Kessler was excited to face the star student talent of Toronto and New England’s back line kept them from reaching the back of the net
The New England Revolution had a challenge on Saturday evening. They needed to shut down some serious talent in Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.
Well, it’s safe to say New England accomplished their mission with Toronto FC failing to score a goal.
Insigne had 74 touches in 90 minutes played but only completed 75 percent of his passes. While he created the most chances of the night (3), none of those found the back of the net.
Bernardeschi also struggled completing 73 percent of his passes. The Italian also only won 43 percent of his ground duels, and had 44 touches. His only real chance of the night rocketed off the post.
Henry Kessler deserves a lot of credit for Bernadeschi’s lack of production.
Prior to the match, Kessler said he was looking forward to going against the star-studded Toronto attack and after the draw he talked about how it felt to actually go up against Insigne and Bernadeschi on the field.
“I was excited,” he said. “You know, I was up against [Federico] Bernardeschi more, but [Lorenzo] Insigne is also a quality player. Those guys, they’ve got really good technique, so that’s what they bring to the table and they showed their quality tonight. But I think we, in general, limited them, which was good.”
But with the draw, New England is still outside of the playoffs at the moment in ninth place. With the season nearing its end, points are at a premium, but Kessler isn’t feeling a ton of pressure at the moment.
“Yes and no,” Kessler stated. “I think we’re improving and that is a little bit of a relief, you know? I think we’re heading in the right direction but at some point, as you said, we do need to start really getting points. So, hopefully next time we’ll get three points, that’s always the goal. But I wouldn’t say so much pressure, not yet at least.”
The Revs next match won’t be an easy one with New England heading down to Florida to face Orlando City SC who are currently in fifth place. If the Revolution manage to get three points it would be a lift to their hopes of playing in the postseason.