We’ll cut right to the chase this week: Young’uns made the difference in several Matchday 26 results.
Let’s dive in!
How good was Obed’s man-of-the-match outing in Seattle’s 1-0 away win over Austin FC, in which the 18-year-old ran the midfield and created the sequence that created the game’s only goal (that’s his sixth assist on the season)? So good that I barely have to write up sentences of my own to describe it – I can just point to the glowing praise uttered elsewhere.
Like Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle in his weekend wrap: “I’m giving Obed Vargas our Pass of the Week for making the play happen, as this ability to drive the game forward out of deep-central midfield adds a level of unpredictability and dynamism the Sounders have often lacked over the past few years.”
Or Sounder At Heart’s Jeremiah Oshan, who compares the young Sounder’s current form to Diego Luna, the Real Salt Lake creator and YPPOTW regular who has been tearing it up since it became clear he would be left off the US Olympic squad, in making the point that Vargas, too, got no love from Marko Mitrović before the homegrown teenager chose to represent Mexico instead of the United States.
And Oshan’s SaH colleague Tim Ostlund-Foss also noted that Vargas’ seven goal contributions puts him in pretty select company among MLS central midfielders.
Limping along on a six-game losing skid in the league, TFC hit what coach John Herdman called “rock bottom” midweek with a loss at CPL side Forge FC in the first leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal series – and then found themselves down 1-0 at home to Philadelphia at halftime of Saturday’s match.
All that is a prelude to Kerr coming off the bench to produce two goals – yes, the Reds’ equalizer was ruled an own goal on Jack Elliott, but that’s just a technicality – with just eight touches in 28-plus minutes to deliver a massive W for Toronto.
“Brilliant from DK,” said Herdman postgame, saluting the young homegrown’s tenacity in battling through a foot injury to contribute. “He’s been really mentally strong to stay in the fight. To see him get out there tonight and show what he can really do, man, we need that at this time.”
After flirting with freefall earlier in the year, CFM have quietly stabilized themselves over the past few weeks and showed plenty of what they’ve improved on in the 1-0 win over Atlanta United. The Quebec club were assertive against the ball and expansive with it, limiting the Five Stripes to 0.7 expected goals as they climbed to just outside the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs places in the Eastern Conference standings.
Working at the center of Montréal’s three-man back line, Álvarez was a foundational piece in that, marshaling the defense and distributing with composure. The US-Mexican-Colombian tri-national completed 77/82 passes (94%) and contributed 10 defensive actions and five interceptions to help bag CFM’s fifth clean sheet of the league campaign.
With Saturday’s scoreless draw vs. New York City FC, the Men in Red have reason to rue dropping two more points at home as they continue to languish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. Xherdan Shaqiri’s future needs to be resolved and reinforcements are a must with the summer transfer window opening later this week.
All that said, there are useful pieces in Chicago, starting with Guti. The Fire produced 1.4 xG this weekend (double that of their guests) and their 21-year-old homegrown was central to that, playing a game-high three key passes and adding five defensive actions and four recoveries.
Whatever new arrivals the Fire brain trust are contemplating, Gutiérrez has earned the right to stay on the pitch and do his part.
Much as we described with Álvarez above, Saliba is flying under the radar as he provides Laurent Courtois with work rate and solidity in the engine room.
The homegrown prowled the midfield to good effect in the win over ATLUTD: 77 touches, 60/67 passes completed (90%), six passes into the final third, 2/2 accurate long balls, six recoveries and four defensive actions.
When you take a step back and consider what he’s done over the season as a whole, it’s been a surprisingly good campaign for Saliba. So good, in fact, that he’s recently been rated as one of the best in the world among his age cohort:
Ronald Donkor: The 19-year-old Ghanaian has lately gotten a run of games in the New York Red Bulls’ central midfield and seems to be leveling up, showing range, bite and a steadily increasing tactical perception. He was 23/28 passing with six defensive actions, four recoveries and 2/4 ground duels won as RBNY took a point home from their trip to Colorado.
Nathan Ordaz: Saturday night’s 5-1 home loss to Columbus was a humbling trip to the woodshed for LAFC, albeit with one silver lining. Their 20-year-old academy product came off the bench to score his first career MLS goal, salvaging just a bit of pride for the Black & Gold.
Esmir Bajraktarevic: While New England were well beaten by surging Orlando City at Gillette Stadium, Esmir deserves a nod for the quality of his delivery to the back post on the Revs’ lone goal, bagging his second assist in ‘24 league play. This was a gorgeously-weighted service to DeJuan Jones, who then made things easy for Giacomo Vrioni:
