Giacomo Vrioni’s hat-trick leads New England to dominating 5-1 victory over Atletico San Luis

FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (12-7-4, 43 pts.) were victorious in a dominating 5-1 victory over Club Atlético de San Luis (1-1-1, 4 pts. in Liga MX) on Wednesday night.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to a crowd of 10,000.

Vamos Equipo 💪

Watch #LeaguesCup2023 LIVE on #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV!

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 26, 2023

The team started their lineup in a 4-4-2 formation with Đorđe Petrović starting in net with a backline of (left back) DeJuan Jones, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Andrew Farrell, along with (right back) Brandon Bye. The central defensive midfield spot was manned by Mark-Anthony Kaye. Ian Harkes (left midfield) and Noel Buck (right midfield), and Carles Gil (central attacking midfield) rounded off the middle of the pitch. The forward roles were manned by Giacomo Vrioni (Left) and Gustavo Bou (Right).

Midfielder Nacho Gil made the gameday roster for the first time in 2023.

Midfielder Matt Polster remained on the bench as he is recovering from the stomach bug.

Always in our hearts. 🕊️@bbknighton 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/dzJ83UKUIA

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 26, 2023

Today’s match began with a moment of silence honoring the life of Olivia Knighton. The 11-year-old daughter of former Revolution goalkeeper and current U19 Academy coach Brad Knighton died last week in a boating accident in South Carolina when their boat was rocked by a large wake caused by another boat. It resulted in 9 of the 12 occupants going overboard. Olivia was the only one injured.

❤️🪽 pic.twitter.com/JyncFAdsL5

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 26, 2023

The match began with Atlético de San Luis starting from the center circle. Forward #10 Dieter Villalpando played the ball forwards to the central of midfield before playing the ball backwards to their defensive backline.

In the 7th minute, Atlético de San Luis forward #17 Ángel Zaldívar was issued a yellow card for a challenge on DeJuan Jones.

The first moment of the match came in 9th minute when a long-distance strike from #5 Ricardo Chávez forced a save by Đorđe Petrović.

In the 15th minute, New England gained the early advantage.

BOU ➡️ VRIONI COMBO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/OaOJ3QMmTJ

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

Midfielder Ian Harkes found Forward Gustavo Bou on the wide left. Bou then drove at the Atlético de San Luis defense, combined again with midfielder Ian Harkes with a give and go, took a poor touch, which then led forward Giacomo Vrioni to unleash a left-footed strike that went directly past goalkeeper #1 Andrés Sánchez.

Less than 3 minutes later, New England almost added to their advantage when Gustavo Bou’s long-distance effort forced a save by goalkeeper #1 Andrés Sánchez.

In the 21st minute, Atlético de San Luis levelled the match.

⏱️ 22’ | ¡GOOOOOOOOOOOLAZOO! 🤩

¡MATEO KLIMOWICZ PUSO EL EMPATE CON UNA VOLEA ESPECTACULAR! 🇦🇷⚽️

📺 https://t.co/rKo1d3fl4m#ConAlmaPotosina #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/mokTAaoFKh

— Atlético de San Luis (@AtletideSanLuis) July 27, 2023

Following a corner kick by forward #10 Dieter Villalpando, the initially corner was won by #20 Unai Bilbao. His header was then set perfectly for the one-time volley by #22 Mateo Klimowicz. Revolution goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović did not have a chance. With the match now level at 1-1.

Less than 6 minutes later however, New England regained the lead.

BOU AHEAD NOW!!!! 🐾🐾🐾 pic.twitter.com/N01eNZ5AXU

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

Forward Gustavo Bou played the ball wide right to find defender Brandon Bye. He took one settling touch before delivering a low-driven ball into the box that was initially dummied by Noel Buck and managed to bounce at the feet of Giacomo Vrioni. The ball pin-balled around before Gustavo Bou unleashed a right footed shot into the top right corner to regain the lead for New England.

Forward Gustavo Bou (7) celebrates his goal with midfielder Carles Gil (10) in a Leagues Cup match versus Atlético de San Luis. (c) Burt Granofsky

Less than three minutes later, New England added to their advantage once again.

