Whatever Chris Armas prescribed to his Colorado Rapids over the two-week international break, the giving-up-goals bug seems to have been cured.
After allowing 13 goals in the four matches leading up to the break, the Rapids have now earned two straight clean sheets since returning while scoring five goals in that span, including a 3-0 win against St. Louis City at CITYPARK on Wednesday night.
In St. Louis, all three Rapids goals were spurred from cheap mistakes from City. All three were scored by Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, marking the first hat trick of the season for the club and the first for the team since Gyasi Zardes earned one in August of 2022.
Here are three takeaways from one of the more positive results of the season:
Urgency restored, Rapids capitalize on mistakes
If it had not been for a stout press being played at perhaps the best it’s been all season, St. Louis might not have made the mistakes that led to all three goals.
The worst of all will be on the mind of City captain and reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Roman Bürki, who threw a ball directly into the path of Mihailovic at the edge of the box in the 60th minute. Mihailovic reacted quickly and collected the ball calmly, turned and fired it into a vacant bottom left corner for his second of the night.
Being at the right place at the right time is what Mihailovic has to thank for his first goal as well. In the ninth minute, Sebastian Anderson took a long throw into the box and no City player went for it, leaving Mihailovic open for a header to put it away as he sprinted into the six-yard box.
For Mihailovic, none of it would have been possible if not for St. Louis’ mistakes and the Rapids’ press working wonders.
“(The press) is one of the things that makes us the team we are. You look at the best teams in the world, and some goals come directly off pressing and going straight to goal,” Mihailovic said. “You can’t put a price tag on counter-pressing and pressing and how many goals it leads to. … Game after game, the press is getting more and more cohesive.”
Mihailovic scores first Rapids hat trick in nearly two years
Mihailovic completed his hat trick in stoppage time by scoring a penalty on the last kick of the game. Winger Calvin Harris dribbled the ball into the box and tried to cut back towards the middle, only to be taken down by Akil Watts — who otherwise played an excellent game for St. Louis — for a penalty much like the numerous penalties Kévin Cabral has earned for the Rapids.
Interestingly, Mihailovic’s hat trick was not his biggest takeaway from the match.
“I think (the clean sheet) is probably what I’m most happy about in this game,” Mihailovic said. “We’re continuing to grow as a defensive team and we’ve proven before that we can score goals, but it’s nice now that we’re defending the box very well.”
In a broader sense, Mihailovic is right on the money. The focus over the international break was to play better in both boxes. Be more ruthless in the attack; be more stingy defending your own box. Against Austin FC last Saturday and certainly against St. Louis Wednesday, that’s exactly what the Rapids have been doing.
Abubakar impressing in Bombito’s absence
Defender Lalas Abubakar’s most notable moment of the night will certainly go down as his 25th minute handball in the box, which St. Louis’ Eduard Löwen beamed off the crossbar and out. Otherwise, he was quietly one of the best defenders of the match.
By the expected goal metric, St. Louis goal poacher João Klauss has greatly underperformed so far this season, only scoring five goals on an expected eight through 18 games. Abubakar did the dirty work required to ensure Klauss wouldn’t get back on that path. At least not on his watch.
And with Moïse Bombito out on international duty for the foreseeable future, showing the sort of effort Abubakar did is certainly beneficial, winning numerous challenges on Klauss on the night and consistently being a pest.
“You can see the intensity he brings, the will to win, the ability to gain advantages and win duels with Klauss tonight, you know, a top striker,” Armas said. “(Abubakar) was really up for it and it’s energizing for the team. It’s important tactically to put out some fires and limit what they can do offensively, but it energizes the group when he’s winning those battles and duels, aerial duels, stepping in front and winning balls.”
The Rapids will return home this Saturday for a match against Mihailovic’s old club, CF Montreal.