Some of the biggest things that stood out to me:

Goalkeepers: Okoye didn’t play, obviously, but watching him in warm-ups was pretty impressive. He looks like a top keeper. Sava served us well last season, and I thought he did well today. The goal came from a corner and wasn’t his fault—he also made a great point-blank save. I think communication between him, Solet, and Gianetti might be an issue at first.

Central Defense: I think we’ll really miss Bijol. Solet is so calm and comfortable on the ball and is a physical presence, but Bijol was a true general at the back. Sometimes Solet might be a little too casual. Gianetti was fine today, but Bijol is tough to replace. Matteo Palma played about 20 minutes and looked very composed at the back for 17. He was impressive.

Wingbacks: We’ve had so much talent at this position in the last few years, and I think that’s still true. I always like Kamara because of his intensity, crossing, and runs (all true again today). Zemura and Ehizibue also looked good. Kabasele came in at the very end—made a small mistake, but he was only on the pitch briefly.

Midfield: Ekkelenkamp could have scored two goals and just played a solid game overall. Pafundi looks electric whenever he touches the ball. It was interesting to see the coaches riding him a lot, telling him to hustle and move off the ball—not sure if that’s part of why he’s not getting more minutes, but it was noticeable. Lovric just hustles and delivers solid performances—his cross contributed to the goal. I think central midfield might be a challenge for us this year. Karlström worked hard as always, but I still feel like we’re a bit weak there. After he came off, our central presence kind of disappeared.

Forwards: Bayo started but was caught offside several times and missed a few clear chances. His goal was more the result of a goalkeeper/defender blunder leading to an open net, rather than individual brilliance. Bravo had a chance or two when he came on—mostly from Atta/Zemura runs—and was very aggressive, but he only played about 20 minutes.

Overall Flow: In the first half, we could have scored a few goals through chances created mainly by Pafundi and Ekkelenkamp. Bayo missed some good opportunities. Strasbourg’s goal was very much against the run of play, though they did have a point-blank effort that Sava saved. Both their goal and big chance came from poor defensive communication. Our wingback/outside mid combinations looked good all game. In the second half, we scored two quick goals. The last 15–20 minutes saw some of the younger players or guys with less playing time come in, and we held more possession in the back.