Soccer <\/p>\n
We\u2019re officially more than a quarter of the way through the MLS regular season, folks. Things are starting to get real as performances become more indicative of each team\u2019s level.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Today, we\u2019re looking back at the Matchday 9 slate to examine some of the most interesting things we learned.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got the Seattle Sounders<\/a> roaring back, Inter Miami<\/a>\u2019s identity, and so much more. If you want to read up on the rest of Matchday 9 in detail, check out Matt Doyle\u2019s column<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n No Jordan Morris<\/a> or Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> in the starting lineup as they work back to full fitness? No problem. No Alex Roldan<\/a> in the XI, either? That\u2019s okay. No Jackson Ragen<\/a>, who\u2019s out injured, or Paul Arriola<\/a>, who will miss the rest of the season after being brought in to start over the winter? It\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n Missing five projected starters on Saturday against Nashville SC<\/a>, the Seattle Sounders put together their best performance of the season in a convincing 3-0 win<\/a>. Nashville, lest we forget, are no slouches this year under B.J. Callaghan, beating the Philadelphia Union<\/a> and outplaying a pair of other Eastern Conference contenders. But against the Sounders? Nashville crumbled.<\/p>\n Playing out of Brian Schmetzer\u2019s 3-4-3 setup, Cristian Roldan<\/a> and Obed Vargas<\/a> dominated the midfield. Roldan, who played as the deeper of the two, was quick to recover and recycle play. Vargas, who would range further forward into the attack to help overload Nashville\u2019s double pivot, was more incisive in the final third than I\u2019ve ever seen him:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What a strike by Pedro de la Vega ???????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com\/zTfWiQMhHG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) April 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Results haven\u2019t flowed across Concacaf or MLS play like many \u2013 myself included \u2013 would\u2019ve guessed. But with a genuinely elite midfield and impressive depth, playing the Sounders is a terrifying proposition yet again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Let\u2019s not get it twisted: the Columbus Crew<\/a> played the better game on Saturday against Inter Miami in front of a club-record crowd in Cleveland. Wilfried Nancy\u2019s team set the terms of the match, created the better chances, and controlled the ball high up the field, largely far away from their own goal.<\/p>\n And yet, Inter Miami still snagged a 1-0 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What\u2019s the takeaway here? Well, beyond \u2018soccer is a weird sport sometimes,’ Saturday was less about Miami playing perfectly (or even \u201cwell\u201d) and much more about us learning about Javier Mascherano\u2019s tactical approach.<\/p>\n To be specific, we learned Mascherano doesn\u2019t demand that his team keep the ball. In contrast to the Crew, who will possess at any time in any place against any team in this region, Miami were more than happy to drop their lines and defend in a 4-4-2 block en route to a season-low 40.2% possession share this past weekend. That\u2019s not the norm for Miami, who tend to attack early and often in a ball-oriented setup that flows through Lionel Messi<\/a>. Still, it wasn\u2019t the first time we\u2019d seen Inter Miami play against the ball in the regular season. They did something similar against Charlotte FC<\/a> back on Matchday 3 (granted, they played most of that game with 10 men).<\/p>\n Even if they were fortunate to head back to Florida with three points, Miami\u2019s tactical flexibility could prove to be a genuine asset as the season progresses.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Three weeks after the Dynamo<\/a> announced the arrival of Designated Player Ond\u0159ej Lingr<\/a>, the 26-year-old finally made his Houston debut. He played the last 15 minutes plus stoppage time in Houston\u2019s 2-2 home draw<\/a> with the Colorado Rapids<\/a>, scoring the late equalizer along the way:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019ve got to hand it to Pat Onstad, the Dynamo\u2019s president of soccer, because he pretty much scripted this first goal from his new DP in a quote for Lingr\u2019s announcement post<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cOnd\u0159ej is a goal-scoring midfielder with experience playing at the highest levels of European club and international football. He will make us a more dangerous attacking team with his verticality and penalty box presence.