Sweeney: Taking a closer look at the lineup, plus a glimpse into who's still alive

A few takeaways from midweek soccer after a crazy finish in the Pacific Northwest:

Seven changes to the Revs’ XI for a draw

Let it be known that as I had my first cup of coffee for the 10:30 pm. ET start — something I question this late in the season — the lineups came out at about 9:30 p.m. and it was a bit of a surprise to see this heavy a rotation. When Bruce Arena said heavy rotation, I was thinking four, maybe five players switched out.

Did I expect seven? Not at all. And it wasn’t a lineup that I thought, given the Revolution’s positioning in the table and with a chance to pull away from Chicago and eliminate three other teams in the process, would get three points and do just that.

And there were plenty of folks on Twitter questioning this lineup, too. BSJ soccer analyst Tom Benedetto and I, too, were really flummoxed by the choices … Jalil Anibaba, at left back? Not the first time he had played there, obviously. Scott Caldwell and Diego Fagundez, who hadn’t seen that much time in this second half?

Yet I understand the reasoning why there were such changes: an important game coming up Sunday against a New York City FC squad that practically has one foot in next spring’s CONCACAF Champions League — Philadelphia’s 2-1 win over San Jose spoiled that coronation — and the Revs had flown across the country, albeit in style, to a place where the club hasn’t won in four — now five — trips. Rest some guys — rest Matt Turner, rest DeJuan Jones, rest Toni Delamea, give Luis Caicedo a rest, rest Teal Bunbury for most of the night — and try to get them fresh for the re-match against the Pigeons, and hopefully get them focused enough to prevent therefrom celebrating the Eastern Conference championship on our lawn.

There is a part of me still scratching my head, though: if this would have been a loss, and how close was it to becoming one, the Revs would have still needed four points, or some help from opponents, from the last two matches to end the playoff-less streak on Route 1. Obviously no one can know the future, and maybe the rest was needed. I'm not sure if this group can beat both New York City and Atlanta United on back-to-back weekends, but stranger things have happened this season.

But if that result didn’t go New England’s way, I would have been sharpening my scalpel had VAR not seen what the Revs saw late.

Zahibo is certainly a smart, tactical player

Smart thinking by Wilfried Zahibo to go down when he did — and that’s not the first time he’s done this, either.

Think back to the start of last season and his first appearance at Gillette, Colorado in town, a 1-1 scoreline deep in the match — and Zahibo comes up with a tactical flop. No one touched him. He just went down at the top of the 18-yard box.

And then it was Chris Tierney and Diego Fagundez standing over the free kick, with Tierney delivering what would end up being his final goal in a Revolution uniform.

More of that, Wilfried.

Farrell and Mancienne = stout

Suffice it to say, I thought having Michael Mancienne in the starting lineup wasn’t going to go well, but I was pleasantly surprised. He had a number of clearances in the first half. So, too, did Andrew Farrell — who, I will remind you, earned my 2019 Defender of the Year vote.

Congrats to LAFC on winning the Supporter’s Shield, and to Montreal on the Canadian Championship

Two spots — and nearly a third — in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League were decided Wednesday. Earlier in the evening, Montreal beat Toronto FC on penalties to claim the Voyageur’s Cup, staking a claim to Canada’s championship and earning Canada’s berth in the continental competition.

At about the same time, NYCFC had throttled Atlanta United, 4-1, moving closer to their first berth, but Philadelphia’s 2-1 win over San Jose spoiled those plans. NYC currently has a six-point lead on the Union, and two NYCFC losses and two Philadelphia wins would move the Union into first, giving it the Champions League spot for the East.

And of course, LAFC claimed the Supporter’s Shield with its 3-1 win over Houston, and claimed its spot in the Champions League in the process.

Not only that, three Western Conference teams clinched playoff berths: Minnesota United, LA Galaxy, and Seattle. Vancouver, Sporting Kansas City, and Houston were eliminated.

Team still alive heading into the weekend: The Revs, Chicago, Montreal, and Orlando City in the East, RSL, Portland, FC Dallas, San Jose, and Colorado in the West. Three points separates fifth from eighth in the West.

Colorado can only get in with two wins and Portland, Dallas, and San Jose losing out -- plus a mighty swing in goal difference.

We’ll have more breakdowns in Soccer Weekend.