Soccer <\/p>\n
Once again we\u2019ll do the weekend\u2019s games in chronological order, with a big question from each game that\u2019s got me pondering.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Are NYCFC\u2019s attacking issues structural or talent-related?<\/strong><\/p>\n First things first: Going up to Toronto<\/a> and coming out with a 1-0 win<\/a>, battling both the Reds and the gale-force wind, was a good result. One, in fact, in which the Pigeons<\/a> showed a level of toughness that had often been beyond them this season.<\/p>\n But it was also one in which they showed the same attacking issues they\u2019ve had for the best part of a year. To paraphrase a line from Paul Harvey on BlueSky<\/a>, it\u2019s either a long ball to Alonso Mart\u00ednez<\/a>, a mind-boggling error from the opponents, or nothing. All three wingers \u2013 Hannes Wolf<\/a>, Agust\u00edn Ojeda<\/a> and Juli\u00e1n Fern\u00e1ndez<\/a> \u2013 remain MIA for reasons I can\u2019t totally pinpoint, and the ability to press teams into mistakes isn\u2019t part of this group\u2019s DNA this year.<\/p>\n Does this get better when Aiden O’Neill<\/a>, signed just before the transfer window closed this week, is good to go? Slotting in a high-level No. 6 should, in theory, allow both Keaton Parks<\/a> and Maxi Moralez<\/a> to attack more freely, and the knock-on effect from that should be more touches in and around the box for the wingers. Fewer aimless long balls, and more purposeful possession.<\/p>\n My analysis of this team all year to this point, though, is a house of cards built on a foundation of \u201cshoulds.\u201d The fact is they haven\u2019t really made any progress in the spots they\u2019ve needed to.<\/p>\n Toronto actually have \u2013 their defense is much-improved, and this was their first loss in a month. But this is an underwhelming attacking team, and so the margins are always thin, to the point that one individual error can light everything on fire. As was the case in this one.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like we were in decent control, we weren’t really too threatened,\u201d Toronto head coach Robin Fraser said afterward. \u201cAnd then in a moment, a defensive moment, we ended up giving [it] away.\u201d<\/p>\n Yup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this the start of a K\u00e9vin Denkey breakout?<\/strong><\/p>\n Won\u2019t see a better bike than this all year:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n KEVIN DENKEY RIDES THE BIKE FOR A BRACE. ????????????@fccincinatti<\/a> are two goals to the good after an insane overhead kick! pic.twitter.com\/Fvl2bZZto2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n A buddy of mine asked me, before the game Saturday, why Denkey<\/a>\u2019s obvious talent wasn\u2019t yet showing up in the underlying numbers. He\u2019d had some moments and scored goals, but hadn\u2019t yet popped.<\/p>\n My answer before what became Cincy’s fifth straight win:<\/p>\n He has a good feel in the final third, and specifically in the box. Naturally combines with guys, not selfish about taking every shot, finds little pockets of space.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n There\u2019s zero chemistry in that attack this year though, they\u2019re not getting anything from out wide on the left, [Luca] Orellano looks out of sorts and Evander is just sort of solo\u2019ing opposing defenses.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Even after the win, I stand by all of that. Orellano<\/a> had maybe his best performance of the year, but he\u2019s too eager to rip from outside the box when he should be combining a little more. Lukas Engel<\/a> had a nice hit that led to Denkey\u2019s first goal, but his movement was actually way too passive \u2013 he could\u2019ve been 1v1 on the \u2018keeper if he\u2019d read the play earlier.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just picking nits. This is all real stuff that Cincy<\/a> have to get better at over the course of the year to become the team they should be.<\/p>\n As for Sporting KC<\/a>, interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin said afterward that he told his team this was their best performance of the year, and I agree with him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s tough to control the result. It took a goal of the year to beat us today.\u201d<\/p>\n Sporting host the Galaxy<\/a> next weekend for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>). They\u2019re due a kind bounce or two from the soccer gods.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Has moving Nathan Harriel to CB given Philly better attacking balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n Turning it over to Armchair Analyst Special Correspondent Calen Carr, who was on the 1s and 2s for Philly<\/a>\u2019s destruction of a struggling D.C.<\/a> side:<\/p>\n The defensive structure for Philadelphia caught my attention. Head coach Bradley Carnell has allowed Danley Jean Jacques<\/a> to streak forward from the No. 6 position and he scored for the second straight game. Carnell told me midweek that Jean Jacques was like a \u201cnew signing\u201d and he\u2019s looked like it to start his first full season in MLS. He\u2019s filled a position that had been occupied for so long by the presence of Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ednez, but plays it more direct instead of east to west.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Behind him, Carnell stuck with Harriel<\/a> as a center back next to Jakob Glesnes<\/a>, and he was excellent. The more natural right-sided player was moved inside with Ian Glavinovich<\/a> injured and the 19-year-old Frankie Westfield<\/a> (who served a great curling ball in for Glesnes\u2019 goal) making the right back position his own.