Audi MLS Player Index Week 1: Who finished in the top 20?

The Audi Player Index was introduced to MLS this season and we now have our first numbers coming in after Week 1. Below you can find the top 20 players according to the Audi Player Index in Week 1.

The Index is calculated by rating nearly every action on the field according to the amount of positive or negative impact on the team's success, the position of the player and and key tasks and the place on the field where the action takes place. The most influential player possible is a goal from outside the box, which would give a forward 545 points.

RANKING	SCORE	PLAYER	CLUB
1	2102	Ignacio Piatti	MTL
2	1644	Mike Magee	LA
3	1568	David Accam	CHI
4	1562	Diego Fagundez	NE
5	1288	Thomas McNamara	NYC
6	1246	Diego Valeri	POR
7	1235	Cyle Larin	ORL
8	1169	Octavio Rivero	VAN
9	1108	Mauro Diaz	DAL
10	1040	Andre Blake	PHI
11	1035	Fabian Castillo	DAL
12	1018	Daniel Steres	LA
13	1014	Kendall Waston	VAN
14	1008	Dominic Oduro	MTL
15	974	Federico Higuain	CLB
16	960	Maximiliano Urruti	DAL
17	939	Mix Diskerud	NYC
18	934	Nuno Andre Coelho	SKC
19	927	Pedro Morales	VAN
20	905	Khiry Shelton	NYC

Fire on Wrong Side of Toyota Park Goal Fest

Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic told his players to enjoy the game in his pre-game chat ahead of the team’s home opener on Sunday. After a bewildering 4:3 defeat to New York City FC, one must wonder how many of his players enjoyed the smoking, hot mess.

The match provided a long list of positives and negatives. Scoring three goals tops the positives, for sure. The Fire reached that goal total just five times in 2015. Winger David Accam constantly terrorized the NYC defense and striker Gilberto had a lively 45 minutes before succumbing to a minor calf injury. The Fire were consistently dangerous inside the NYC penalty area, and better finishing would have made their final tally downright gaudy.

On the other side of the ledger, the Fire defense was a chaotic shambles at times. Unmarked NYC players in crucial positions resulted in two of the goals. Can Paunovic bring order to this jumbled group? Goalkeeper Matt Lampson’s Chicago debut will undoubtedly be a match he would rather forget. His positioning was a contributing factor on NYC’s third goal and his distribution was a mix of giveaways and hopeful hoofs downfield.

Fans left Toyota Park with a lot of “ifs” on their minds. What if Sean Johnson had started in goal? What if the Fire had converted on more of their abundant scoring chances? What if Joao Meira doesn’t clear the ball off of Michael Harrington’s face and leave a wide-open shot in front of goal? How Paunovic and his assistants address these matters will go a long to defining whether this new era in Chicago will be the turnabout that all fans are hungry to experience. For now, skepticism rightly remains front and center.

The Fire lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lampson in goal, Johan Kappelhof and Meira in the center of defense, flanked by Harrington and Brandon Vincent. Yes, that is five newcomers starting in the back of the team. Razvan Cocis and Matt Polster were the holding midfielders, with Accam and Kennedy Igboananike on the wings. Arturo Alvarez played the underneath forward role and Gilberto was the man up top.

The decision to start Lampson proved crucial for Paunovic. Johnson has faced challenges in the past with the Fire, whether it was Paolo Tornaghi or Jon Busch. But he has been a starter for the large majority of his seven-year career. He might not be a top goalkeeper in MLS, but he’s been around the block enough times to know how to take charge of things. Would his experience have benefitted a brand new back four more than whatever Lampson showed in the pre-season? Still, Paunovic proclaimed that he was happy with Lampson’s performance afterwards. Was the coach not wanting to throw an already beleaguered player under the bus, or was he genuinely satisfied with Lampson’s hesitation in the box, his overall lack of control of the penalty area, and his shoddy distribution? If it is the latter, then Paunovic may be channeling his inner Carlos de los Cobos, who made one of the most stunningly stupid decisions in Fire history when he preferred Andrew Dykstra over Jon Busch in 2010.

In the pre-season, the Fire exhibited a refreshing style of keeping the ball and moving it around quickly. This approach, regardless of the talent on the field, would be preferable to the formless attack created by the Frank Yallop administration.

