How aggressive will they be? Assessing Austin FC's strategy in a do-or-die playoff match
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez says his team is ready to play aggressively as they aim to extend their season at least one more match. But he also makes a case they were aggressive in a loss in which they only had two shots on target.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez was asked in Friday's media availability about how aggressive his team will have to be in Sunday evening's potential elimination game against LAFC.
He had a surprising answer.
"We feel we approached the game in L.A. being aggressive," he said on Wednesday's 2-1 loss, "because LAFC is the best team in the league in the counter-attack. You cannot think, 'I'm gonna attack crazy without any control, any organization, any instructions,' and not get punished. We need to be smart when we play against LAFC. It's a very tactical, controlled application, although we learned how or where we can be more aggressive and more often. We had more touches in the opponents' half than they had in ours. They feel comfortable with that, but we cannot get caught in their hands."
He then added, "This is why the game plan on having long possessions, mostly in the first half, is a way to control their counter-attack. But the thing that we didn't do well is in those moments, we had moments to be aggressive, and it is how to manage the moment that you have to have long possessions in control again, and when controlling that possession opens you to a possible cross, shot, passing behind, [and] where to use it more often."
While Verde took the game to LAFC in some respects, they didn't get off many shots, getting just eight shots to LAFC's 18 and two shots on target to LAFC's six, with the lone Austin goal coming in one of the few moments they were able to create chaos in LAFC's box.
"We lost the first game; we have to attack the second one," Mikkel Desler told media on Friday. "We have to score goals and win the game; we can't really sit back too much. It's 90 minutes, it's a long game; we have to be smart in that sense. But of course we need to attack."
Check out Phil West's conversation with Justin Ruderman comparing notes on the teams they cover ahead of Sunday's match
Even though Wednesday's result wasn't equal to the pair of 1-0 wins Verde engineered against versions of LAFC earlier this year, Estévez was largely encouraged by what he saw.
"We had more control in these games than the first two that we had against them. Even we were more dangerous in these games. I think we made progress on performing, and now it's about getting to details on how we're going to be more dangerous at home," he said.
"We had personality. We were great, and we were a team that wasn't scared of playing away against one of the best teams in the league, and with [Denis] Bouanga and Son [Heung-min], probably the best team in the West. And that is a really big important step for this group."
Verde will have the same personnel available, with Diego Rubio still out with a hamstring injury, and Osman Bukari grappling with an ankle injury leaving him questionable on the league's injury report.
"He just had a knock in the ankle. I think he's dealing [with it] today better," Estévez said Friday, noting that the decision to play him would be based on how he responded in Saturday's training session.
Asked about penalty shootout strategies, Estévez said he'll have that in mind based on who is available on the field at the end of the match. But it may be the most plausible route to extending the series, as three of the five playoff matches on Saturday came down to PKs:
In the Bronx, Charlotte FC won 7-6 in a PK sequence that went eight deep after Kristijan Kahlina kept a clean sheet with a key late-game save, sending the series back to Charlotte;
In Portland, Gage Guerra scored a header in the eighth and final minute of stoppage time to get the Timbers level with San Diego FC, and then the visitors fell apart in the PK sequence with three straight misses, sending the series south for a Game 3; and
In Frisco, Vancouver got a stoppage-time goal from Ralph Priso, and then benefited from two too-high PKs from FC Dallas players — one hitting the crossbar, the other going over — to close out the series.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez indicated this is a team that can learn from losing. They'll have a few days to do that prior to what could be their final match of the season.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez was asked in Friday's media availability about how aggressive his team will have to be in Sunday evening's potential elimination game against LAFC.
He had a surprising answer.
"We feel we approached the game in L.A. being aggressive," he said on Wednesday's 2-1 loss, "because LAFC is the best team in the league in the counter-attack. You cannot think, 'I'm gonna attack crazy without any control, any organization, any instructions,' and not get punished. We need to be smart when we play against LAFC. It's a very tactical, controlled application, although we learned how or where we can be more aggressive and more often. We had more touches in the opponents' half than they had in ours. They feel comfortable with that, but we cannot get caught in their hands."
He then added, "This is why the game plan on having long possessions, mostly in the first half, is a way to control their counter-attack. But the thing that we didn't do well is in those moments, we had moments to be aggressive, and it is how to manage the moment that you have to have long possessions in control again, and when controlling that possession opens you to a possible cross, shot, passing behind, [and] where to use it more often."
While Verde took the game to LAFC in some respects, they didn't get off many shots, getting just eight shots to LAFC's 18 and two shots on target to LAFC's six, with the lone Austin goal coming in one of the few moments they were able to create chaos in LAFC's box.
"We lost the first game; we have to attack the second one," Mikkel Desler told media on Friday. "We have to score goals and win the game; we can't really sit back too much. It's 90 minutes, it's a long game; we have to be smart in that sense. But of course we need to attack."
Check out Phil West's conversation with Justin Ruderman comparing notes on the teams they cover ahead of Sunday's match
Even though Wednesday's result wasn't equal to the pair of 1-0 wins Verde engineered against versions of LAFC earlier this year, Estévez was largely encouraged by what he saw.
"We had more control in these games than the first two that we had against them. Even we were more dangerous in these games. I think we made progress on performing, and now it's about getting to details on how we're going to be more dangerous at home," he said.
"We had personality. We were great, and we were a team that wasn't scared of playing away against one of the best teams in the league, and with [Denis] Bouanga and Son [Heung-min], probably the best team in the West. And that is a really big important step for this group."
Verde will have the same personnel available, with Diego Rubio still out with a hamstring injury, and Osman Bukari grappling with an ankle injury leaving him questionable on the league's injury report.
"He just had a knock in the ankle. I think he's dealing [with it] today better," Estévez said Friday, noting that the decision to play him would be based on how he responded in Saturday's training session.
Asked about penalty shootout strategies, Estévez said he'll have that in mind based on who is available on the field at the end of the match. But it may be the most plausible route to extending the series, as three of the five playoff matches on Saturday came down to PKs:
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Read Next
At the Whistle: Austin FC 1, LAFC 4
After neutralizing Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga in the first 2025 playoff matchup between the teams, Verde couldn't do the same in this one.
Numbers and predictions: Assessing the MLS playoffs as they stand
Which playoff matchups will advance to a third and deciding game? And why does one of them involve Will Bruin?
The Thursday Three: Assessing a playoff performance leaving Austin FC 90 minutes from elimination
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez indicated this is a team that can learn from losing. They'll have a few days to do that prior to what could be their final match of the season.
At the Whistle: LAFC 2, Austin FC 1
Austin FC went down early, brought the match back level in the second half, and then ultimately lost the playoff series opener.