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Union have been left-side dominant with Kai Wagner<\/a> for some time now, so adding Westfield and Quinn Sullivan<\/a> shading right has given balance and stretched teams in transition. Harriel showed the speed to deal with Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a> last week and the aerial ability and awareness to cover holes and play centrally against D.C.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Philly now have five shutouts in 10 matches with only Vancouver having a better goal difference. It\u2019s the reason that, even when the attack glitched for a few games, they\u2019ve been able to keep a top-three place in the East.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n I didn\u2019t ask Calen to give me his thoughts on D.C. I will spare you mine as well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Have the Red Bulls made any progress generating chances with the ball?<\/strong><\/p>\n The lone goal in this win came via a Noah Eile<\/a> header on a corner. Eile, by the way, has been a major bright spot for this team this season, as his passing ability has been key to the continuing game model makeover we\u2019re seeing head coach Sandro Schwarz attempt to install.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how that makeover\u2019s coming along:<\/p>\n Over the first month of the season, RBNY<\/a> were in the top third of the league in passes per sequence, average sequence time, and percentage of their passing sequences that were nine or more passes.<\/p>\n In the month since, they\u2019ve dropped into the bottom third of most of those stats, which are all basically ways of calculating patience with the ball (and none of them are inherently good or bad, mind you; they\u2019re just indicators of how a team is playing).<\/p>\n At the same time, their direct speed with the ball has \u2013 unsurprisingly \u2013 picked up. It\u2019s nowhere near what it was in the Gerhard Struber era, but it\u2019s starting to trend in that direction.<\/p>\n None of this has had an appreciable impact on their underlying numbers, and I don\u2019t think this is Schwarz giving up on his experiment. But some realities are maybe starting to set in.<\/p>\n Reality has fully set in for Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. They\u2019re not getting blown off the field every week \u2013 they have only two multi-goal losses all year \u2013 but they\u2019ve got three points through 10 games, and would need about 1.7 ppg from here on out to have a realistic chance at the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this attacking outburst a mirage for Orlando?<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, after three straight scoreless draws, I wrote the Cats<\/a> needed a \u201cget-right game,\u201d and Atlanta<\/a> at home was very much a get-right game. And so it was, with the Five Stripes, to one degree or another, gifting all three goals.<\/p>\n Throughout this four-game stretch \u2013 if you\u2019ve done the math from the above paragraph, you understand it\u2019s a four-game stretch in which Orlando have not conceded, which came after an uncharacteristically loose six-game start to the season \u2013 head coach Oscar Pareja has scrapped the back four with dual overlapping fullbacks that has been a hallmark of his for basically his entire time as a first-division manager, instead opting for a back four that instead morphs into a back three with the ball.<\/p>\n You can see it in the network passing graph:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The right back \u2013 Alex Freeman<\/a>, No. 30 \u2013 is freed up to become a wide attacker, which lets Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a> (87) come operate in the half-space. The left back, David Brekalo<\/a> (4), stays home as a left center back. And the whole thing is now the typical 3-2-5 in possession that most teams around the world play.<\/p>\n I understand why Pareja\u2019s gone in this direction, as the defense really was pretty terrible that first month of the season. He had to do something; this structure has become the default setting for a reason.<\/p>\n Ronny Deila has to do something as well. Atlanta have three straight losses, only one win since First Kick, and zero players living up to expectations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Has Diego Luna made The Leap?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m just gonna give Pablo Mastroeni the mic, courtesy of KSL.com\u2019s Caleb Turner<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think we can talk about Diego<\/a> developing anymore. He’s the guy. He’s the guy that plays with the chip on his shoulder. He’s one of our best defenders. He’s obviously the guy that’s putting the ball in the back of the net. He’s doing it all for our group,\u201d RSL<\/a>‘s head coach said after their 3-1 win<\/a> at San Diego<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cReally unusual for a player of his age to kind of carry that type of burden for a group, but his shoulders are broad and his heart is big.\u201d<\/p>\n This is Best XI-level stuff:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Luna also had RSL\u2019s second goal, converting from the spot, and a sick backheel flick in the build-up to the third goal. It was the kind of \u201cget on my shoulders, I\u2019m not going to let us lose\u201d performance you\u2019d expect of a DP No. 10, and a necessary one after two straight losses.<\/p>\n The one knock on Luna this year is that he\u2019s not really creating chances, but I think that\u2019s an artifact of the personnel around him. And I\u2019m hoping it changes with the introduction of William Agada<\/a> into the rotation.<\/p>\n As for San Diego, it feels like they\u2019ve been figured out a little bit \u2013 they\u2019ve conceded nine goals in their past three games \u2013 as teams are now more consistently getting into those gaps on either side of d-mid Jeppe Tverskov<\/a>. That\u2019s forced An\u00edbal Godoy<\/a> to drop deeper, which has kind of broken not just their attacking shape, but their shape in possession as well. And that ability to keep possession, and to stay compact while doing so (which meant they could win the ball back quickly if they lost it), was a big reason for their defensive success over their first seven games.<\/p>\n Head coach Mikey Varas has some stuff to figure out.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Can the Quakes figure out how to fix their defense?<\/strong><\/p>\n Pass of the Week here from Beau Leroux<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 MLS Espa\u00f1ol (@MLSes) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n San Jose<\/a>\u2019s attack is arguably the league\u2019s best and has created chances against anyone. That includes a Crew<\/a> team that\u2019s still among the league leaders in both goals allowed and xG allowed, even after San Jose generated one good look after another on Saturday night.<\/p>\n The problem is that the Quakes are dead last in xG allowed. Bruce Arena\u2019s tinkered with personnel and formation (it\u2019s lately been a 3-5-2, as it was in this one), and nothing has really worked. Teams can stroll through the midfield when they want to and easily find isolation moments against the center backs (look at Max Arfsten<\/a>\u2019s game-winner<\/a>). Or they can just hit long balls over the top (even the Crew, who rarely hit long balls, did a bunch of this). Or they can find looks on set pieces.<\/p>\n San Jose are now 1W-6L-1D since starting the year with a two-game winning streak.<\/p>\n The Crew did not play as well as they did in last week\u2019s 1-0 loss<\/a> to Miami<\/a>, but got the win anyway. Funny old game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Who is Wilfried Zaha mad at and is this something to worry about?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Charlotte FC\u2019s DP Wilfried Zaha isn\u2019t happy with the criticism after yesterday\u2019s 1-0 loss to New England Revolution and expressed his frustration via Snapchat. pic.twitter.com\/7CGyapUnfY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TopBin90 (@Topbin90) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Uh, what the hell?<\/p>\n Zaha<\/a> hasn\u2019t been great \u2013 he\u2019s still figuring out how to play his part in Charlotte<\/a>\u2019s attack \u2013 but he hasn\u2019t been bad out there. This is not a DP coming on vacation.<\/p>\n And Charlotte weren\u2019t bad, either. They had most of the ball (nearly 60% possession) and actually used it to generate a ton of good looks. Zaha himself had three of them and created another three for good measure.<\/p>\n Maybe this is just him blowing off some steam after a frustrating loss. I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Three wins on the trot now for the Revs<\/a>, who pulled off a pure smash-and-grab here when Carles Gil<\/a>\u2019s shot snuck under Kristijan Kahlina<\/a>. All have come since going to the 3-4-1-2, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to change that formation any time soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Did the Nashville attack wake up for good?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been saying, virtually all season long, that Nashville<\/a> are doing everything you\u2019d want to see from a team adjusting their game model from pure bunker-and-counter to something more multifaceted and dynamic.<\/p>\n What they haven\u2019t done with any sort of consistency is put the ball into the back of the net. They\u2019d scored just four goals over their previous four games despite generating over seven expected goals.<\/p>\n In this one, they reversed that, generating four xG and scoring seven. It was the \u201cfeast\u201d part of feast or famine.<\/p>\n Hany Mukhtar<\/a>, who had two goals and an assist (and who has finally conceded PK duties to Sam Surridge<\/a>, who had himself a hambone), is convinced the \u2018Yotes are gonna keep eating.<\/p>\n “I had a couple of talks with the coach,” Mukhtar said afterward<\/a>. “I feel like as long as you come into these situations each game and create a lot of chances, it will click… When we look back against Cincinnati, against all these teams, we had chances and that is a good sign. I think we have clear values, clear attacking principles, which helps us to create a lot of chances.”<\/p>\n The Fire<\/a> were a mess in every way \u2013 long balls over the top, set pieces, inability to stop the ball through midfield \u2013 and are now winless in five. Gregg Berhalter literally apologized<\/a> for this performance after the game.<\/p>\n This was the first really bad performance of the bunch. Gonna be very interesting to see how they respond next week vs. Orlando City.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Have Houston figured out how to use the ball for defensive purposes?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve sung the praises of Houston<\/a>‘s game model a lot over the past couple of years, as they\u2019ve been capable of playing some pretty and effective attacking soccer.