Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese opened his Monday press conference with a combination of reflection and ambition, casting his team’s recent struggles against the expectation of competing at the top of Major League Soccer’s standings.
“We’re still in a very good situation on the table,” he said, his team having taken one pointe in the first two games of MLS’s restarted regular season. “We have to just realize that and make sure we can get as many points as we can to continue to fight not only for the top of the [Western Conference] but for the Supporters’ Shield, which is where we have our aspirations and our target to be this year.