St. Louis CITY SC kicked off its 2025 season with a scoreless draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. It wasn’t ideal. But it was interesting.
Olof Mellberg’s debut as St. Louis’ head coach provided a fascinating view of the new manager’s tactical vision. Although the lack of scoring might remind CITY supporters of last year’s frustrations with the finishing, the team’s defensive buy-in, positioning, and scoring opportunities illustrated how CITY can find success as the season unfolds.
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Of all the developments, the defensive results may have been some of the most encouraging.
Despite some preseason setbacks for a few players in starting contention, the St. Louis backline of Josh Yaro, Henry Kessler, and Kyle Hiebert set a high standard that allowed for more fluidity in the attack. The back three’s positioning and communication were strong enough to hold the Rapids to merely 0.20 expected goals and zero shots on target.
“Overall, it’s normally a game we win,” Mellberg said. “I think we dominated most of the game. There were a couple of dangerous situations in the box where we defended well but apart from that, they didn’t have any chances, and we created enough to score at least two or three goals. Obviously, a game we should have won. But the performance was good.”
On the bright side, the season opener highlighted Kessler’s ability to lead and organize a three-center back alignment. It could easily be argued that Kessler was CITY’s best player on Saturday. He led the way with seven clearances, one goal-saving tackle, victories in six of eight duels, and a 94 percent pass completion rate as Mellberg gave him the freedom to step up into the midfield.
“I think it’s something to build on, but not a result that we’re satisfied with.” Kessler said.
Even better, the strong play of CITY’s back line—along with Edu Löwen and Akil Watts in front of them—allowed Marcel Hartel to push higher into the attack and generate seven key passes.
“I think Kyle had a really good game. I think Josh had a really good game. Those guys were really solid.” Kessler said. “Our wingbacks helped out, too. [Tomas Totland] was really good. Jannes [Horn], too. And the guys that came on made an impact, too. So, I think, just individually, great performances. And the shifting in the back line was really good at covering for each other at all moments.”
The result should be encouraging, and a reminder that there is still work to be done. While different players are bound to be used throughout the season—Joakim Nilsson, for instance, is dealing with an injury suffered late in the preseason—there is evidence that the back line could solve many of the defensive spacing issues that contributed to last season’s derailment.
Despite the positive takeaways, Mellberg is not satisfied. The scoreless draw was not a result of St. Louis’s inability to generate opportunities. Rather, no one was able to beat Rapids keeper Zack Steffen, even while generating 2.01 expected goals.
“We need to improve in all areas,” Mellberg said. “Even though it was a really solid defending performance, we can improve there, as well. We already had a look at halftime on the few occasions they threatened and how we can improve there. I’m sure we’ll find more clips—and improve our attack, as well. I was happy with the end, with the last 15, 20 [minutes] when we showed even more confidence in our buildup, a little bit more movement, center backs being confident in taking the ball forward. We just need to continue to build on our confidence.”
CITY will show how quickly they can do so next week when they help expansion side San Diego FC open their home schedule at Snapdragon Stadium. After San Diego beat defending champions LA Galaxy in its debut match last weekend, it promises to be a tough environment in Southern California.
If St. Louis taught us anything from its first game, CITY’s center back strength could be a deciding factor.