<\/p>\n But the main purpose of their possession dominance was always defensive. This was not a team built to chase the ball, but rather to have it and hold it, and to protect the scoreboard by protecting that possession.<\/p>\n It was always going to be difficult to transport that into this new era without H\u00e9ctor Herrera and Coco Carrasquilla in midfield, and Micael in the middle of that backline. As expected, they struggled pretty badly out of the gates.<\/p>\n Things have been better lately. The Dynamo went unbeaten in April \u2013 two wins and two draws \u2013 and allowed 10 shots or less in three of those four games, while logging over 50% possession in each of them. It feels like they\u2019re starting to turn the corner in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe played very well, especially in the second half,\u201d head coach Ben Olsen said in the postgame. \u201cThis one felt good. It’s been an emotional start to the season, but what I like about tonight is that we kept searching for more even after taking the lead. We have to make sure we punish teams after going ahead, so that was a really nice part of tonight\u2019s match.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin<\/a>\u2019s punchless attack contributed to Houston\u2019s good numbers in this one, of course. Their lack of a midfield creator has been a lot to overcome, as they\u2019ve scored just seven goals in their 10 games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Are the Rapids a 4-4-2 pressing team now?<\/strong><\/p>\n Colorado<\/a> switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 three games ago, and have been both winning the ball higher upfield and playing much more direct soccer. It\u2019s suited them \u2013 they\u2019re unbeaten over these three games and have been less reliant on other-worldly performances from Zack Steffen<\/a> (who missed this one sitting out for the red card he picked up after the whistle last week).<\/p>\n You can get a feel for how far upfield they\u2019re willing to come to create the turnovers any pressing team thrives upon, thanks to this graphic from MLS Analytics<\/a> on BlueSky:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Fifty-one meters is very far! And it speaks to one of the dangers of the high line \u2013 the obvious one, where you leave space behind. (That\u2019s kind of how the Sounders<\/a> got their goal, though really that was more because the Rapids fell asleep during a quick free kick than anything structural from the press).<\/p>\n The other danger of the 4-4-2 is you\u2019re going to be outnumbered in central midfield against good possession teams, which Seattle are. But the Rapids, to their credit, did a good job of preventing Seattle from setting up shop in that central channel<\/a>, limiting the Rave Green to just one pass into the box from the middle of the pitch all night.<\/p>\n Basically everyone on the Sounders spoke about that press afterward<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s not the identity I thought this Rapids team would have this year, but it\u2019s one they\u2019re wearing for now. And I don\u2019t expect it to go away.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t expect Danny Musovski<\/a> to go away, either. He scored in his third straight game and will be back in the XI again next week after poor Jordan Morris<\/a> had to come off late in the game with what looked like another hamstring injury.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Is Sebastian Berhalter actually this good?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kid saw Pedri\u2019s goal in El Cl\u00e1sico and decided, \u201cI can do that!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That\u2019s him making the tackle to start the sequence, and him banging one home to finish it.<\/p>\n He\u2019d come in at the half \u2013 in the first 45, the Whitecaps<\/a>, who\u2019d gone full squad rotation in prep for the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> semifinals date with Inter Miami later this week, had been holding on for dear life \u2013 and become a one-man field-tilt machine. He instantly commanded the game like, well, what he has been all year: the best No. 8 in the league. And then he made the play that changed everything.<\/p>\n Ten minutes after that goal, Pedro Vite<\/a>, another starter who was catching some rest, came on and turned it into a rout.<\/p>\n On the first goal, you can see the \u2018Caps have a vicious counter-press. On the second and third goals you\u2019ll see gorgeous team movements of the sort we\u2019re used to getting from Columbus, and maybe Miami, and very few others. All of this came against a very good Minnesota<\/a> team that hadn\u2019t lost at home this year.<\/p>\n The \u2018Caps are incredible, man.<\/p>\n Minnesota aren\u2019t. They\u2019re pretty good, and the reported addition of Julian Gressel<\/a> should help them be better than that. But until they start adding some dynamism with the ball, they\u2019re not going to have a pathway to joining the league\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Does Miami have a plan to get pressure on the ball in central midfield?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think Javier Mascherano has generally done a good job, and he was right to rotate the hell out of his squad on Sunday evening. But that rotated squad took a 3-1 lead, and then Dallas<\/a> changed their shape \u2013 going from a 4-4-2 diamond (that Miami did a great job of spreading out) to a 3-4-2-1 that more or less matched the Herons\u2019 shape \u2013 and suddenly the hosts were just completely flummoxed.