Three takeaways from the loss to FC Dallas

Jakob Glesnes impresses

I may be in the minority here, but I was actually impressed by Glesnes’ first competitive game for Philly. He certainly wasn’t perfect (nobody on the field was) but he showed flashes of quality. Jakob’s long passing was a joy to behold, making multiple cross-pitch passes to switch the point of attack. His overall composure on and off the ball under pressure (besides that one reckless tackle) helped stabilize the backline, I believe.

The Invisible Men

Jamiro Monteiro and Brenden Aaronson had such quiet games on Saturday night that I almost forgot they were there. Neither man could get anything going on the pitch offensively. Monteiro’s insistence on dribbling and taking multiple men on himself did not help matters at all. Brenden showed a distinct lack of creativity going forward, and only completed 67% of his passes. Both men failed to get the forwards involved in the match as well. While Aaronson is young and still quite raw, the same cannot be said for Mr. Monteiro. I expect more from a player on an expensive DP contract.

Sergio Santos Stinker

Oh boy, did Sergio Santos have quite the match on Saturday night in Texas. His runs (or lack there of in most situations) were ineffective at best, he was outsmarted by defenders at almost every turn, his shots were either off target or blocked, and his short temper cost him in the form of a yellow card in the 84th minute. Santos looked generally out of the game pretty much the whole match unfortunately. He will need to show some sort of justification for being in the first team soon, or I imagine his spot will be up for grabs.