He only needed 15 minutes to shine.
Making his introduction with the New England Revolution on the road in Montréal, coming off the bench into a game that already looked done and dusted, club-record signing Luca Langoni wasted no time in making his mark on the club and on the league. Becoming the first player in Revs history to record a goal and an assist in their regular season debut, the talented young Argentinian has propelled himself into the MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi for Matchday 29, at the very first time of asking.
Langoni had only started training with the team in the week leading up to New England’s faceoff with CF Montréal, and head coach Caleb Porter had cautioned that the winger would likely need time to build full match fitness and might only be available as a substitute. That proved to be the case, but if hopes were high for La Langosta coming in, the young man delivered on those hopes and more during his brief debut, bolstering the belief that this team will be able to qualify for the playoffs this season and continue to succeed for years to come.
It only took Langoni two minutes to earn his maiden goal involvement. Substituted on for Esmir Bajraktarević in the 77th minute with the Revolution already enjoying a 3-0 lead over Montréal, Langoni immediately demonstrated the threat he poses as a stretch winger within Porter’s tactical system, bursting into space on the right and threading a low cross through to fellow substitute Giacomo Vrioni, who made no mistake in chipping over a diving Jonathan Sirois.
And if his assist was good, his goal was even better. Not even five minutes after his helper, Langoni was found by an incisive through-ball from Dylan Borrero on the opposite wing – another promising link-up that will have Revs fans salivating to see the team’s fully-fit strike force in action from the first minute in upcoming matches. Langoni took one touch to set the ball in front of himself, then unleashed a blistering shot that Sirois was helpless to stop even despite getting both hands on it.
Best of all, Langoni’s stellar performance was only one of many across the squad on Saturday night. Notably, midfielder Carles Gil notched two assists in his first game back from injury since June, and forward Bobby Wood continued his hot run of goalscoring form with two strikes in the first half; both players made the bench for the stacked Team of the Matchday in what was an exciting return to MLS action that saw more than one notable debut take place.
This dominant win from the Revolution, their first by multiple goals in MLS this campaign, comes at just the right time. Now with 10 games left in the regular season, New England have risen to 12th in the Eastern Conference, just two points off a playoff spot with games in hand over the teams around them. The team hits the road again this weekend, facing a stiff challenge in the form of Real Salt Lake as their challenge for postseason soccer continues, before coming home to host St. Louis CITY SC the following weekend for the first-ever meeting of the two franchises.
