3 reasons Nashville SC won’t win the MLS Cup

A few weeks ago we previewed Nashville’s chances at lifting the MLS Cup through an optimistic lens, but it is the opposite this time around. For as much as Nashville’s defensive structure has held them in matches against better opponents, there are still unanswered problems in the attacking part of Gary Smith’s tactics, and there is always a question of depth.

Here, let’s outline why — even with all of Nashville’s deserved optimism — they still will not lift MLS’ coveted trophy.

1. Everything (and I mean everything) in the final third

Frankly speaking, Nashville struggle to produce much of anything in a quick transition. 12 matches into the season, and Nashville’s leading scorer is Hany Mukhtar with 4 goals. Gary Smith has slowly moved away from the 4-2-3-1, and therefore placed Mukhtar into more dangerous positions either as a false nine, or as the second striker in an attack pairing. Either way, Mukhtar is in more dangerous positions than at the start of the season, so his heightened goal involvement is expected, but a vacuum of creativity rears its face in the midfield now.

In the past two matches, the creative responsibility has fallen on Randall Leal’s shoulders. But Leal is sixth on the team in shot-creating-actions per 90 minutes, and even in situations where he had a more conservative role, Leal still failed to string together passes in any meaningful way. Leal is 12th on Nashville SC in pass-completion percentage.