FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (10-12-11; 41 pts.) defeated Atlanta United FC (10-13-10; 40 pts.), 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Forward Giacomo Vrioni made his first MLS start and opened the scoring with his first MLS goal from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute. Gustavo Bou scored in the 85th minute to lead the Revolution to victory in the team’s final home match of the regular season.
Midfielder Nacho Gil and Vrioni both made their first starts of the season, with the latter making his home debut. Nacho, alongside older brother Carles Gil, became the first siblings to start in the same match in Revolution club history.
New England broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute as Vrioni drew a foul in the box to secure a penalty kick. The striker stepped up to the spot and rolled a left-footed shot past Atlanta goalkeeper Raúl Gudiño to open his MLS account. Vrioni finished his 76-minute outing with three shots, including two on target.
Atlanta’s Josef Martinez scored a bicycle kick in 81st minute to tie the match, but New England retook the lead just four minutes later via Gustavo Bou’s eighth tally of the season. Following a fast break, Carles Gil, making his 100th MLS appearance, sent a pass to Bou, who calmly sent a right-footed finish to the back post for the game winner in the 85th minute. Bou now leads the club’s Golden Boot race by one goal, just ahead of Gil’s seven goals.
In addition to Gil’s 100th appearance, veterans Andrew Farrell and Tommy McNamara also reached milestones. Farrell, who was named the Revolution Defender of the Year for a record fifth time, became the first player in club history to reach 300 MLS starts. McNamara started for the 150th time in his MLS career, making his career-high 29th appearance of the season.
With the win, Bruce Arena is now the first MLS coach in MLS history to record 250 regular season wins. His record with New England improves to 48-26-34 in regular season play. The Revolution close the home slate with a 7-4-6 record at Gillette Stadium.
New England will close the 2022 regular season next Sunday, October 9 at Chicago Fire FC. The MLS Decision Day clash at SeatGeek Stadium kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET.
MATCH NOTES
- Bruce Arena is now the first coach in MLS history to record 250 regular season wins as his record moves to 250-147-123, and 48-26-34 with New England.
- New England finishes the 2022 regular season with a home record of 7-4-6.
- The Revolution (3-0-1) remain unbeaten over the last four meetings with Atlanta.
- The Revolution have now won eight consecutive matches when leading at halftime.
- Designated Player Giacomo Vrioni suited up for his first MLS start and his fourth consecutive appearance since returning from a knee injury. The Albanian international converted a penalty kick for his first MLS and Revolution goal.
- Gustavo Bou netted his eighth goal of the season to move into the team lead with one game to play. The Revolution are now 6-0-2 when Bou scores in the 85th minute or later.
- Nacho Gil made his first MLS start and his first appearance in front of the home fans at Gillette Stadium alongside older brother Carles Gil, marking the first time in club history siblings have started a match together. Nacho finished the day with two chances created.
- Carles Gil registered his 100th MLS appearance in today’s match, all with New England. His five chances created on Saturday raise his league-leading total to 111 on the season, the sixth-highest mark for a single season in MLS since Opta began tracking the stat in 2011.
- Carles Gil also registered his 14th assist of the season on Bou’s winning goal, giving him 48 for his Revolution career. Only three players since 2000 have recorded 15 assists in back-to-back seasons.
- Dylan Borrero saw action for a second straight match since returning from a leg injury, notching a secondary assist on Bou’s tally. He now has two goals and two assists in 11 appearances.
- Andrew Farrell collected his 300th MLS start this afternoon, all with New England, becoming the first player in Revolution history to reach the milestone. The veteran center back was voted New England’s 2022 Defender of the Year for the fifth time, a team record.
- Tommy McNamara made his 150th MLS start and his 29th of the season, a career high for the ninth-year midfielder.
- Christian Makoun returned from international duty with Venezuela and played 45 minutes in the second half, winning all three of his tackles along with three clearances and two shots.
- Arena made three changes to his Starting XI from the club’s most recent match on Sept. 17 against CF Montreal, with defender Ryan Spaulding, midfielder Nacho Gil, and forward Giacomo Vrioni all starting in place of Jon Bell, Christian Makoun, and Justin Rennicks.
GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 2, Atlanta United FC 1
October 1, 2022 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Armando Villareal
Assistant Referees: Ian Anderson (AR1), Jeffrey Greeson (AR2)
Fourth Official: Tori Penso
Video Assistant Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schaap
Weather: 53 degrees and showers.
Attendance: 33,421
Scoring Summary:
NE – Giacomo Vrioni 1 (Penalty Kick) 33’
ATL – Josef Martinez 9 (Brooks Lennon 7, Marcelino Moreno 8) 81’
NE – Gustavo Bou 8 (Carles Gil 14, Dylan Borrero 2) 85’
Misconduct Summary:
ATL – Santiago Sosa (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 5’
NE – Nacho Gil (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 22’
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 43’
ATL – Andrew Gutman (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 45’
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; Ryan Spaulding (Christian Makoun 45’), Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster (Wilfrid Kaptoum 58’), Tommy McNamara; Gustavo Bou (Omar Gonzalez 87’), Carles Gil ©, Nacho Gil (Dylan Borrero 76’); Giacomo Vrioni (Justin Rennicks 76’).
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Noel Buck, Emmanuel Boateng, Damian Rivera.
Atlanta United FC: Raúl Gudiño, Ronald Hernández (Edwin Mosquera 55’), Juan José Purata, Alan Franco ©, Andrew Gutman; Amar Sejdić (Matheus Rossetto 55’), Santiago Sosa, (Marcelino Moreno 76’) Thiago Almada; Luiz Araújo (Caleb Wiley 76’), Brooks Lennon, Ronaldo Cisneros (Josef Martínez 55’).
Substitutes Not Used: Rocco Ríos Novo, Franco Ibarra, Machop Chol, George Campbell.
Full statistics available HERE.
