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Just three games to get to. We’ll go quick and let you enjoy a quiet Sunday before we hit Decision Day and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
What happened?: 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR winner Alan Velasco stepped up and drilled a phenomenal free kick, but Rafael Navarro’s opener was enough for the Rapids to hold onto a draw.
So, did we learn anything?: Dallas can’t do anything but play 1-1 draws. They’ve had five in the last seven games. They did have a win against RSL in that span, but they also had a 0-0 draw against Houston too. Seven of their 10 games since Leagues Cup have been draws. They’re remarkably bland right now. And they’ll enter Decision Day potentially needing more than a draw to get into the postseason.
Even if they get there at this point, there’s just no reason to be confident in their ability to make a run. The only plausible path right now seems to be drawing and winning penalty shootouts all the way through.
What happened?: Well, first off, I feel it’s very important we point out Alan Velasco, Sam Surridge and Tomas Chancalay were all mentioned by name in yesterday’s newsletter as players that need to show up and be key contributors. They had a combined five goals between them. Including braces from Surridge and Chancalay in this one.
Unfortunately for the Revs, Surridge’s brace came in the first half and doesn’t even account for an off-the-crossbar assist to Dax McCarty. Nashville were off and running from the jump in this one. Even if Chancalay eventually made it interesting.
So, did we learn anything?: Yeah, you can knock Nashville for letting the Revs back into the game, but the result was huge no matter how you spin it. They got the attack up and running at the right time and didn’t need Hany Mukhtar doing all the work. Surridge got his first and second MLS goals and it came against a playoff team. It’s a fantastically timed bit of proof of concept and Nashville are in position to potentially jump as high as fifth on Decision Day. No matter where they finish though, this weekend set them up well for the playoffs.
What happened?: LA jumped out to a 2-0 lead against an RSL side missing a number of key pieces. But Anderson Julio and Diego Luna eventually found the net and pushed RSL to a point.
So, did we learn anything?: It’s tough to gauge anything when RSL were missing so much and the Galaxy were out there playing because they’re contractually obligated to do so. But full credit to RSL for getting a point out of what seemed to be a pretty dire situation at the start. It could have gone better. It could have gone worse too. RSL are one point out of a top-four spot heading into a Decision Day matchup with Colorado. They have to get a win and hope Houston or Seattle slip up.
USMNT get reality check in friendly loss to Germany: The US men's national team got their first reality check of the Gregg Berhalter 2.0 era, falling 3-1 to Germany Saturday afternoon in an international friendly.
- Ari Liljenwall has your USMNT Player Ratings.
- The USMNT took a cold slap from Germany.
- Real Salt Lake's Axel Kei became the 4th-youngest player to appear in MLS.
Good luck out there. Get started as soon as possible.