33′ – OWEN GOAL! We love him. 3-1 #NERevs

Watch LIVE on @AppleTV: https://t.co/gAGGzjKhgk #NEvADSL 3-1 | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/kDVkSygpVq

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

Midfielder Carles Gil drove at the Atlético de San Luis defense and found Brandon Bye at the right side. His delivery toward Vrioni was cleared away to Noel Buck. He then played Carles Gil, who then played DeJuan Jones. His delivery into the area towards Giacomo Vrioni was then deflected into Atlético de San Luis net by a sliding #4 Julio César Domínguez for the own goal.

In the 36th minute, Atlético de San Luis midfielder #22 Mateo Klimowicz was issued a yellow card for a challenge on Carles Gil.

Less than one minute later, New England added to their advantage once again.

RUN IT 🆙 pic.twitter.com/RA7fzHrfDS

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

After a fantastic skill move by Mark-Anthony Kaye, Carles Gil drove up the field and found Gustavo Bou to his left. Bou then played a square pass across the box that Carles Gil dummied and found Giacomo Vrioni. His left footed shot went directly past Atlético de San Luis goalkeeper #1 Andrés Sánchez for his second goal of the match.

Forward Giacomo Vrioni (9) celebrates his second goal of the match with teammates Gustavo Bou (7), DeJuan Jones (24) and Brandon Bye (15). (c) Burt Granofsky

After the 45+3 minutes, the match entered halftime with New England ahead 4-1.

Helluva start.#NEvADSL 4-1 | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/XANWwkfTn2

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

The second half began with Gustavo Bou starting from the center circle. He played the ball backwards to Dave Romney, who then sent the ball up the field into the Atlético de San Luis defensive third.

In the 59th minute, Giacomo Vrioni scored his hat-trick goal.

https://t.co/GHOMCQwQKd pic.twitter.com/IXnjrbMoaR

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) July 27, 2023

Following a cross field switch by Gustavo Bou, the ball found Brandon Bye on the right flank. His low-driven delivery was met by the right-foot of a sliding Giacomo Vrioni for his third goal of the match. This is the first official hat-trick in Leagues Cup history and is the first hat-trick by a Revolution player since 2019 (Carles Gil v FC Cincinatti 5-1 in US Open Cup).

In the 65th minute, Revolution head coach Bruce Arena made his first and second changes of the match by substituting forward Giacomo Vrioni and midfielder Noel Buck and replacing them with forward Bobby Wood and midfielder Nacho Gil. This is Nacho Gil’s first appearance for New England in 2023.

Revolution midfielder (23) Nacho Gil looks to trap the ball in a Leagues Cup Match versus Club Atletico San Luis. (c) Burt Granofsky

Entering the 66th minute following the New England substitutions, Atlético de San Luis played the ball backwards to goalkeeper #1 Andrés Sánchez. He came up short with a non-contact injury and was substituted for #32 Diego Urtiaga Ramírez. This delayed the match roughly 5 minutes.

In the 73rd minute, Revolution head coach Bruce Arena made his third and fourth changes of the match by substituting midfielders Mark-Anthony Kaye and Ian Harkes and replacing them with midfielders Joshua Bolma and Matt Polster.

Revolution midfielder (28) Mark-Anthony Kaye battles with defender (5) Ricardo Chávez for a loose ball in a Leagues Cup Match versus Club Atletico San Luis. (c) Burt Granofsky

Entering the 79th minute, Revolution midfielder Carles Gil was issued a yellow card for criticizing a no-call by the center official.

Moments later, Revolution head coach Bruce Arena made his fifth and final change of the match by substituting forward Gustavo Bou for midfielder Emmanuel Boateng.

After the 90+3 minutes, New England comfortably held onto their 5-1 victory.

SECURED! Qualified for the next round ✅🤪#LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/Xusaa0VXRp

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 27, 2023

With the victory, New England has qualified for the round of 32 in Leagues Cup.

👏 @NERevolution are into the Round of 32! 👏#LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/UIrdEoauwL

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) July 27, 2023

Following the match, Giacomo Vrioni stated, “I’m happy that we won, and I want to dedicate this win to Olivia…. She passed away a few days ago, so these three goals, and this win are for her.”.

The New England Revolution (12-7-4, 43 pts.) are set to find out their next round opponent for a Leagues Cup Match in the coming days. You can follow along the Revolution and all Major League Soccer matches on the MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

(Editor’s Note:  For more of Rick Wilson’s photos, click on the link)