CITY vs Colorado: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
By Cole Sutton
@CSuttonCITY
St. Louis CITY SC action returned to Energizer (CITY) Park for the first time in 126 days Saturday night while new faces on both the touchline and the pitch bring some unanswered questions heading into the club's third MLS campaign. While former Aston Villa and Swedish international Olof Mellberg's first match in charge of the Boys in Red was a bit anti-climactic, it was great to get a glimpse into the style of play and tactical differences fans can look forward to in 2025. Despite the bitter cold temperatures, lack of goals, and a starting lineup that raised some eyebrows, I think CITY fans should be pleasantly surprised with Saturday's 0-0 draw.
Mellberg began his regular season in a 3-4-1-2 formation with a backline of Josh Yaro, Kyle Hiebert, and Henry Kessler manning the middle, paired with Jannes Horn and Tomas Totland out wide as wing-backs who would often advance upfield and join the attack. A central midfield duo of Akil Watts and Eduard Löwen mixed with Marcel Hartel roaming the pitch as an attacking midfielder meant CITY had plenty of opportunities to create chances and be comfortable on the ball. The striker duo of João Klauss and Simon Becher certainly left more to be desired in the final third but showed some promise as well.
I was a bit nervous seeing a back three heading into the match, especially with how often CITY was burned by counter-attacks last season. The three CBs held their own though against a stagnant Colorado attack that didn't trouble Bürki much throughout the night. Saturday was the second time in club history that CITY didn't allow a single shot on target from their opponent, with the first coming in a 1-0 victory against Austin FC in April of 2024.
While it's still too early to make any concrete judgments, we break down the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Saturday's scoreless draw.
The Good
Henry Kessler
Kessler played a major role in CITY earning a point against the Rapids in both a good and bad way. While it was he who was offside on the Becher goal that was called back, Kessler also played an outstanding game defensively putting a stop to multiple dangerous Colorado chances. In my opinion, he was the best CB on the field.
According to FotMob, Kessler was the highest-rated outfield player on the pitch at 7.8 completing the most passes in the match going 63-for-67 at 94%. The former New England defender also won six duels while only losing two, had six defensive recoveries and seven clearances. With 82 touches and five passes into the final third, the 26-year-old also had an impact in regaining possession and transitioning the club into attack.
While many were upset that fan-favorite Tim Parker left the club in the trade for Kessler, I can't help but think of St. Louis as the objective winner of said deal. The former USMNT defender is young enough to become a stallworth of this CITY backline and with more performances like Saturday, will certainly reach Tim Parker's level of affection with the fans very soon.
Marcel Hartel
Despite only appearing in nine matches last season, CITY fans saw just how much Marcel Hartel can do in the midfield. The former St. Pauli man netted three goals on 14 shots (six on target) with seven assists. In Mellberg's new look system that doesn't quite focus so much on pressing and a high work rate, Hartel just looks so comfortable with the ball at his feet in possession while also being incredibly creative with finding teammates quickly on the counter. As the sole attacking midfielder, the German international was all over the pitch and made great use of his space between the striker and central midfield duos.
Hartel finished with a 7.6 rating and created the most chances (7) in the match according to FotMob. The 29-year-old had a combined xG + xA of 0.43, with 73% accurate passing (29/40), five touches in the Colorado penalty area along with four passes into CITY's attacking third.
While neither club found the back of the net, the midfield combination of Hartel and Löwen gets me incredibly excited as a fan. Both have such composure in the midfield and could have a lot more of an impact in St. Louis' new system that doesn't necessarily *need* to possess the ball, but looked more comfortable doing so compared to the first two seasons with Bradley Carnell's Gegenpressing.
Simon Becher
While only receiving a 6.8 rating, I thought former SLU product Simon Becher showed lots of promise. Becher had an incredible impact on the match with five shots and a goal that would've given CITY all three points if Henry Kessler's shoulder wasn't marginally offsides. That being said, there were plenty of missed chances that we will certainly discuss. The former 16th overall pick had an xG of 1.17 and eight touches in the Colorado area which shows that he was in the right place at the right time just unable to clinically finish despite being named Man of the Match.
