The New England Revolution have geared up for the 2020 MLS season with a win, loss and draw in preseason matches thus far on the West Coast. Coach Bruce Arena would like to get more out of his team before heading to Montreal to face the Impact in the season opener on Feb. 29. But what exactly needs to be kicked up a notch?
LIVE stream the Celtics all season and get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App.
“A better job on the ball, keeping the ball, and a better job in trying to win it back when we lost it, and just getting pressure on the ball and being more aggressive, more competitive,” Arena said, according to Elizabeth Pehota of revolutionsoccer.net. “I think just the simple things had to be better and they were in the second half [on Sunday].”
While Arena says the club needs to focus more on aggressiveness, newcomer Adam Buksa thinks the squad needs to be a bit more consistent up front.
“I focus on those final decisions – shots, final passes – so I think we could have created more 100-percent chances,” said Buksa. The 23-year-old Polish striker was signed as a designated player on Dec. 31 and was referring to Sunday's 2-2 draw against Minnesota United. “But we’re going to improve them for sure because we understand us much better as we get to know each other better and better, so it will come for sure.
“We want to be more consistent up front, to score more goals and keep zero on the defensive line.”
Buksa and his teammates will have two more chances to better themselves in preparation for the season opener: Wednesday against the Vancouver Whitecaps and Saturday against the Portland Timbers.