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Many things went wrong as Nashville SC missed MLS playoffs. Here are 5 biggest
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- Many things went wrong as Nashville SC missed MLS playoffs. Here are 5 biggest
The 2024 season was close to the worst-case scenario for Nashville SC .
Instead of progressing from the benchmark of four straight MLS playoff berths , Nashville failed to reach the postseason for the first time ever. It will finish among the bottom five teams in the Supporters' Shield standings, with the season finale on Oct. 19 against the Fire in Chicago .
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NSC got off to the worst start in club history, costing coach Gary Smith his job in May, and couldn't recover under interim Rumba Munthali and permanent hire B.J. Callaghan , resulting in its elimination with two games left in the season.
What caused Nashville's season to go sideways? The list of reasons is long, but here are five key ones:
Offense fails to take step forward
Nashville's fatal flaw last season was in attack. It finished 2023 tied for 22nd out of 29 teams in goals scored with 39, and it was shut out in eight of its final 12 games.
This season, the unit got worse. Nashville (8-16-9, 33 points) ranks last in MLS in goals per game, with 35 in 33 games. Expected goals paint a prettier picture, but not by much — its 43.0 xG is 21st in the league.
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Nashville ranks last in touches in the attacking third of the field. It never really found a replacement for Dax McCarty , whose long passes from midfield were key in previous seasons, and struggled to build attacks through sustained possession. While Nashville improved in this aspect under Callaghan, attempting to trade inefficient crosses for patient multi-pass moves, it was rarely clinical in front of goal.
Hany Mukhtar 's production declines
Under Smith, Nashville overcame deficiencies in midfield and compensated for conservative, defensive tactics by putting on the best one-man show in the league. Hany Mukhtar accounted for 60% of Nashville's goals and assists from 2021 to 2023.
Mukhtar has eight goals and 10 assists in 2024, which the vast majority of MLS would take in a heartbeat. But this is a player who averaged 0.9 goal contributions per match the past three seasons, but is now averaging less than 0.6.
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And Nashville didn't have the secondary attacking options to make up for that drop. Other than Mukhtar and Sam Surridge (11 goals), Nashville's top scorer was Alex Muyl with four goals and two assists.
Jul 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville SC midfielder Alex Muyl (19) covers his face with his hands after missing a goal early in the second half of the match against Mazatlan at GEODIS Park. Mandatory Credit: Casey Gower-USA TODAY Sports
Defense shows cracks
Nashville gave up 32 goals in 2023, tied with the Seattle Sounders atop the league. Even if the attack didn't evolve, it wasn't hard to see a backline that returned all four starters, including United States international Walker Zimmerman , keeping Nashville competitive.
Instead, NSC has given up 54 goals (18th in MLS) and 52.7 xG (24th). Despite its eight shutouts ranking seventh in the league, Nashville has conceded in bunches: it has given up at least three goals in eight games, including a club-record 5-0 loss at Los Angeles FC in March.
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MORE: Nashville SC eliminated from MLS playoff contention, misses postseason 1st time as MLS franchise
Blown leads
It's worth noting that in a weak Eastern Conference, Nashville never lacked opportunities to rise up the table. Had it not been for eight blown second-half leads, which ultimately cost it 19 points, Nashville would be comfortably in playoff position.
Only two times this season did Nashville rally from a deficit to earn points. On the flip side, it gave up six game-winning or game-tying goals after the 75th minute. Its 4-3 loss to D.C. United in its final home game encapsulated its troubles closing the door.
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Slew of injuries
Nashville's roster, the second-oldest in MLS with an average age of 29.4, was low on young talent, over-reliant on designated players Mukhtar, Surridge and Zimmerman, and thin in attack and midfield. But the story of Nashville's 2024 season might have been somewhat different if it could have enjoyed full use of that roster, no matter the flaws.
Defender Lukas MacNaughton hasn't played since injuring his leg against Inter Miami in April. Forward Tyler Boyd tore his ACL in July. Midfielder Randall Leal , Nashville's fourth-highest paid player, dealt with lower-body injuries all season and has appeared in just three games as a substitute.
Zimmerman, Shaq Moore , Jacob Shaffelburg and Aníbal Godoy , all of whom missed time with both injuries and international duty, combined to play just 53.3% of available minutes.
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Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Five biggest reasons Nashville SC missed MLS playoffs in 2024
