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Nashville SC needs to score more goals in 2024. What that means for Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge
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- Nashville SC needs to score more goals in 2024. What that means for Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge
Three days before Nashville SC 's first-round playoff series against Orlando City SC began, defender Walker Zimmerman took a look in the mirror and seemed happy with what he saw.
"I think there's a narrative that we're very difficult to break down, given our stout defensive structure," Zimmerman said on Oct. 27. "We're typically in games. We rarely lose by multiple goals. When you get to the playoffs where the margins are so thin, I think that's an advantageous thing for us, just our solidity, keeping things close. Whether it ends up working out for us or not, we should be in every single game."
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Zimmerman's statement proved prophetic. Nashville was never out of either of its two playoff games. But its Achilles' heel — an inability to find the back of the net — flared up as well. A pair of 1-0 losses, including Tuesday's Game 2 defeat at Geodis Park , brought an ignominious end to Nashville's 2023 season.
Nashville gave up 32 goals during the regular season, tied for the fewest in Major League Soccer, and came away with just the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference to show for it. If Nashville wants a less disappointing finale in 2024, it needs to pair that elite defense with an attack better than the one that ended the season having gone seven straight halves without scoring.
"We only have to look at our output in front of goal," said coach Gary Smith.
Nashville scored 39 goals in MLS play, tied for 22nd out of 29 teams. After the season resumed in late August following a month-long Leagues Cup break, Nashville went 2-5-5 and suffered eight shutouts.
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Nashville's attack isn't a typical mediocre unit, though: it has a player who can reliably produce offense all by himself. Hany Mukhtar , MLS's Most Valuable Player last season, is relied on to score and assist more than maybe any other player in the league, and his 15 goals and 11 assists in 2023 often kept Nashville afloat.
But Mukhtar went as his team went down the stretch. In his final 25 games, the German midfielder scored just four times. He heads into the offseason on an eight-game scoreless streak.
Smith isn't sure what was responsible for Mukhtar's slump but pointed to July, when a Qatari club bid $7 million for Mukhtar but was turned down by Nashville, as something that could have sent him a bit "off-kilter."
"We'd have to go back ... to maybe even conversations about Qatar," Smith said. "... You take a dip in form as an attacking player, and it's very difficult to get back in gear."
Nov 7, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar (10) and Orlando City midfielder Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (23) battle for the ball in the first half at Geodis Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nashville did make one move in July, signing Sam Surridge from Nottingham Forest for $6.5 million. Surridge, Nashville's third designated player along with Mukhtar and Zimmerman, sometimes looked like the strike partner Nashville has spent years trying to pair with Mukhtar. He scored in each of his first three games, helping Nashville reach the Leagues Cup final, and struck twice against the New England Revolution on Oct. 14. But he was scoreless in 11 other games and was impacted by a knee injury in late August.
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"I think the addition of Sam will prove to be a good addition," Smith said. "It will take a bit longer, the season's over. But a good preseason for Sam will be helpful for him to settle into the group."
While Smith believes Nashville has the "ability to challenge in a far better way" than it did this season, he appeared willing to consider tweaks to his approach and strategy, and even the addition of one or two players that can provide "a bit more edge and life."
"But it's got to be the right players," he said. "You can't just add anyone. You've got to add players that are going to be impactful."
ESTES: After its most disappointing MLS playoff exit yet, Nashville SC is at a crossroads
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It's not difficult to justify Smith's measured attitude. For all of its flaws in attack, Nashville has yet to miss the playoffs in four seasons in MLS. Next season, it will bring back an experienced, well-organized core that has played together for years.
Tuesday's frustration wasn't that of a team with no hope for the future, but of a team wanting to make the leap from good to great. Does Nashville have to uproot its existing foundation to do that?
"I don't think defending well should take away from being able to score goals," said defender Lukas MacNaughton . "A team is one unit, and at times we were definitely very split apart. Even the game today, we were playing an attacking half and a defensive half. That's not what you want.
"It's something we need to build on and maybe get more creative, maybe put more pressure on ourselves to score and adapt. You can't just win games by defending."
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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: Nashville SC must score more goals in 2024. The solution isn't simple
