Soccer <\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Union<\/a> scored four times, LAFC<\/a> kept a clean sheet, the LA Galaxy<\/a> struggled without key players, Telasco Segovia<\/a> scored for Inter Miami CF<\/a>, Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> kicked the ball into the wrong net and Atlanta United<\/a>\u2019s back line struggled to defend. It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com and are not the sole fault of the author. However, he is at fault for at least some of this and deserves your derision for that. Sorry.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Even without Lionel Messi<\/a>, Inter Miami looked just fine against Houston<\/a> as they rolled to a 4-1 win in Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a> led the line alongside newcomers Telasco Segovia and Tadeo Allende<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Up next, they have an extremely favorable CCC<\/a> Round of 16 opponent in Jamaican side Cavalier FC. Does Messi return to the squad?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LAFC played what can politely be called an oppressive game of soccer against New York City FC<\/a> over the weekend. It worked out in their favor, though, as the forever-underrated Ryan Hollingshead<\/a> scored the deciding goal in the 86th minute of a 1-0 win.<\/p>\n Now\u2026 [cue dramatic music]\u2026 Columbus await in the CCC Round of 16. They haven\u2019t exactly fared too well against the Crew lately.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s nothing new in Columbus<\/a>. The Crew are doing Crew things and are one of five teams in MLS with two wins after Matchday 2.<\/p>\n Now, their journey back to the CCC Final begins against LAFC in the Round of 16. Things have gone really well for them against LAFC lately (see: two trophies).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Matchday 1\u2019s big win at Orlando<\/a> felt a little fluky. Nothing felt fluky about the Union\u2019s absolute demolition of Cincinnati<\/a> over the weekend. They steamrolled an early-season Supporters\u2019 Shield favorite in a 4-1 win that featured a hat trick from Tai Baribo<\/a>. He\u2019s got five goals in two games this year and is up to 14 goals in 20 MLS starts.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Baribo isn\u2019t the only one standing out, though. New central midfielder Jovan Luki\u0107<\/a> has immediately looked like a solidifying force in Bradley Carnell\u2019s 4-2-2-2 setup, and homegrown fullback Frankie Westfield<\/a> looks the part.<\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely so far, so good for Philly in a new era. But we\u2019ve seen plenty of high-pressing, Energy Drink Soccer-adjacent teams roll early in the season before. That includes Carnell\u2019s 2023 St. Louis<\/a> side. Are Philly going to stay consistent as the year goes on?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As soon as Seattle remember to stop kicking the ball in their own net, they\u2019ll be just fine.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got Cruz Azul waiting for them in the CCC Round of 16. That includes a matchup with former MLS standouts Mateusz Bogusz and Giorgos Giakoumakis.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Evander<\/a> got on the board. That\u2019s the only positive takeaway from Cincy getting dump-trucked by the Union over the weekend.<\/p>\n Can they rebound in CCC against Tigres?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Wilfried Zaha<\/a> didn\u2019t make an impact until the second half against Atlanta, but he caused chaos on Charlotte<\/a>\u2019s first goal and sealed the game on their second. The Crown rolled to a 2-0 win that showed why you can expect them to rack up plenty of points this year. As soon as the game state flips in their favor, they\u2019ll be a nightmare to break down.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Brian White<\/a> nodded home a late winner as Vancouver<\/a> picked up a 2-1 win over the Galaxy. It\u2019s worth pointing out that White has quietly scored 15 goals in each of the last two seasons. He\u2019s right on track for that again. And the Whitecaps are on track for a stellar start. They\u2019re one of three teams in the Western Conference with six points so far.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Legend says the ball is often prone to telling the truth in moments of potential subterfuge. Kelvin Yeboah<\/a>\u2019s game-winning goal immediately after a reversed penalty call this weekend gave us one of those moments.<\/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 Yeah, the competition hasn\u2019t been the stiffest, but six points from two games is a massive step forward for last year\u2019s Wooden Spoon-winning side.<\/p>\n Chicho Arango<\/a> and Josef Mart\u00ednez<\/a> scored early and the Quakes<\/a> survived playing with 10 men for most of the second half in a 2-1 win at Sporting KC<\/a>. The Bruce Arena era is off to a predictably competent start.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New York<\/a> got off and running after getting every possible bounce in their favor on Mohammed Sofo<\/a>\u2019s first-ever MLS goal.<\/p>\n Once Emil Forsberg<\/a> added a second 23 minutes later, the Red Bulls were in total control against a toothless Nashville<\/a> side.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 10\/10 goal from New York’s 10 Emil Forsberg. ???? pic.twitter.com\/oEytp2wANN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n After their 2-0 loss at Charlotte, Atlanta are on two games and two second halves that looked significantly worse than the first. That\u2019s what happens when defensive mistakes flip the game state. Straightforward long balls over the top are causing real issues for a back line missing both starting fullbacks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n After Matchday 1’s impressive road win over the Galaxy, San Diego<\/a>\u2019s home opener could have gone better. They failed to find the net in a 0-0 draw and, among other things, watched as DP attacker Chucky Lozano<\/a> left the match in the first half with an injury. On the bright side, they limited St. Louis to just 0.1 xG on two shots. Also, four points from your first two games ain\u2019t bad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We’re doing things a lil differently here in San Diego…<\/p>\n …You could see it during our Inaugural Home Opener.