Commerce City, Colo. – Colorado Rapids hosted FC Dallas on Wednesday night, the third meeting of the season between the two MLS originals. Both teams were shorthanded, with Tanner Tessmann recently leaving Dallas for Venezia FC. Colorado were still missing three players with the USMNT. Michael Barrios again had a good performance against his former team.
Michael Barrios Scores Against FC Dallas Again in Rapids win
The first half was competitive, but lacking in quality. Colorado created opportunities through Michael Barrios and Braian Galván in space. Dallas was at their best in transition after defending a set piece. Paxton Pomykal and Ryan Hollingshead were good on the left flank.
Colorado’s best chance of the first half came 11 minutes in on a direct free kick. Rubio got the ball over the wall, but put the shot too central. Goalkeeper Jimmy Mauer made the save.
Hollingshead had a great look 23 minutes in. Goalkeeper William Yarbrough turned the ball over playing out of the back. Jesús Ferreira intercepted, passing to Hollingshead in stride who could not shoot on target.
Franco Jara thought he scored just before the half hour mark. He and Danny Wilson battled for a low cross in the box from Pomykal. The ball bounced off the far post and in but the flag went up.
The match flipped completely 10 minutes into the second half. First Lalas Abubakar connected with a smashing header on a corner from Jack Price.
Then in the 55th minute, Rubio found Barrios on a long ball into space. The former Dallas man cut inside and curled a ball past Mauer who could have done better even with the ball bouncing right in front of him.
The match ended 2-0 with Colorado playing conservative in the final 20 minutes.
Michael Barrios against his old team. 👀 pic.twitter.com/9TtABie4Fr
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 22, 2021
Three Key Takeaways:
Michael Barrios revenge tour, again: Barrios now has two goals in three games against his former team. It was a lucky bounce, but the goal was timely and allows Colorado to change the game plan to see out the win.
Dallas in the dumps: Luchi Gonzalez’s side have still yet to pick up a road point in 2021. They weren’t sharp enough in the final third. Again, poor defending cost them on a set piece, which has been a worrying habit of late.
Pomykal and Bassett: The USMNT youth hopefuls had some good battles in this game. Pomykal was the one good outlet out wide. Bassett combined well in possession. Both were missing the final product, which has been a theme for their seasons.
