FRISCO, Texas — After falling to their Texas counterparts in the state's capitol, 2-1, on Saturday, FC Dallas lost its fourth straight match, something that had not happened to the club since October of 2018.
Through five games, FC Dallas has garnered just three points in the standings, with its lone win in the season opener against San Jose Earthquakes.
The start for FC Dallas is historically poor, tying for the club's worst start to a season through five games in its 29-year history. In 2003, FC Dallas alternated three draws and two losses. FC Dallas came in to 2024 among the favorites to make the playoffs in the Western Conference following a hard-fought, three-game series against the No. 2 seed Seattle Sounders.
Boasting one of the best defenses in MLS last season, the prospect of finding more quality in the attack and opportunities on goal were addressed in the signing of Croatian striker Petar Musa. Musa, alongside United States national team striker Jesus Ferreira, gave the promise of an improved offense.
However, a new offensive approach to start the season utilizing a 3-4-3 formation with offensive minded Dante Sealy and Paul Arriola as wing backs has not yielded any improvement. FC Dallas ranks 17th in MLS in expected goals per 90 mins (xG/90) with 1.45, according to FootyStats. FC Dallas has moved to a 4-4-2 in the last two matches.
FC Dallas' defense has not held up as it did in 2023, partially due to a litany of injuries in the midfield and back line to start the season. The club has had numerous players miss games due to injury, including Jesús Ferreira, Alan Velasco, Asier Illarramendi, Paxton Pomykal, Sebastien Ibeagha, Marco Farfan, Geovane Jesus, Logan Farrington and Amet Korça.
FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez said after the Austin FC match that the club "is conceding goals they have to control," specifically referencing the goal Austin scored on a throw in that was played into the 18-yard box for a Julio Cascante glancing header.
For Austin's second goal, Estevez said there was only one player marking Diego Rubio in the box and said "we have to do better."
Through the tough stretch, Estevez said the message to the team is that "big teams bounce back."
FC Dallas has never lost five games in a row in the club's history. There have been longer stretches where FC Dallas has not won any games, but broke up their losing streaks with draws. The longest winless streaks in FC Dallas history are as follows:
- 2012: 13 games
- 2013: 11 games
- 2005: 10 games
- 2017: 10 games
- 1998: 9 games
- 2014: 8 games
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