Soccer <\/p>\n
We\u2019re off and running on MLS\u2019s 30th season. As usual, we had First Kick fireworks (I will always call Matchday 1 \u201cFirst Kick\u201d); as usual, that was followed by a much more cagey and conservative display on Matchday 2, with most managers around the league adjusting their risk sliders to prevent another torrent of goals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The first two weeks of the season follow that pattern almost every single year, and it\u2019s kind of comforting that 2025 has been no different.<\/p>\n
Ok, in we go.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Charlotte FC<\/a> have had maybe the strangest roster-building hit rate in league history. A late SuperDraft pick like Andrew Privett<\/a> turns into a written-in-pen starter, while No. 1 overall pick Hamady Diop<\/a> becomes spare parts and is eventually shipped out. Journeyman Brandt Bronico<\/a>? Basically irreplaceable in central midfield. Serbian international Nikola Petkovi\u0107<\/a>, who cost $3 million and takes up a U22 Initiative slot? Can\u2019t get a game.<\/p>\n They spent a lot of money on Tim Ream<\/a> to make him a left back. They spent a lot of money on Bill Tuiloma<\/a> to make him a reserve. And the DP hit rate\u2026 coming into this season, with apologies to Liel Abada<\/a> (who might still turn out to be good, but has been just an average MLS attacker so far), Charlotte\u2019s hit rate on DP signings was effectively zero.<\/p>\n Enter Wilfried Zaha<\/a>. He was invisible in the first half of the game, but then stole the show in the second half for the 2-0 win<\/a> over Atlanta United<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A game of cat-and-mouse in the first half turned into the Wilfried Zaha show in the second, and Charlotte’s new DP left a hell of an impression in his MLS debut. pic.twitter.com\/V3k82nTFLP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Zaha was as advertised: a guy with the tools and talent to be one of the very best attackers in this league. I honestly can\u2019t imagine him not succeeding here, and so with him out there, this felt like a typical Charlotte win \u2013 only moreso, because of the top-end talent they finally have in attack. And a \u201ctypical Charlotte win\u201d means they traded both possession and field position for space to counter into, and Zaha\u2019s built for that, so he did the same stuff they\u2019ve always done, just a good bit better than they\u2019ve ever done it before.<\/p>\n In short, he raises the ceiling. \u201cHe\u2019s the type of player we were missing last season for sure,\u201d head coach Dean Smith said afterward. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen in one performance today he can produce moments of magic.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is the next step for the Crown: I need to see them produce those moments of magic in different phases of play. Right now it\u2019s still counter-and-set-pieces, even with Zaha (who is much more than just a runner) on the field and Pep Biel<\/a> playing as a true No. 10.<\/p>\n I was having this conversation with Andrew Wiebe, who argued that Zaha\u2019s presence alone is enough.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve never had a guy who CONSISTENTLY does those basic Charlotte things at this level. If he\u2019s consistently a guy who just makes two high-level plays per game in the final third, that\u2019s better than they\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s not wrong! But like I said, I need to see more variation in how they create danger before I\u2019m completely bought in on this team jumping a level to join the true contenders.<\/p>\n By the way, Atlanta left money on the table here as they were the better team in the first half. But they couldn\u2019t make it count as Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a> was non-existent, which can happen to any forward who\u2019s reliant upon service. They need to figure out how to get him into good spots against a low block.<\/p>\n Which brings us to the elephant in the room: Alexey Miranchuk<\/a> once again struggled to impose himself on the game, on either side of the ball. We\u2019re now up to a 16-game sample size with the Five Stripes, and it\u2019s pretty clear that if he\u2019s not getting room to hit through-balls, he doesn\u2019t do a ton.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Six points from two games. Bruce Arena has clearly worked some magic with the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last week it was a 4-0 win<\/a> over a jet-lagged RSL<\/a> team (Arena, to his credit, pointed that out in the post-game presser). This week they went to Sporting KC<\/a>, got goals from their two star forwards, and then held on for a 2-1 win<\/a> despite playing a man down for the final 40 minutes.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t quite bring myself to read too much into it because of the quality of competition San Jose have faced over these two games: RSL and Sporting were both coming off of midweek Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> action, and I\u2019ve got both teams pegged for finishing in the bottom third of the Western Conference. San Jose haven\u2019t exactly encountered prime Bar\u00e7a out there.