FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s 2026 home opener was one for the record books. With a dominant 6-1 win over FC Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon, the Revs tied the club record for most goals scored in a regular season match. After going down 1-0 in the 19th minute, the Revolution’s response was ruthless, and to say they showed resolve to turn the game around would be an understatement.
The victory was indicative of head coach Marko Mitrović’s style, emphasizing attacking aggression from everyone on the pitch. With six goals from five different goal scorers, players from positions across the field got on the scoresheet, starting with center back Brayan Ceballos, who opened the scoring for the Revs and equalized with a header in the 25th minute from Luca Langoni. The duo would link up in first-half stoppage time to do it again.
In addition to Ceballos’ pair of headers, the Revs couldn’t stop – scoring a total of four headed goals before the end of the match. It was only the second time in league history that so many goals had been scored off headers, but it wasn’t only the goalscorers putting their heads in the game. Langoni put his best foot forward with three consecutive assists in the first half, making him only the second Revolution player, after Lee Nguyen, to do so in a single half.
“I’m very happy. It’s something we practiced a lot during the week – myself, Griffin (Yow), Carles (Gil). I’m very happy and I just want to continue for more,” the Argentinian said via translator.
Dor Turgeman became only the fourth player in Revolution history to score in each of his first three home games, heading one home with the help of Langoni in the 31st minute. Beginning the second half ahead 3-1, Alhassan Yusuf, Yow, and Peyton Miller brought the final result to 6-1.
It was an easy game to celebrate, but for Mitrović’s first game at Gillette Stadium, what he was most proud of was the team’s ability to lift themselves up after going down.
“Something I felt in the preseason, in a couple of games when we conceded a goal, I think we just lost belief. Maybe it’s the confidence level that we talk about. No matter the reason why, I felt there was no belief that we could come back. It really frustrated me,” explained Mitrović. “Then after the game against Red Bull, I felt positive when once were down, I felt the team believed we could score. I felt until the referee blew the last whistle that we would score a goal. That’s just the belief. Maybe it’s good we were down today 1-0, because that showed, we just keep going, always.
“If we have the right approach, don’t take me wrong, when we are at 1-0, it’s not easy. Now you have to score two goals to create a game in your favor, but if we believe it, believe we can do it. If we don’t believe, forget about it.”
The Revolution didn’t just put on an attacking show in front of the home crowd on Sunday – the defense also came to play. Despite conceding one of Cincinnati’s nine shots on target, goalkeeper Matt Turner turned on the heroics for the fans in Foxborough, putting up seven saves to help the Revs tie their largest margin of victory in club history.
With a boost of confidence from their first three points of the season, the Revolution look to continue building on Sunday’s momentum. For Mitrović, the result was emblematic of the way he’d like the team to play. Now, it’s about sustaining it moving forward.
“I have clarity with the coaching staff about what we want to look like and what the final product is. And I just know that we relentlessly have to work day-by-day. Something that I said to the guys, I congratulated them with a win. Tomorrow they have the day off, but Tuesday we have to keep going,” said Mitrović. "So, that's how I see it. My objective is day-by-day. We took most of today, and then we have to take most of tomorrow when it's our recovery day, and then we keep going.”
The Revs look to find another victory and add more goals to their tally next Saturday as they are back on the road against St. Louis CITY SC.