\u201d<\/p>\n That… sums up the above goal. Lingr found an open pocket in the box and made the Rapids pay. At his best with Slavia Prague, Lingr was putting up double-digit goal seasons, with 14 league goals back in 2021-22 and another 11 in 2022-23. He\u2019s off to a hot start in Houston.<\/p>\n Am I worried about the Dynamo still lacking a creative distributor in the final third to feed Lingr and fellow DP Ezequiel Ponce<\/a>? You bet I am. But you can\u2019t ask for more than Lingr gave Houston on his debut.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cIt’s frustrating. You want to win. I want to win. I don’t like losing. But I want to win at everything I do. I know a lot of people on the team do. We just have to have that killer mentality. There’s two or three moments in games that we just [expletive] ourselves throughout the season.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s LA Galaxy<\/a> goalkeeper John McCarthy<\/a> following his team\u2019s 1-0 loss<\/a> to Austin FC<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n He was upset postgame<\/a>, and understandably so, after the Galaxy extended their winless streak to nine games to start 2025. They\u2019re in the midst of the worst MLS Cup defense in league history, and frustration is bubbling during this 0W-6L-3D start.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Despite McCarthy\u2019s penalty save on Brandon Vazquez<\/a>, the Galaxy still left Texas without a point. There was plenty of blame to go around, too, just like there\u2019s been all season. For the seventh time in nine matches<\/em>, Greg Vanney\u2019s team couldn\u2019t break the 1.0 xG mark, according to FBref. Joseph Paintsil<\/a>, healthy and in the starting lineup, hasn\u2019t been hugely impactful since returning from injury. And without steady ball progression from central midfield, it\u2019s been Gabriel Pec<\/a> or bust in the attack.<\/p>\n Defensively, an injury to Maya Yoshida<\/a> has left the Galaxy even lighter at center back. On Saturday, they went with an Eriq Zavaleta<\/a>–Emiro Garc\u00e9s<\/a> pairing and struggled for long stretches.<\/p>\n At this point, the hope is LA can pull a 2023 Sporting Kansas City<\/a>, who made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs after picking up just three points in their first 10 games of the season. But they need to get healthy, find answers in midfield and balance the attack. Pronto.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Speaking of a team needing answers, I present to you: Atlanta United<\/a>.<\/p>\n After reportedly spending more money than any other club in MLS during the Primary Transfer Window, the Five Stripes are averaging just one point per game through the first nine games of the season. They\u2019ve struggled mightily \u2013 not to the LA Galaxy\u2019s levels, but they\u2019ve struggled nonetheless. Last weekend’s 3-0 loss<\/a> at the Philadelphia Union<\/a> was just the latest example.<\/p>\n With Ronny Deila desperate to energize a team with just one win since opening day, the manager awarded central midfielder Ajani Fortune<\/a> with a start on the left wing of a 4-2-3-1. The whole thing was terribly reminiscent of the Alex \u201cWing\u201d experiment<\/a> Deila ran with New York City FC<\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Brooks Lennon<\/a> just about broke Miguel Almir\u00f3n<\/a> by opting to cross the ball into the box instead of hitting the simpler and higher-value ball to the Paraguayan in the half-space:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Pretty sure this sequence broke Miguel Almiron.<\/p>\n Atlanta United simply don’t have answers with or without the ball right now — they’re averaging 1.0 PPG after spending more money than any other MLS team this winter.pic.twitter.com\/3NXfH066ZI<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Joseph Lowery (@joeclowery) April 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It was one bad decision after another for Atlanta over the weekend, and they were steamrolled because of them. Fortune, 22, and center back Noah Cobb<\/a>, 19, were the only players to speak to reporters following the defeat. Cobb, for his part, said he was \u201cheartbroken\u201d<\/a> about the state of Atlanta United.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be surprised to see Deila heavily rotate his team against Orlando City<\/a> on Saturday (7:15 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>; FOX, FOX Deportes). While you’re at it, don\u2019t be surprised if the club makes a move before Wednesday\u2019s transfer window deadline. A refresh might be needed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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