For the first time in six weeks, we had a full slate of action in Major League Soccer over the weekend as fourteen matches took place across Saturday and Sunday. Lionel Messi impressed on his debut in the league for Miami, but he wasn’t the only new face to shine at the weekend – read on for our recap of all the action:
Atlanta United 4-0 Nashville SC
The hosts strolled past the beaten finalists from Leagues Cup 2023 thanks to the fine play of Thiago Almada, who scored and added a pair of assists, including one for debutant Saba Lobjanidze. Xande Silva, who also recently joined the club on loan, also chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Charlotte FC 2-1 Los Angeles Football Club
Charlotte had a stronger Leagues Cup than many would have thought, reaching the quarterfinals in impressive fashion, and they continued their improvement with a statement home win over reigning MLS champions LAFC, with Scott Arfield netting the winner fifteen minutes from time.
FC Cincinnati 3-0 New York City FC
The hosts shook off a frustrating loss in the U.S. Open Cup in mid-week to continue their strong home form this season. Cincinnati have dropped only two points at TQL Stadium this year, and they continued that here with MVP candidate Lucho Acosta getting a pair of assists – only Almada has more in the league this season.
D.C. United 1-3 Philadelphia Union
After knocking off CF Monterrey in the third place matchup last weekend, Philadelphia have hardly missed a beat, heading to the national’s capital and turning in a comprehensive display to keep hold of second place, scoring all three goals in the match’s first half.
New York Red Bulls 0-2 Inter Miami CF
New competition, same result. Lionel Messi netted off the bench after Diego Gómez had opened the scoring just before halftime. Miami have a long road ahead of them to reach the playoffs, but will be encouraged by this win over another side looking to improve their standing.
Orlando City 2-1 St. Louis CITY SC
Facundo Torres’ stoppage-time penalty made the difference as Orlando pulled off something of a surprise win over Western Conference leaders St. Louis, who finished with ten men after Jake Nerwinski was sent off in the tenth minute of added time.
Columbus Crew 2-0 Toronto FC
The hosts look no worse for the wear, despite the departure of Lucas Zelarayan – the arrivals of Julian Gressel and Diego Rossi have left them with a surplus of attacking options, and Rossi was on the scoresheet in a deserved home win over struggling Toronto.
CF Montréal 1-0 New England Revolution
The injury-hit Revs remain in the playoff positions, but will regret not offering more against a Montréal side which struggled to create much but edged this content thanks to a late goal from defender George Campbell.
FC Dallas 1-0 Austin FC
Defender Nkosi Tafari scored the game’s only goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time, giving Dallas a Copa Tejas win over rivals Austin, and lifting them back into the playoff positions following what had been an uneven run of form prior to Leagues Cup 2023.
Sporting Kansas City 3-0 San Jose Earthquakes
After a poor performance in Leagues Cup 2023, Sporting Kansas City are looking to make up for lost time with their league play, and they proved it again at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday, with Johnny Russell scoring a fine goal and Tim Melia saving a penalty.
Real Salt Lake 0-3 Houston Dynamo FC
The Dynamo beat the hosts for the second time in a week after knocking them out of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, ending what had been a nine-match unbeaten run in the league.
LA Galaxy 3-0 Chicago Fire FC
With the visitors down to ten men within half an hour, this match was only likely to have one outcome, but the Galaxy didn’t hesitate to turn in an impressive display led by Riqui Puig. Billy Sharp added a goal from the penalty spot on his debut, and the Galaxy won for the third time in four league matches.
Portland Timbers 2-3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Ryan Gauld and Brian White lead the way for the visitors in this Cascadia Cup match, combining for all three goals (two by Gauld) to hold off a Timbers side who were eager to edge closer to the playoffs.
Minnesota United FC 1-1 Seattle Sounders FC
On Sunday, Yeimar Gómez Andrade scored for and against his side in Minnesota, allowing Seattle to remain third in a tightly-packed Western Conference.