The Fire wasted little time getting down to business. In the second minute, Igboananike led the counterattack with a long ball to Gilberto, whose finishing needed to be better. Four minutes later, Accam marauded down the left side, forcing a kick save from goalie Josh Saunders. Igboananike had made the supporting run in the middle, but Accam chose to go for goal.

NYC survived the early barrage and opened the scoring in the 10th minute. After the Fire gave the ball away in their back third, Polster and Cocis got caught too far upfield and Tommy McNamara waltzed through the middle of the Fire defense, as neither Kappelhof nor Meira stepped up in time. He teed up a shot that ticked the inside of Lampson’s left-hand post.

Two minutes later, the Fire looked set to equalize. Gilberto, taking advantage of NYC’s precariously high defensive line, steamed into the box. He fought through a shirt-grab, but referee Armando Villareal saw nothing wrong with it and waved play on. After seeing the replay, Vilaareal’s embarrassment will be palpable.

The Fire finally did level the score in the 19th minute. Alvarez looped a pass into the space behind the NYC defense. Both Accam and Igboananike were in an offside position, but held their ground. Cocis raced after the ball and had Saunders at his mercy. A clever fake sent Saunders to the ground and Cocis deposited the ball into the back of the net.

The match was an uncontrolled frenzy at both ends. NYC astutely sought to take away the Fire’s possession game by pressing deep into the Fire end. This resulted in Lampson and his teammates lumping the ball out of danger. In the first half alone, Lampson had seven giveaways. As a result, it was the visitors who had most of the possession in the first half and the Fire found themselves backed up for long stretches.

Two goals seven minutes apart in the latter stages of the first half put NYC in control. A short clearance by Lampson gave the ball to NYC and they went through a patient build-up. Meira tried to clear a ball out of the area with a high kick, but all he did was bang the ball off of Harrington’s head and scrape his teammate’s forehead. The ball landed fortuitously for Tony Taylor, who banged it past Lampson to make it 2:1 on 29 minutes.

The score went to 3:1 in the 36th minute. Mix Diskerud sent a ball down the right wing over the head of Vincent. Khiry Shelton beat him to the ball, cut to the inside and slotted past Lampson, who hesitated before challenging Shelton. His indecision made the goal easy pickings for Shelton. Afterwards, Lampson took responsibility for not coming out sooner.

The Fire created two more excellent opportunities in the dying moments. They finally unleashed the high-pressure style demonstrated in pre-season and forced a turnover deep in NYC territory. Accam back-heeled for Gilberto, who came in alone on Saunders. The keeper cut off his angle, however, and blocked the shot. Moments later, Saunders denied Accam with a kick save.

Rookie Jonathan Campbell replaced Gilberto at halftime and Paunovic retooled his formation into a 3-4-3. Campbell, Kappelhof and Meira made up the back three, pushing Vincent and Harrington up as wingbacks.

The Fire made a solid turnaround in the second half, which came down to an improvement in ball possession. The Fire continually exploited the space behind the NYC defense and NYC’s two-goal lead never seemed safe.

The Fire needed only four minutes to slice the lead down to one. Accam’s pressure on Frederic Brillant in the deep left corner resulted in a turnover, and Accam centered for Igboananike, who powered the ball past Saunders.

The Fire kept up the pressure. Accam and Igboananike both made solo runs into NYC’s penalty area, but could not finish the job.

NYC answered in the 63rd minute and it was the Fire’s weakest defensive moment of the day. McNamara skipped past Polster along the goal line to Lampson’s right. As McNamara approached the Fire goal, he spotted three teammates. Polster and Kappelhof marked two of them, while Campbell and Meira marked space. Diskerud hung around the top of the box unattended. McNamara looped a pass to Diskerud, who hit an outstanding first-timer, beating the scrambling Lampson just inside his left post. The poor organization by the Fire’s backliners after Polster had lost his balance was a disappointing exclamation point on the match.

The Fire kept plugging away. Saunders thwarted Accam in the 67th minute, but the winger wasn’t done yet Three minutes later, he collected a long ball from Alvarez and swooped in alone on Saunders. The keeper lunged at Accam’s feet and knocked the ball away for a corner. Shelton handled the subsequent cross into the box and Villareal pointed to the spot. Accam did the honors and sent Saunders the wrong way to bring the Fire to within 4:3.

The Fire got no closer, however. The nine clear scoring situations not converted came back to haunt them.

“Three goals should be enough to win any soccer game,” were words of wisdom from my first soccer coach. It looks like the Fire may have the ability to generate attacking excitement.Will three goals be enough?