Since taking over as coach of D.C. United, Rene Weiler has guided them to a pair of 1-1 draws. While the results might not sound impressive, they are a sign of progress for a team that hasn’t won a match since May 31.
When D.C. United (4-15-9, 21 points) travel to New York City FC (13-8-5, 44 points) on Saturday, they will try to employ their improved structure to snap their 11-game MLS winless streak.
“We’ve played in a very compact manner, very solid,” Weiler said. “We avoid a lot of danger.”
D.C. has lived dangerously for most of the year, surrendering more goals (53) than any team in the Eastern Conference. But in 1-1 standoffs against FC Montreal and powerful Inter Miami, D.C. allowed just three shots on goal in each match.
“The players, they prefer to attack and not to defend,” Weiler said. “But in our situation, we have to do both. And for sure, first of all, to defend well.”
Twenty-one-year-old Jackson Hopkins has appeared to come of age, scoring both of the United’s goals under Weiler’s tutelage.
On Saturday, D.C. will welcome back top scorer Christian Benteke (eight goals), who sat out last week’s match with Miami because of yellow card accumulation.
By contrast, New York City is undefeated in its last five league matches with four wins to improve to eighth place in the East.
During the run, Alonso Martinez has scored six of NYCFC’s nine goals, including the lone tally in a 1-0 win Saturday at FC Cincinnati.
“We’re not worried at all about that,” NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said when asked about an overreliance on Martinez, who has 14 goals this season.
Jansen added that Hannes Wolf (nine goals, six assists) has been “in a good space scoring his goals.”
Last-place D.C. United have been eliminated from playoff contention for the sixth straight year. When these teams met on May 14, they played to a scoreless draw in a match in which NYCFC outshot D.C. 15-5.
–Field Level Media
