ESPN Jen Chang Blog

After last night's "MLS Primetime Thursday" game one thing is for certain -- the Chicago Fire completely own D.C. United in the playoffs. Last night's tie and win on a 3-2 overall aggregate score ran the Fire's all-time playoff record against D.C. to 4-0-2. Here's what I took away from the game:

1. Osorio's tactical switch. The Fire dominated the first half, partly due to D.C. coming out flat, but mostly due to coach Juan Carlos Osorio lining up in what was essentially a 4-2-3-1 lineup -- a lineup which stifled D.C.'s ability to possess the ball and led to United trying to punt the ball upfield on many an occasion instead. D.C. keeper Troy Perkins told the media after the game that D.C. "fell asleep" in the first half -- which is inexcusable considering the magnitude of the game and the verbal potshots D.C. players had taken all week at Chicago.

2. D.C. needs a new center back -- badly. How far has D.C. defender Bobby Boswell fallen? Last year's MLS Defender of the Year has been a liability at times this year and against the Fire was at least partially responsible for both goals. The question now is whether Boswell has been a system defender all along or whether he's just in a horrible slump. Either way considering the other center back is Greg Vanney, D.C. can't afford not to address the center back position in the offseason.

3. The Gomez non-goal. Having watched the replay over from every conceivable angle, there's no doubt in my mind that Christian Gomez handled the ball for what would have been D.C.'s third goal if ref Jair Marrufo hadn't disallowed it. The only question is whether it was intentional, which of course is hard to establish, but there's no question that it was the deflection off the hand that guided the ball into position for Gomez to finish. Also telling is Gomez's reaction to the call -- he didn't put up much of a complaint. In any case, considering Marrufo had botched a key call earlier in the game when Perkins took down Calen Carr in the D.C. area for what should have been a PK, D.C. can't really complain.

4. Osorio's going to get burned one of these days. For everything good that Osorio has achieved with the Fire so far, there's one thing that really bothers me and that's his tendency to sit back and go defensive each time his team is in control. It's a tendency that has repeatedly cost the Fire wins this season, as teams have scored late tying goals and last night he was at it again. With a 2-0 lead and the Fire dominating play, Osorio inexplicably went into a defensive shell way too early in the second half, pulling Chad Barrett and bringing on Bakary Soumare in the 58th minute. The change resulted in two things -- first, with one less attacker up front to worry about, the pressure was eased on the D.C. defense, and secondly, by bringing on Soumare and going into bunker mode, you basically cede possession to a team that had struggled prior to that point to maintain it. Rather predictably the change increased pressure on a Fire defense that up to that point had dealt comfortably with everything D.C. had thrown at them and switched momentum in stunning fashion. Hopefully Osorio learns his lesson because one of these days, his conservative approach is going to result in a Fire defeat.

5. Rolfe and Blanco. For all the criticism the Fire forwards have taken as of late (and mostly well-deserved), they showed up against D.C. Both of Chris Rolfe's goals in the first leg and second leg were excellent and even Wayne Rooney-look-a-like Chad Barrett got in the act with a great finish last night. As for Cuauhtémoc Blanco, he continues to be everything you could hope for in a DP, with his constant prodding and incisive passing. He continues to create at least one or two clear chances a game for his teammates. It's too bad winger Justin Mapp is out at the moment with injury, a healthy Mapp and Blanco in tandem would terrorize MLS defenses to no end.

Player Pimping

United Arab Emirates star Ismail Matar is this week's choice. I've mentioned him in passing before, but he's someone who could really make an impact in MLS. He's a dynamic attacking midfielder with flair in abundance who can both score and create. U.S. national youth team followers might remember Matar winning the Golden Ball at the 2003 World Youth Championships (no mean feat considering the presence of players like Daniel Alves, Iniesta and Daniel Carvalho). He's currently still plying his trade back home in the UAE for Al-Wahda -- something that might be due to his dimunitive (he's 5-foot-6 at best) status, but there's no doubting his talent. UAE coach Bruno Metsu (who memorably led Senegal in the 2002 World Cup) is on record as saying that Matar has more than enough skill to make a huge impact in Europe.