<\/p>\n It’s different here. pic.twitter.com\/pVDUlqGJRA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) March 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a> clipped a free kick off the inside of the post and 6-foot-3 (!) right back Alex Freeman<\/a> scored in his first start as Orlando rolled to a 4-2 win over Toronto<\/a>. It\u2019s a nice bounce back from last week\u2019s loss to Philadelphia, but it\u2019s hard to know how much to take from a win over Toronto.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n FC Dallas<\/a>‘ defending hasn\u2019t been anything to write home about, but the one-two punch of Lucho Acosta<\/a> and Petar Musa<\/a> is for real. Musa had a goal and an assist, and Acosta opened his FC Dallas account in a 3-3 comeback draw at Colorado<\/a>. As Acosta becomes more comfortable, Dallas\u2019s attack will be increasingly tough to handle.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Rafael Navarro<\/a> scored twice and Keegan Rosenberry<\/a> found the net accidentally, but the Rapids’ defense didn\u2019t hold up against FC Dallas. An early 2-0 lead turned into a 3-3 draw that needed a late rescue operation to salvage a point.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nothing worked in attack for New York City FC against LAFC over the weekend. The good news is they won\u2019t have a tougher pair of back-to-back games than away to Miami and LAFC the rest of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There aren\u2019t many MLS teams, if any, that could thrive with the Galaxy\u2019s current injury list. They\u2019re missing too much firepower, have basically a new midfield and offseason departures aren\u2019t helping. Shiny trophy is still shiny, but it’s not going great!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin<\/a>\u2019s revamped attack hasn\u2019t blown anyone away to start the season. They were shut out at Portland<\/a> over the weekend and are toward the bottom of the way-too-early xG standings. To be fair: We\u2019re still waiting to see new DP Myrto Uzuni<\/a> join fellow DPs Brandon Vazquez<\/a> and Osman Bukari<\/a> in the starting XI.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In attack, St. Louis had a performance to forget against San Diego. They took two whole shots against the expansion side. At least they managed to come away with a point?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Chicago<\/a> were doing just fine against D.C. United<\/a> until Jacob Murrell<\/a>\u2019s absurd overhead kick swiped away two points.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Fire can take solace in Hugo Cuypers<\/a> scoring twice in the 2-2 draw and they created 3.4 xG worth of chances. Their attack is clearly improved. But through two games\u2026 that defense, woof. D.C. created 3.8 xG worth of chances, just one week after they gifted Columbus several goals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n RSL<\/a> came out on top of an ugly game between two CCC teams thanks to Nouhou<\/a>‘s own goal and Forster Ajago<\/a>\u2019s first MLS goal. A 2-0 win over Seattle should give them a little confidence after crashing out of CCC against Herediano.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It may not have been totally on purpose, but new DP 10 David Da Costa<\/a> opened his Timbers account at the perfect time. An in-swinging free kick in the 89th minute snuck past his teammates and Austin keeper Brad Stuver<\/a> to give Portland a 1-0 win. Also, the clean sheet has to feel good after last week\u2019s performance against Vancouver.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Maybe a shot? Maybe just throwing his foot out at the ball to send it back toward goal? Definitely an AT&T Goal of the Year candidate. Murrell\u2019s equalizer gave D.C. a well-earned point after the Black-and-Red created a ton of chances on the road.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nashville went down early and never recovered against the Red Bulls. There are ideas in place, but alongside St. Louis and New England<\/a> they’re one of three teams yet to score this year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Montr\u00e9al<\/a> are doing their best in the middle of a seven-game road trip to start the year. After this weekend\u2019s 1-0 loss to Minnesota<\/a>, they\u2019ve kicked off the year giving up two late winners. It could be tough sledding for a while for a very raw team. Per FBref, they\u2019re the youngest side in the league by minutes played.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Revs are still trying to get a revamped roster clicking. It might take a while. They\u2019re still looking for win No. 1 after falling to the Crew.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Dynamo won\u2019t be the only team to look overwhelmed against Inter Miami this year. Still, early-season returns haven\u2019t been promising for a Houston side still looking for their first win.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It could be a long year.<\/p>\n After falling short to Inter Miami in CCC, Sporting KC went down 2-0 against San Jose within the first 20 minutes and couldn\u2019t find an equalizer in the second half despite playing up a man for 40+ minutes. Stretching back to last year, they\u2019ve lost nine games in a row across all competitions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toronto made a rout at Orlando seem closer than it was with two late goals, so at least there\u2019s that. They visit Cincy on Saturday before finally heading home next week. Maybe they can pick up their first win there?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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