<\/p>\n But still, this has been good in ways the Quakes haven\u2019t been good since\u2026 2012? I\u2019m not saying they\u2019re going to win the Supporters\u2019 Shield \u2013 they will not win the Supporters\u2019 Shield, folks \u2013 but they’re solid, balanced and hard to break down. The lopsided 3-5-2 they\u2019ve played has protected Chicho Arango<\/a> and Josef Mart\u00ednez<\/a> defensively, and young Beau Leroux<\/a> at d-mid has been the biggest surprise contributor of the season, league-wide:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Leroux (34) sits and protects the three center backs. Jamar Ricketts<\/a> (another surprise contributor) at left wingback has the speed and endurance to go endline-to-endline all game, and so plays a little deeper than Cristian Espinoza<\/a>, who\u2019s more of a pure attacker at right wingback.<\/p>\n It\u2019s asymmetrical, but it\u2019s not unbalanced. And weak schedule or not, six points is six points.<\/p>\n \u201cThe soccer wasn\u2019t delightful on our end in the second half due to the fact that we were playing shorthanded, but the determination the guys had and the defensive mentality was outstanding,\u201d Arena said in the post-game. \u201cI thought our last 10-15 minutes was extremely good defensively. So I\u2019m proud of our guys, but we have to get better. There were a lot of mistakes made today, and hopefully in another week we can eliminate some of those.\u201d<\/p>\n Sporting boss Peter Vermes needs some of that from his squad, which looked a little worn out given they\u2019ve played four games in 11 days to start the season. They will get a week of rest now, and with it, perhaps some of the cohesiveness they need to begin creating some danger.<\/p>\n \u201cLet’s say that the team is new and we need to make the connections. It will take some time, but I think that we should take that as soon as possible,\u201d is how DP forward Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/a>, who scored his first goal for his new club, put it. \u201cNobody wants to wait that long. We need to start taking the points as soon as possible. It needs time, but it has to be fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 13. The Philadelphia Union look unstoppable.<\/strong> They went down to Florida last week and hung four on an Orlando City<\/a> side that\u2019s in some amount of flux after rebuilding a bit of their central midfield, and while playing without their best (BY FAR) center back. The Union<\/a> blitzed \u2018em and it worked. A useful data point.<\/p>\n Matchday 2, at home, against a Cincy<\/a> side everybody thinks will be in the Shield race all year? Four more goals, and an almost comically dominant 4-1 win<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Union attack, though two games, has been devastating. The ability of the forwards to work together \u2013 to create time and space for one another \u2013 is why. pic.twitter.com\/vC11urgVJo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Folks, that\u2019s a trend. The forwards have been amazing, and Quinn Sullivan<\/a>\u2019s leveled up on the ball (his turn in midfield to start this sequence rolling downhill is excellent).<\/p>\n They\u2019re giving up a ton of chances, but I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s a trade-off they\u2019re willing to make. Taken all together, it\u2019s produced 180 minutes of must-watch soccer.<\/p>\n Cincy will be fine in the long run, by the way. But two more midweek matches over the next two weeks (they have a CCC home-and-home with Tigres) will take a lot out of them, win or lose.<\/p>\n 12. RSL dominance vs. Seattle in Utah<\/strong> continues, as it\u2019s now been 14 years (!!!) since the Sounders<\/a> have won a regular-season game in Sandy. An early and pretty spectacular Nouhou<\/a> own goal set the terms for this one, and from there RSL grinded it out until Forster Ajago<\/a> (two goals this week! And kinda lucky not to get a red!) finished things off late for the 2-0 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n Notable from RSL\u2019s perspective: Diego Luna<\/a> has spent most of his time in MLS \u2013 like 95% of it \u2013 as a sort of false left winger in Pablo Mastroeni\u2019s 4-2-3-1. In this one, he started and went 90 as the No. 10. I thought he was good.<\/p>\n Even so, this was an advertisement for how hard it is to balance CCC with regular-season play. This was not the beautiful game from either side.<\/p>\n I’m not concerned about the Sounders yet, but this lack of urgency at the end was bad:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle wingers Pedro de la Vega and Paul Arriola did their jobs once they came on \u2013 some textbook combo play out wide.<\/p>\n But where was the off-ball work in the box? Really weird late performance from the Sounders in Utah. pic.twitter.com\/FdprTvXeIb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Check back on them in two weeks.<\/p>\n 11. The Red Bulls jumped all over Nashville<\/strong> from the start in a 2-0 win<\/a>. Special Armchair Analyst Correspondent Calen Carr was the man on the scene:<\/p>\n Also, I\u2019d like to report a murder:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Knew where we played and still didn’t show up, huh? https:\/\/t.co\/t1y60snvIg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n 10. Speaking of those Revs,<\/strong> they were held to just five shots with a grand total of 0.2 xG as the Crew<\/a> left Foxborough with all three points thanks to Jacen Russell-Rowe<\/a>\u2019s second goal of the season. It was a 1-0 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n Along the way, Caleb Porter gave us our Face of the Week:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Face of the Week, I reckon. pic.twitter.com\/XFAyozKKjV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n New England spent a lot of money this winter to put together what\u2019s basically a whole new team, and thus far the lack of chemistry is pretty apparent. Columbus, meanwhile, lost two of their starting attackers from last year\u2019s team (including the guy I voted as league MVP), but their chemistry through midfield and at the back is still intact.