier this season.
The real test will be this weekend against El Paso, where Republic will host the team that is third in the West with a real chance to make some ground in the table.
The heat maps are a great add to the analysis.
Can we do it against quality defenses. That will be the question of the year. Great as usual.