Carles Gil passes MLS legend for New England Revolution record | OneFootball

By MLSsoccer staff

Carles Gil stands alone atop the New England Revolution all-time assist leaderboard.

The 2021 Landon Donovan MLS MVP tallied his 74th regular-season assist in Saturday's 2-0 home win over New York City FC, passing club legend Steve Ralston for the most-ever helpers in Revs history.

Gil's assist came in the 48th minute, when he curled a trademark left-footed cross to Ignatius Ganago for a near-range finish. Leo Campana also opened his Revs account in the first half of the Eastern Conference clash.

"I’m proud to have this many assists," New England's captain said post-game at Gillette Stadium. "It motivates me to continue helping the team in any way I can. Overall, that’s what is important, helping the team get the victory."

High praise

The Spanish No. 10 originally joined New England ahead of the 2019 campaign, making this his seventh season with the club.

For Revs head coach Caleb Porter, the Premier League and LaLiga veteran rivals some of the league's best-ever chance creators.

"As far as a pure chance creator or assist guy, he's the best guy I've coached," Porter said after the Matchday 9 victory. "I've had some good players that produce goals in that spot at the 10. But in terms of a setup guy, he's the best guy that I've had.

"I've had [Lucas] Zelarayán and [Diego] Valeri – some really, really good players in that spot. But he's a great pro and a great guy, and you just see how hard he works. It's very rare in our league to have a guy like him that has so much quality, but is so humble and defends like he defends. Just a great player and a great person."

Forward progress

Gil's record-breaking night helped the Revs win for the third time in four matches. They're still 11th in the Eastern Conference, but are slowly emerging from a poor early-season start.

Porter ponts to earnest conversations with Gil, midfielder Matt Polster and goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič as turning the tide.

"These guys have delivered over the last four games," Porter said. "When we were struggling and we didn’t have our first win I sat with those three guys and said, ‘Listen guys, you have to set the tone. The team is going to go in the direction you go in, and it starts with your performances.’

"And none of those three guys were playing well enough – well actually Matt wasn’t in yet – and in the last four games all three of those guys delivered and performed extremely well. Their leadership has been a big key for us."

WATCH: Campana scores first New England goal in win over NYCFC