In year two under Troy Lesesne, D.C. United seeks to add a second club to its bag

Analyzing D.C. United's new approach to build-up

You’ve likely seen the stat, but if not, it bears repeating that Christian Benteke was utterly dominant in the air last year, to the extent that he became D.C. United’s sole game plan: a singular threat, a reliable outlet, and a constant (if temporary) reprieve from pressure.

Yet, as excellent as he was, the team was not. Consequently, the club let go about half of its 2024 minutes this winter – second only to the New England Revolution in departed minutes.

As such, there are two lenses through which one can view Saturday’s 2025 season opener – a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC. Jason Anderson, who continues to provide excellent coverage of American soccer, presents the first:

I mean… yeah. Shoddy goalkeeping, worrisome transition defending (particularly for a pressing team), and a slew of unforced errors were on full display Saturday, as was the case last year. Yet, despite these similarities, one key difference was evident almost immediately from the first kick: head coach Troy Lesesne and his staff are working to add another dimension to the team – one that relies less on Benteke’s big frame and aerial prowess, and more on intricate positioning, rotations, and ball movement.

Within five minutes, D.C.’s new build-up structure was noticeable. Despite lining up in a nominal 4-2-3-1, in possession, the Black-and-Red morphed into a shape that loosely resembled a 3-2-2-3:

• 3 - Right back Aaron Herrera remained low during the build-up, forming a back three with center backs Lucas Bartlett (center) and Kye Rowles (left).

• 2 - Midfielder Brandon Servania maintained a central position in line with Bartlett, while his partner, Boris Enow, flared to the right.

• 2 - Left winger Hosei Kijima pinched inside to form that second line of “2” with Gabriel Pirani. However, Pirani remained high, while Kijima dropped low at times to mirror Enow’s positioning.

• 3 - Left back David Schnegg pushed high and wide, essentially operating as a left winger in possession, with Jacob Murrell doing the same on the right. As always, Benteke led the line.

Here, you can see the base of that shape:

Take a moment to observe Toronto’s defensive shape (or at least what’s visible of it). The Reds — who built out in a similar, but more rigid, 3-2-2-3 — opted to defend in a 5-2-1-2, with forwards Federico Bernardeschi and Theo Corbeanu positioned ahead of Jonathan Osorio. Beneath him, central midfielders Alonso Coello (right) and Deybi Flores (left) operated, with the back five stationed off-screen.

Notable here is what unfolded with Enow and, at times, Kijima. The high and wide positioning of Murrell and Schnegg pinned Toronto’s wingbacks (Richie Laryea on the right and Markus Cimermancic on the left) deep, preventing them from stepping out and applying pressure. This, in turn, put stress on Toronto’s central midfielders — Flores, in particular — as they were forced to release to Enow and Kijima in the wide areas, thereby opening space centrally for D.C. to exploit.

What ensued was a recurring pattern: D.C.’s back three would invite pressure from Bernardeschi and Corbeanu. When one of them bit, Bartlett would deliver a short, vertical pass to Servania, whose central positioning made him the ideal option for the “bounce pass” to Herrera. From there, Herrera had two choices, both designed to draw Flores out of the center:

1. Drive forward with the ball, directly engaging Flores

2. Find Enow, who had time to take a touch inside onto his preferred left foot while Flores closed him down, thereby opening passing lanes into central areas

At times, the subsequent pass was a square ball to Rowles, who capitalized on the shift in attention to D.C.’s right side by creeping a couple of yards forward, just beyond Toronto’s first line of pressure, to receive with time. We saw quite a bit of that throughout the night (even in the clip above), where a movement as simple as Bernardeschi releasing to Bartlett served as a cue for Rowles to advance slightly. In such moments, goalkeeper Kim Joon Hong would move toward the top left corner of his box, establishing a 3-2 build-up structure. Doing so offered the center backs an escape valve, while increasing the distance Bernardeschi had to cover to further Toronto’s press:

More often, however, instead of playing the square pass to Rowles, Enow would feed the ball into the feet of Pirani, Kijima, or, when he dropped back, Benteke. With Flores stepping out, these guys had time and space on the ball, with runners beyond them:

A slightly cleaner touch from Benteke and a quicker, more proactive read from Servania, and D.C. might have exploited a backpedaling Toronto defense. Alas, that became the story of the Black-and-Red’s night and a reason for the comparisons to 2024.

To shift the narrative, D.C. ultimately needs more from its No. 10. While Pirani can be exciting at times — with his speed, willingness to run at defenders, occasional move, and eagerness to shoot — he isn’t an effective player. Possession dies at his feet. He fails to link play or create chances, and he lacks the upper body strength and overall skill to be a genuine threat on the dribble, as he struggles to create enough separation and hold his own when going shoulder-to-shoulder with defenders.

Say what you will about game state (in a season opener, no less), but upon replacing Pirani in the 71st minute, Randall Leal immediately provided what the Brazilian couldn’t: stability in possession. Rather than being forced to chase the game, D.C. could put its foot on the ball and move it laterally, granting players like Aaron Herrera time to get forward, as he did so effectively last year. That’s not to say Leal’s the solution (particularly coming off a season in which he played fewer than 50 regular season minutes), but if he’s Martin Rodriguez on, like, a thirteenth of the salary, I like it!

Ultimately, it remains to be seen which elements of this approach were byproducts of player availability, which were tailored to the opponent, and which are here to stay.

No matter what personnel or formation Lesesne chooses, though, it’s clear he’s determined to make D.C. United less one-dimensional in 2025.