As I mentioned earlier, it's way too early to raise concerns, but after another lackluster performance from João Klauss, Cedric Teuchert still not at 100%, and Thor away on loan, it could be a big season for Becher if he can start slotting away chances in scenarios similar to Saturday night. In my opinion, Becher felt more involved in the match than Klauss and despite not getting on the scoresheet put in a better performance than his Brazilian counterpart.
The Bad
João Klauss
I hate to do it, but Klauss was one of the CITY players I left the park Saturday night wanting more from. The 27-year-old's 34 touches were the least amount of touches for outfield players who withstood the full 90 minutes according to FotMob. Finishing the match with only a 6.4 rating (only behind Akil Watts' 6.0 for the lowest on the team) and little to no impact, I believe that Klauss may begin feeling the pressure from both pundits and fans if he continues performing like he did Saturday night. Although you see plenty of number nine jerseys when making the trip into Energizer Park, the scoring just hasn't been there for CITY's first designated player stemming back to last season.
You have to go back to May 11th of 2024 to find Klauss' last goal for St. Louis, when he scored two in a 3-1 against the Chicago Fire in 79 minutes. That means the CITY mainstay has gone over 1,200 minutes (17 appearances, 15 starts) without finding the back of the net.
"Santa Klauss" finished Saturday night with only 14 accurate passes, zero chances created, and went one for four in successful dribbles. His combined xG + xA coming in at 0.35 is a drastic difference from his striker counterpart Becher who finished over 1.0, the former Bundesliga 2 barely finished ahead of Cedric Teuchert's 0.12 xG + xA despite Teuchert only coming on in the 81st minute.
The striker's deal with CITY ends at the end of 2025 and with a new manager/staff, tactical system, new arrivals, and the club having a boatload of GAM after the Vassilev deal, could we eventually find CITY's replacement for Klauss up top and move him if he doesn't perform this season?
Jannes Horn
Horn didn't massively stick out good or bad Saturday night which is part of the reason I felt to put him in this section. While Akil Watts didn't have a great performance either, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as he's possibly transitioning into a central mid role from his usual wing or full back while Chris Durkin and newcomer Alfredo Morales get up to full fitness.
Horn, to me, just didn't feel very involved in the match similarly to Klauss. As a wing-back advancing up the pitch when on offense, Horn only finished with 49 total touches and finished with a combined xG + xA of 0.03. Despite creating a chance, the German went 0/5 on accurate crosses, won zero tackles, and only won one defensive duel according to FotMob.
Despite the positive performance on Saturday night from Yaro and Heibert (at least until his back-to-back turnovers at the end of the match) I would like to eventually see a backline of Nilsson, Horn, and Kessler at CB with Wallem and Totland as their wing-backs.
The Ugly
Finishing Chances
It felt like we went back in time to the end of the 2024 season watching this performance in the final third, especially when finishing chances. A frustrating sign for fans but with a long season ahead and a lineup that isn't fully fit, I do think we'll see improvement in putting the ball in the back of the net going forward.
The number that jumps out to me is 18. CITY finished the match with 18 total shots (five on target) but nothing to show for it. Compared to only two total shots and neither troubling Bürki, we come away from this match somehow a bit frustrated with only earning one point. While nine other clubs finished matchday one with no goals on the board, if you watched on Saturday night you know how frustrating it was to see countless chances squandered, one even within Steffen and Colorado's six-yard box.
With Teuchert getting to full fitness, we will certainly be looking to him to provide some clinical finishing when needed the most along with the likes of Löwen, Hartel, Wallem, etc. I think Klauss deserves some more matches this season to get back to the form he showcased in our inaugural season, but if he stays off the scoresheet I'm very intrigued by the concept of Becher up top with Tuechert supporting him.
Up Next
CITY will make their first trip to Snapdragon Stadium to take on Hirving Lozano and San Diego FC on Saturday night followed by a return to the west coast to take on the reigning champs LA Galaxy the following week. After two straight matches on the road the Boys in Red will return to Energizer Park to battle the Seattle Sounders in front of the rabid home atmosphere we know and love.