<\/p>\n Wilfried Nancy is a hell of a coach, man.<\/p>\n 9. Pass of the Week goes to<\/strong> C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a>, not just for the weight on this through-ball, but for the way he splits the Toronto<\/a> defense with his eyes. He completely sells that he\u2019s playing this to the wing, Zane Monlouis<\/a> bites, and then it\u2019s a sprint for Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Cesar Araujo gave Arsenal loanee Zane Monlouis a lesson on how *not* to read a midfielder’s eyes in Orlando City’s win on Saturday night. pic.twitter.com\/ycX5Y72uXO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n (Note: Monlouis is actually not on loan, but was a permanent acquisition<\/a> by TFC).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The good news for Orlando: Four goals (they won 4-2<\/a>), three points, and they were just clearly the better team.<\/p>\n The bad news for Orlando: They allowed two goals despite limiting both the quantity and quality of TFC\u2019s chances all night, but continue to get subpar performances from their goalkeeper and center backs. They’re not good in their own box, so at what point does academy CB Thomas Williams<\/a>, who was excellent in MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> last year, get onto the field? Seems especially timely given how well fellow academy product Alex Freeman<\/a> has played at right back so far.<\/p>\n As for Toronto, I\u2019ll be kind and say it\u2019s a work in progress. This week\u2019s work: rest defense.<\/p>\n 8. Chicago could use some work<\/strong> on that same thing, which is probably not surprising given both the front-to-back overhaul and how they were missing two starting midfielders and a starting center back for Saturday night\u2019s date with D.C. United<\/a>, which turned into a bitterly disappointing 2-2 home draw<\/a> for the Fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here are the silver linings:<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the structural stuff that\u2019s killed the Fire through two games, though: It\u2019s the simple execution stuff. They went down 1-0, then fought back to take a 2-1 lead, and couldn’t lock it down even before Jacob Murrell<\/a> scored what might be the AT&T Goal of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we could have been much better toward the end of the game \u2013 just being calm, moving into our positions, being hard to break through centrally and then defending crosses,\u201d head coach Gregg Berhalter said afterward. \u201cAnd you saw a number of crosses that they got on the end of, which is disappointing. I know they have big players, but this is what it’s about, being able to defend late in the game. And tonight we weren’t able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n D.C. deserve a ton of credit for how hard they play, and how much pressure they put Chicago under all night.<\/p>\n 7. Portland and Austin looked headed for a<\/strong> stalemate right up until the 89th minute, when new DP David Da Costa<\/a> put in a perfect ball:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Take it yourself, David Da Costa ????@TimbersFC<\/a> take the lead in the 89th minute. pic.twitter.com\/KCh4c9Wkdb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That was the only goal, as it ended 1-0<\/a>. Just a nightmare for any goalkeeper. Poor Brad Stuver<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Portland<\/a>, the early returns on Da Costa are very promising, as he\u2019s been active (on both sides of the ball, crucially) and clearly has that final ball in him (early days, but he\u2019s among the league leaders in xA\/90).<\/p>\n For Austin<\/a>\u2026 they sure seem to need a guy like that. Obviously early days with this team as well (Myrto Uzuni<\/a> isn\u2019t starting quite yet), but through two games the midfield has looked functional<\/em> rather than creative<\/em>. And so, through 180 minutes they\u2019ve got zero open-play goals, and zero players in the top 50 in the league in any of the relevant chance creation stats.<\/p>\n Uzuni\u2019s not going to help that directly \u2013 he\u2019s a goalscorer, not a chance creator \u2013 but in theory his movement and the threat he presents both in behind, and in running off of Brandon Vazquez<\/a>, should open up more space for the likes of Dani Pereira<\/a> in the middle.<\/p>\n 6. Minnesota United\u2019s social media team<\/strong> has been cooking all year, and while I don\u2019t usually weigh in on officiating decisions in this space (the call is the call, man), I\u2019ll say that I, too, thought this was a DOGSO red and that I, too, thought \u201cball don\u2019t lie\u201d when Kelvin Yeboah<\/a> scored the game\u2019s only goal five minutes later:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Karma is this Kelvin goal pic.twitter.com\/Vcp84GgPCt<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Loons<\/a> were much better than visiting CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, out-shooting them 14-3 and controlling the game despite having little of the ball. And as for the goal itself\u2026 more teams should just huck it into the box<\/a> when they\u2019ve got the chance. It\u2019s basically a free set piece!