<\/p>\n The number of times one of Dallas\u2019s deep-central midfielders (or central defenders, striding forward past the Miami attackers) got on the ball with time to pick their heads up and pick the perfect pass\u2026 too damn high. It led directly to Dallas\u2019 third and fourth goals, and also to our Face of the Week:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Could only be one Face of the Week pic.twitter.com\/IVX2iulwi7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This is an ongoing concern for a team that still really hasn\u2019t hit on a center back, and are thus always vulnerable in the box.<\/p>\n They have enough firepower to win most games anyway (sometimes even without Messi<\/a>, as their record without him over the past year shows). But there are times when they look so vulnerable because of this exact lack of organization, and it finally cost them their first regular-season loss of the year.<\/p>\n Dallas head coach Eric Quill deserves a ton of credit for both the formation switch and the willingness to go direct into the space behind the Miami backline again and again and again. Los Toros Tejanos have now lost just once in their past six, and have taken four points from the first two games of this little three-game road swing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Are LAFC figuring out how to create chances via possession?<\/strong><\/p>\n I know what the final score says, and I know LAFC<\/a> are not happy with their defense these days. And they have concerns with their pace of play \u2013 Ante Razov (subbing in as head coach while Steve Cherundolo served a red card suspension) talked about it at halftime with our own Andrew Wiebe.<\/p>\n I also know they generated a lot of chances against a team that was mostly defending in their goalkeeper\u2019s lap, and that\u2019s not something LAFC have traditionally been great at:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s not the type of game that typically ends 2-2. And if Denis Bouanga<\/a> \u2013 who had both LAFC goals, and generally looks like himself again after a miserable start to the year \u2013 remembered how to take a PK, it wouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s LAFC\u2019s issue these days, then? There are a few:<\/p>\n A lot of this is just individual performance: Players who had previously played well are now playing poorly. Lloris, because he\u2019s the goalkeeper, is the most obvious, but Aaron Long<\/a> has had a slew of uncharacteristic errors recently, and Marlon<\/a> hasn\u2019t exactly been putting out other people\u2019s fires back there.<\/p>\n Good on St. Louis for coming away from this one with a point, even if they were surely expecting all three once they went up 2-1 late. I thought Olof Mellberg\u2019s decision to risk opening things up with that switch to a back four for the second half was uncharacteristically aggressive, and in most ways it paid off (even if the underlying numbers are flashing a giant warning sign about the defensive stability of that set-up in the future).<\/p>\n Still, their winless skid has now hit six games. They\u2019re without a lot of key pieces, of course \u2013 as many as six starters, depending on how fine you want to cut it \u2013 so they have reasons, not just excuses for the poor run of form.<\/p>\n But they\u2019ve really got to start figuring some stuff out. Clock\u2019s ticking.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Timbers are second in the West. Is this legit?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not not<\/em> legit. Portland<\/a> have been a lot better this year at avoiding the kinds of backline catastrophes that have dogged them for the past few years, and James Pantemis<\/a> has been excellent in goal (both things have been massively important, as this group still gives up a lot of chances). A team that mostly avoids mistakes and has an in-form goalkeeper to ride can go places in a conference where almost everyone else is on the struggle bus.<\/p>\n Further upfield, things have been excellent. First, I\u2019m gonna hand the mic to my editor, Jonathan Sigal:<\/p>\n We all thought their attack would fall off a cliff post-Evander (it hasn’t). And they’ve had a quarter of a Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Then in the West, only three points separate three from nine in the standings. It’s going to be an absolute dogfight all year.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n That attack has produced 20 goals, which is tied for the most in the league. And while there are a few nits to pick at in terms of how they\u2019ve gone about it, they have become very good at collectively punishing little mistakes. As so:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Galaxy are dead as soon as Garces lets da Costa turn. pic.twitter.com\/vY6mW7LIUQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) April 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Everybody in green smells that breakout as soon as David Da Costa<\/a> turns, and if it\u2019s a track meet, I like Portland\u2019s chances of taking home the gold. They have been devastating in moments like that since about the middle of March, and they\u2019re on their best 10-game start to the season in the club\u2019s MLS history because of it.<\/p>\n The Galaxy, of course, are off to the worst start in their own history, and are starting to threaten the worst half-season in MLS history.<\/p>\n They visit Sporting KC for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire next week (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>). They are in desperate need of a win. Not much else to say beyond that.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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