Soccer <\/p>\n
With the season’s first batch of midweek games in the rearview mirror and Rivalry Week complete, I\u2019m in my fixture-heavy happy place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Let’s look back at the latest slate of MLS matches to examine some of the most intriguing things we learned. And if you want to read up on the other key moments of Matchday 14 in detail, check out Charlie Boehm<\/a>\u2019s Rivalry Week column<\/a>.<\/p>\n Onwards.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Buckle up, y\u2019all. I\u2019ve got some stats to share:<\/p>\n This team is very legit, taking a major step forward from last year\u2026 when they were already a strong squad in the Eastern Conference. So, where is this improvement coming from? The answer lies in the attack.<\/p>\n For one, Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a> has been an upgrade on Facundo Torres on the right wing. According to FBref, Pa\u0161ali\u0107 is in the 68th percentile for non-penalty xG+xA per 90 minutes among his positional peers this year, whereas Torres was in the 36th percentile last year.<\/p>\n For another, Alex Freeman<\/a> has provided a transformational attacking presence from his right back role. In his first season as a starter, the 20-year-old homegrown already ranks in the 93rd percentile among fullbacks for those same statistics cited above.<\/p>\n Even with a rotating cast of midfielders in Orlando\u2019s double pivot (due to injuries), this team looks new and improved. That\u2019s the power of finding a new pair of good-to-truly elite starters.<\/p>\n Watch out, MLS. Orlando City look like a true contender.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Strikers always seem to benefit from playing under Gregg Berhalter at club level. Gyasi Zardes and Ola Kamara on the Columbus Crew<\/a> teams of old, plus Hugo Cuypers<\/a> with this year\u2019s Chicago Fire<\/a> team, are all testaments to that concept. And yet despite Cuypers\u2019 ballooning goals tally, the Belgian No. 9 isn\u2019t the Fire player who\u2019s most benefitted from Berhalter\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n That would be Brian Guti\u00e9rrez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Cuypers has previously reached the 20-goal mark in a single season and arrived in MLS with the sort of profile that underlined his potential to be an elite MLS striker. On the other hand, Guti\u00e9rrez has been a year away from being a year away since 2021. The 21-year-old has long been a useful MLS player, but we\u2019ve all been waiting for him to make the leap<\/em> in midfield. Don\u2019t look now, but that’s unfolding before our eyes.<\/p>\n Playing not quite as a No. 10 and not quite as a No. 8, Guti\u00e9rrez has thrived in his fluid role on the left side of Berhalter\u2019s midfield trio. He’s blossoming as a goal threat and taking higher-quality shots, all while upping his progressive passing and defensive actions. Fresh off the best game of his career with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win<\/a> at Charlotte FC<\/a>, the homegrown US international is thriving \u2013 and doesn\u2019t show signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite taking an early lead in Sunday\u2019s El Tr\u00e1fico, the LA Galaxy<\/a> couldn\u2019t collect their first three points of the year and finished with a 2-2 draw<\/a> at home with LAFC<\/a>. The reigning MLS Cup champions have now gone 14 games winless to start the year.<\/p>\n Yet Marco Reus<\/a> provides reason for hope.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Playing the full 90 minutes for just the third time all season, Reus\u2019 eight progressive passes were good for his second-best display of the season, according to FBref. More crucially, the German veteran scored both goals for the Galaxy, with the highlight coming via a lovely free-kick equalizer in the 87th minute:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The 35-year-old has gotten a lot of slack this year, including from yours truly. He was supposed to carry the Galaxy’s attack as Riqui Puig<\/a> recovers from a torn ACL suffered last November. Now, after a slow start, he’s got 3g\/3a in his last five matches and stepped up Sunday when his team needed him.<\/p>\n Surely, there’s some comfort for Galaxy fans in knowing Reus still has some tricks up his sleeve.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sitting at 1.93 points per game (or above) and on pace for at least 65-point seasons, the three clubs leading the Eastern Conference continue to impress.<\/p>\n At the very top are the Philadelphia Union<\/a>, who enjoyed a six-point week thanks to wins over the LA Galaxy and Atlanta United<\/a>. Since trading D\u00e1niel Gazdag<\/a> to the Columbus Crew, the Union have gone a staggering 5W-0L-1D and reached the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup<\/a>. Only three teams in MLS allow fewer touches in their own box than Philadelphia, as per FBref. They have an iron grip on every phase of play right now.<\/p>\n FC Cincinnati<\/a> sit behind the Union in second and the Columbus Crew are in third; those two teams just played to a hotly contested 1-1 draw<\/a> as part of Rivalry Week.<\/p>\n Though the Crew ended up with a sizable chance creation majority, they had to put themselves in the driver\u2019s seat after K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a>‘s early goal gave Cincy the early lead. With Pat Noonan seemingly settled on a 3-4-1-2 setup featuring Luca Orellano<\/a> at right wingback and Evander<\/a> playing underneath Denkey and Sergio Santos<\/a>, it\u2019s easy to imagine chemistry starting to solidify for Cincy. And for the Crew? While Wilfried Nancy is still searching for his best possible front three (Aliyu Ibrahim<\/a> earned his first start in yellow on Saturday), Columbus\u2019 only loss of the year came in Cleveland to Inter Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n Toss Nashville SC<\/a>, Orlando and Miami into the equation, and it\u2019s not just the top three teams out East that are yelp-inducing. That conference is a blender, folks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Look, I know San Jose<\/a> playing to a scoreless draw<\/a> with the New England Revolution<\/a> on Saturday isn\u2019t exactly a great launch point for my \u201cthe Quakes\u2019 attack is phenomenal, actually\u201d take. But\u2026 the Quakes’ attack is phenomenal, actually. Don\u2019t believe me? Allow me to present some context.<\/p>\n That 0-0 draw with the Revs came just days after San Jose played to an impressive 3-3 midweek draw<\/a> with Inter Miami. On short rest (and without Chicho Arango<\/a>, who got injured during the first half of the Miami match), Bruce Arena rotated all but one of his outfield starters for his return to New England. Despite playing on the road with a depth-heavy lineup against a Revs team on full rest with a complete batch of starters, San Jose out-created, out-shot and out-played their hosts.<\/p>\n It’s tough luck they didn\u2019t find the back of the net. But that they continue to hold the title as the best attacking team in MLS based on both goals scored and xG created this season? That\u2019s the sign of a dangerous squad.<\/p>\n Up to eighth in the Western Conference, it\u2019s getting awfully easy to believe in San Jose. Buy your stock now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n