It was a tough loss to swallow against the New England Revolution in the 2023 season opener for Charlotte FC. It was an even affair but what head coach Christian Lattanzio thought made all the difference was a lack being clinical is opportune moments.
“I noticed that we are still a work in progress in certain things. We needed to be more clinical in certain situations because in the end we counted the chances we had, and we had more chances. This is a trend that I really struggle to digest because normally if you have those kinds of stats and you don’t win at least you don’t lose....
“I think we played eye to eye with, in my opinion, one of the best teams in MLS. Even in transition when we pressed, we could have been more clinical. To make it count... You will see there were certain situations where we should free one our players in front of goal instead the ball is too short or too long. These little details make the difference. The importance of every ball especially at the highest level is immense.”
This weekend, Charlotte FC will be partaking in a momentous occasion St. Louis as they will be their opponent in their inaugural home match. Lattanzio feels that events like these can be distracting, and that the team just needs to focus on the game itself.
“We need to focus more on the game and less on the event,” said Lattanzio.
St. Louis may be an expansion side but they didn’t come from nothing like most new teams in MLS do.
“It’s slightly different even though it’s an expansion year for them because they already come from a team they already had as opposed to Charlotte who built everything from scratch. They were already a team in MLS Next Pro.
After Charlotte’s own season opener was soured by the result, they will be looking to leave the same taste in St. Louis. Lattanzio gives a preview of what the team expects from the new kids on the block and what he expects from his own team.
“They are a very aggressive team with a clear way of playing. Similar to the Red Bulls style, they want to play direct, take advantage of second balls, and to be aggressive and in your face. Playing at their stadium they want to maximize that.
“We need to be ready. We want to be able to match everything in terms of energy, aggressiveness, and playing style. We will have our style and they will have theirs. Our aim is to play away like we play at home... We will go there to give them a game.”
