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Atlanta United beat Philadelphia
Atlanta grabbed an early goal thanks to Thiago Almada and eventually put Philly away for a 2-0 win in Sunday’s lone MLS game.
USMNT punch ticket to Gold Cup knockout stage
The US men’s national team advanced to the knockout stage of the Gold Cup, beating Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Update your preferences to get the best Messi coverage straight to your inbox. We'll send you everything you need to know as the Argentine legend prepares to join Inter Miami CF this summer.
Another week gone and suddenly somehow someway we’re nearing the homestretch of the season. Finally, it feels like we truly know what every team across the league is about… until all of that gets thrown in the garbage in two days when the Secondary Transfer Window opens. Entertaining league! Hard to analyze.
We can still do our best though. Let’s talk it out.
Ok, worst is harsh. And the answer is no, no its not. The MLS record for conference-wide “meh” likely belongs to the 2017 West. Portland won the whole thing with 53 points, a rate of 1.56 points per game. You have to go back to the 2011 East for a smaller winning point total and that barely counts because there were only 18 teams in the league and Sporting KC were in the East. Basically, imagine this year’s good, but not great Orlando team being the best in an entire conference. Then again…Orlando’s 1.55 points per game would be third-best in this year’s West.
Did we also mention an expansion team is leading the entire thing? That’s not a knock on St. Louis, a good soccer team. That’s a big “Uhhh hey, y’all ok?” to the rest of the conference. You’re getting dunked on by a bunch of guys who spent preseason playing icebreakers just to learn each other's names. Then, at the bottom of the conference, you have Colorado and LA in a heated battle for the Wooden Spoon. It’s all kind of bleak, especially when you compare it to the battle royale happening in the East.
All that to say the final 14 games or so in the West are going to be fascinating. Will LAFC start looking like themselves again once they eventually and mercifully get a chance to rest? Will Seattle pull a Sounders Special and find their footing as we enter the final stretch? Are St. Louis going to do the dang thing and then actually have it translate to the playoffs? Have y’all bought all the Real Salt Lake stock I’ve been telling you to buy while it’s low? Will Minnesota start living up to their underlying numbers?
I have a lot of questions and no answers. All I have is this understanding that nothing in the West is predictable right now.
That’s not a bit. They’re in fourth place in the West after picking up their league-best sixth (!!) road win of the season. That’s two more road wins than any other team! They’re adding a DP and a U22 player in this window. Just imagine if they start winning their home games like a normal MLS team.
RSL jumped up to a home playoff spot this weekend and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them there at the end of the season. Yeah, the West is a cluttered mess right now, but RSL are one of the few teams trending upward.
We talked on Saturday morning about the Supporter’s Shield race semi-officially being wrapped by the end of the weekend. Fortunately, for content’s sake, the Revs became the first team this year to pick up a point of any kind at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. New England are still seven points behind. Meanwhile, Nashville picked up all three points against D.C. United to bring themselves within six points of Cincy with a game out of hand.
It’s not necessarily plausible either of those teams catch Cincy, but we know the Revs are adding a winger and maybe a little more. We know Nashville are set to add a DP striker. It’s not over yet.
Although, kind of seems like it’s starting to get there. Even with teams behind them getting better, Cincy are set to add a DP striker of their own. And even if he doesn’t hit immediately, they’ve had plenty of players step up all season to make up for the moments without Brandon Vazquez and Brenner up top. Whether that’s Lucho Acosta being an MVP-caliber player or Sergio Santos and Dom Badji putting in a shift, they’ve had enough juice to get by without operating at full capacity. They did enough this weekend to at least start bringing out the nails for the coffin. A little more separation and they can start hammering them in.
What a weekend for teams who routinely refuse to be the best versions of themselves. The Red Bulls went to Columbus, won the xG battle 2.0 to 0.8, and lost anyway. Toronto gave up a late goal to lose at home. San Jose had to scramble to pull out a draw in front of 50,000 folks at Stanford Stadium against a not-good Galaxy team. And Vancouver followed up their road win over LAFC last week by face-planting against Sporting KC. Oh, and LAFC lost to a Dallas team missing eight players. I’m equally disappointed (not mad) with all of you. Great work.
A few frustration-prone teams do get a pass this week though. Seattle weren’t great, but were at least able to capitalize on a Houston red card to eke out a 1-0 win. Minnesota took off on Portland and piled on four goals in a win thanks to Bebelo Reynoso’s brace and Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s maybe being a top-five winger in the league (no, seriously). And NYCFC went on the road and took down a CF Montréal side that doesn’t lose at home. Those are at least steps in the right direction for a few teams that have either felt like they had more in them or were just getting outright unlucky according to their underlying numbers.
16 points on the season. No Messi just yet. Columbus, D.C. and St. Louis up next. Good luck, Tata.
Last thing before I let you get on with your day. If you do some quick math, it kind of seems like we’ve got ourselves some playoff teams already. If we’re setting the line at 45 points, multiple teams could coast by on one point per game from here on out and make it over. Every Eastern Conference team from seventh place Orlando on up just needs to avoid a total nosedive. In the West, uh, well, it’s pretty much just Seattle, LAFC and St. Louis. But still! Look at all those East teams!
Good luck out there.
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