<\/p>\n 5. I don\u2019t know if I can do justice<\/strong> to Colorado<\/a>\u2019s 3-3 home draw<\/a> with FC Dallas<\/a>. Topline, I think there are two big takeaways here, one for each team:<\/p>\n Lucho scores his first for Dallas! ???? pic.twitter.com\/ZiemBvwEmO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That goal is both a special play and one that\u2019s emblematic of who Dallas are quickly evolving into. Fully 33% of their passes into the final third, and 33% of their passes into the box, came from that central channel (s\/o MLS Analytics<\/a> on BlueSky for the data).<\/p>\n This is The Lucho Effect. When he\u2019s in that central channel, playing off a center forward who knows how to combine with back-to-goal, he\u2019s almost impossible to contain (The issue, of course, is keeping him in that central channel \u2013 Lucho will wander if he\u2019s not getting enough touches, and that kind of wandering is not good for the team\u2019s overall structure).<\/p>\n For Colorado\u2026 Djordje Mihailovic<\/a> as a playmaking left winger and Cole Bassett<\/a> as a pressing 10. This will become even more effective once they have an actual left back to provide width when Djordje pinches inside.<\/p>\n 4. I feel like I\u2019ve seen Ryan Hollingshead<\/strong> rescue all three points for LAFC<\/a> with an opportunistic late goal my entire life, which is to say that Saturday night\u2019s 1-0 win<\/a> over visiting New York City FC<\/a> gave me some serious d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.<\/p>\n The Black & Gold went to the 5-2-3 from the start for the first time all year, and effectively deadened the game. As for the Pigeons, I\u2019m not sure why manager Pascal Jansen chose to start center forward Mounsef Bakrar<\/a> on the left wing, but yeah, that trick rarely works. And it didn\u2019t on this night.<\/p>\n 3. Full credit to San Diego FC head coach<\/strong> Mikey Varas and sporting director Tyler Heaps for their post-game words on the crowd<\/a> at the club\u2019s inaugural MLS home match, a pretty lackluster scoreless draw<\/a> marred by an early injury (looked like a pulled hamstring) to Chucky Lozano<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Diego<\/a> \u2013 I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m calling them the Ni\u00f1os, btw \u2013 were once again exceptionally compact, looked very well-coached, and looked like they were missing a bit of creative magic in midfield. That issue was compounded by the early injury to Chucky<\/a>, who came off at the half-hour mark.<\/p>\n As for St. Louis<\/a>, they\u2019ll need to show better than this next week for a Sunday Night Soccer trip to Carson to face the Galaxy<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I thought it was a weirdly timid performance from St. Louis in San Diego. And then when they did take risks, they really weren’t well-measured. pic.twitter.com\/GTrUK9wasp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n 2. Of course, it won\u2019t be a full-strength Galaxy<\/strong> St. Louis are facing. Following injuries to Emiro Garc\u00e9s<\/a> and Lucas Sanabria<\/a> in Sunday evening\u2019s 2-1 loss<\/a> at Vancouver<\/a>, here is LA\u2019s current butcher\u2019s bill:<\/p>\n We know those first two guys are out for a while. We don\u2019t know the status of any of the next five for next weekend, and while it\u2019s too soon for panic for the reigning MLS Cup champs, it\u2019s definitely not too soon for concern. Basically everything, through 180 minutes, has been a slog.<\/p>\n Not so for the \u2018Caps, who got an early goal from Sam Adekugbe<\/a> (who later went off injured, and yeah that\u2019s a concern because the attacking width he\u2019s offered on the overlap makes it much easier for Ryan Gauld<\/a> to be influential) and a late winner from Brian White<\/a>.<\/p>\n Early returns on the \u2018Caps under new head coach Jesper S\u00f8rensen: They\u2019re playing more with the ball through central midfield, and the center backs are being asked to be more adventurous with their distribution and their ball-carrying. And \u2013 this is key \u2013 he\u2019s been more willing to play some of the younger guys.<\/p>\n 1. And finally, Sacha Kljestan made the point<\/strong> at halftime of Inter Miami<\/a>\u2019s 4-1 destruction<\/a> of Houston<\/a> that while you lose so, so much without Lionel Messi<\/a>, you actually gain quite a bit against the ball.<\/p>\n And Herons head coach Javier Mascherano, to his credit, weaponized that by adding two worker bees (Yannick Bright<\/a> and Benja Cremaschi<\/a>) to the XI, and then having the front line press higher. They knew the Dynamo would commit to playing out of the back, and knew they could change the game by causing turnovers in bad spots.<\/p>\n Within five-and-a-half minutes, Cremaschi\u2019s pressure led to Miami\u2019s first goal. Just before halftime, Bright\u2019s pressure led to their third. In between Tadeo Allende<\/a> scored a banger and Houston never really took control of the game or threatened much at all. By the time it was all said and done, Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a> had a goal and three one-touch assists, but it looked more like the playbook from his Atleti days than his Bar\u00e7a time.<\/p>\n People aren\u2019t gonna want to hear this, but Miami\u2019s better than they were last year. (And Houston are, at this point, much worse.)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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