Carles Gil Hits MLS 50-Goal, 50-Assist Mark as Revolution Rally Past Crew 2-1

Carles Gil says he has spent many, many years in New England. On Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, with five minutes left and the score level, he stood over a penalty with a milestone on the line and the game on his left foot. He did not blink.

The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew 2-1, coming from behind on a Dor Turgeman header and Gil's 85th-minute penalty. The goal made Gil the fifth active player to reach at least 50 goals and 50 assists in his MLS career, according to MLS, and the 32nd player all-time to join that 50/50 club.

Columbus Controls the First Half

The Revolution were scrambling early. Brayan Ceballos went off injured in the 17th minute, replaced by Peyton Miller, and the Revolution said Ethan Kohler shifted from midfield to center back to cover. Columbus sensed an opening. Matt Turner had to save from Steven Moreira in the 18th minute and from Hugo Picard at close range in the 23rd.

The breakthrough came in the 24th minute. In the same minute that Patrick Schulte saved a Luca Langoni shot at the other end, Diego Rossi set up Max Arfsten, who finished from the left side of the six-yard box into the bottom left corner. Rossi had a chance to double the lead in the 40th, but Turner saved again.

Columbus went in 1-0 up, and New England's head coach had a problem that went deeper than tactics. "To be honest, in the first half when we were down 1-0, I wasn't sure that we believed we could win the game. I didn't see that in the faces of our guys," Marko Mitrović said.

One Word at Halftime

Mitrović said the halftime message was simple. "I think our clear message was, at halftime we had some small tactical adjustments, but it was more like 'guys, we can win this game. We just have to believe.'"

Kohler said the room bought in. "The message at the halftime was, believe," he said.

It took nine minutes of the second half to show. In the 53rd minute, Ilay Feingold won a free kick on the right wing, and a minute later Langoni's delivery found Turgeman, who headed it into the bottom left corner for 1-1. The Revolution said it was Turgeman's second goal of the season and Langoni's sixth assist of 2026, the second-most in MLS.

From there, New England had the better of it. Will Sands headed just past the top left corner from a Gil corner in the 58th minute, and Miller headed wide from another Gil cross in the 66th. Columbus made changes in the 67th minute, bringing on Andrés Herrera and Jamal Thiaré, and the game got edgier, with André Gomes and Turner both booked in the 71st minute.

Gil Steps Up

The winner came from Turgeman again. In the 82nd minute he drew a foul from Rudy Camacho in the box, and three minutes later Gil, making his 200th regular-season appearance for the club according to the Revolution, sent a left-footed penalty into the high center of the goal. Calm, simple, decisive.

Columbus pushed hard through ten minutes of stoppage time. Thiaré had a shot blocked, Sean Zawadzki had a header blocked and Camacho dragged a shot wide, all in the second minute of added time, and Rossi had one more effort blocked in the eighth. New England held on.

Gil, Turgeman and the 50/50 Club

Gil had one shot, one goal and the deliveries that kept Columbus defending in the second half. MLS said he now has 50 career goals and 84 career assists in 200 regular-season appearances, and listed the other active members of that group as Hany Mukhtar, Diego Fagúndez, Albert Rusnák and Jonathan Osorio. So Gil shares the list with a teammate: Fagúndez came on for Langoni a minute after the penalty. "New England is the most important club in my career," Gil said.

Turgeman was the quiet difference-maker, scoring the equalizer and drawing the penalty. Langoni added the assist and two shots. Turner made three saves, all in the first half, which turned out to be just enough.

Kohler had high praise for his captain. "Carles is unbelievable. He makes my life very easy," he said. Mitrović added, per MLS: "I think Carles is a great professional and he deserved and earned this achievement and milestone in his career."

For Columbus, Arfsten scored and later picked up a yellow card, and Rossi had the assist with two shots. Schulte made one save.

Columbus Had the Ball, New England Had the Goals

• Possession: Columbus 51.7 percent, New England 48.3 percent.
• Shots: Columbus 11, New England 10. Shots on target: Columbus 4, New England 3.
• Corners: Columbus 7, New England 3.
• Saves: Turner 3, Schulte 1.
• Passing: Columbus completed 537 of 598 passes; New England completed 493 of 545.

Perfect at Gillette, Still Searching on the Road

New England moves to 4-0-3 with 12 points and, per MLS, sits fifth in the Eastern Conference under its new head coach after a third straight win. MLS noted the Revolution finished 11th in the East last year, which makes this start all the more striking. The Revolution are perfect at home at 4-0-0, and the club said this is only the third time in its history it has opened a season with four straight home wins. The catch: New England has yet to win on the road. That test comes Wednesday at Atlanta United.

Columbus drops to 1-3-4 with 6 points and has one win in eight matches. The Crew had the better first half and the better possession numbers, and still left with nothing. Columbus hosts the LA Galaxy on Wednesday.

A Halftime Speech That Worked

This felt like a sports-movie halftime speech that actually worked, minus the swelling orchestra. Mitrović asked his team to believe, Turgeman did the dirty work and Gil did what franchise players do. "We need to keep improving, but I think we are on the way," Gil said. On Saturday, the way ran straight through the penalty spot.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by the New England Revolution (revolutionsoccer.net) and MLS (mlssoccer.com).