Soccer <\/p>\n
May, as you\u2019ve just experienced if you\u2019re an avid MLS watcher, is a grind. Traditionally, it\u2019s when the three-game regular-season weeks start and when the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> ends. It\u2019s when teams really commit (or don\u2019t) to the US Open Cup<\/a>\/Canadian Championship<\/a>. And if you\u2019re LAFC<\/a>, it\u2019s when you get a chance to play in the Most Expensive Game in North American Soccer History\u2122.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s the busiest month on the calendar, stuff like \u201cnine games in 29 days\u201d and such. In theory, that should make it a \u201clet\u2019s separate the men from the boys\u201d exercise, but it almost never works out that way. What tends to happen instead is the top of the table comes back to the pack a little bit, while at the same time, desperation kicks in for the stragglers, who suddenly start collecting results.<\/p>\n Everything tightens up because you can\u2019t fake desperate. Desperate wins games. Even in Carson.<\/p>\n In we go.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The second-hottest team in the league \u2013 the one that\u2019s done the best not just surviving, but actually thriving across all competitions over this past month, with an unbeaten run that\u2019s now hit 10 games and an upcoming date in the Open Cup quarterfinals \u2013 is Nashville SC<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not unusual. The \u2018Yotes, under previous head coach Gary Smith, regularly dominated in the slice of the year when:<\/p>\n That\u2019s a winning combo. Go back over the past four years and you\u2019ll see, season after season, how Nashville are one of the league\u2019s best in mid-to-late spring.<\/p>\n The difference this year is B.J. Callaghan\u2019s team is more dimensional with the ball than Smith\u2019s ever was, and so the upturn in results (even after Saturday\u2019s ultimately disappointing 2-2 home draw<\/a> with New York City FC<\/a>) is about more than just Hany finding his finishing boots. Callaghan had a vision for changing the way this team plays, and the players have been happily executing it.<\/p>\n This group, whose core is mostly the same Smith worked with for the past half-decade, is now more of a ball-playing side, one that still operates off some of Smith\u2019s principles (get Mukhtar and Sam Surridge<\/a> running together), but also comes further up the pitch as a collective. So they hit more short and medium-range passes, play side-to-side a little bit more to open up the half-spaces, and settle for open-play crosses much, much less often.<\/p>\n They are, in other words, one of the teams honing the knife via possession as the season goes on. The result is sequences like these two happening with greater frequency and lethality:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n One thing about BJ Callaghan’s system is that it’s constantly creating time & space for the deep-lying midfielders to pick killer passes.<\/p>\n Matthew Corcoran took advantage. Can’t wait to see him with the US U-20s. pic.twitter.com\/cy4Eh9feE8<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n In some ways it looks like bad defense on NYCFC\u2019s part \u2013 we all know there are defensive issues on every single goal that\u2019s ever been scored; go ahead and pick at \u2018em if you want \u2013 but it\u2019s more about Nashville\u2019s shape in building out. Callaghan has empowered his center backs to be braver on the ball, drawing more pressure before slipping passes through to the central midfielders (in this case it\u2019s 19-year-old Matthew Corcoran<\/a>, who had something of a coming-out party with a pair of secondary assists). Those central midfielders, in turn, are empowered to find space, receive on the half-turn and try to combine in short bursts to eliminate any closing pressure. They\u2019ll even sometimes drift all the way to the touchline, which is what you\u2019re seeing in the second clip.<\/p>\n It\u2019s dangerous. Lose the ball in those spots and your rest defense is at least partially compromised, leaving the center backs with lots of space to worry about in behind. That\u2019s a massive philosophical shift. The risk has been worth the reward, though, as Jack Maher<\/a> has (finally) taken a big step and Colombian veteran Jeisson Palacios<\/a> has been a godsend.<\/p>\n Those guys are why Nashville were able to go almost two months without Walker Zimmerman<\/a>, which in years past was a death sentence. He was back in the XI this weekend, and while some of the rust showed, there were more than just a few reminders that Zimmerman, too, can play with the ball a little bit.<\/p>\n That said, they saw a 2-0 lead dissolve over the game\u2019s final 35 minutes to become a 2-2 draw (not without some controversy<\/a>; make sure you watch Instant Replay<\/a> this week).<\/p>\n These ended up being points dropped and a costly reminder that the blade still needs sharpening.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that we reflect back on what the month looked like. That was our ninth game in the month,\u201d Callaghan said. \u201c[I\u2019m] proud of the group, the way they competed. Proud of the way they were able to grind out results, not only in MLS play but in the US Open Cup. I\u2019m really proud of the contributions across the board by a lot of players.\u201d<\/p>\n NYCFC, meanwhile, had an up-and-down month, which concluded with a schizophrenic week: a commanding 3-1 win<\/a> over Chicago<\/a> followed by a humiliating 3-0 home loss<\/a> to Houston<\/a> followed by this impressive rally for one point in Tennessee. None of it really makes sense until you remember this is MLS, at which point it all does.<\/p>\n The big takeaway through all of it: When the Pigeons have Keaton Parks<\/a> on the field, they can beat anybody. When they don\u2019t, they\u2019re pigeons.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The big news of the week \u2013 or some of the big news of the week, anyway \u2013 was St. Louis<\/a> parting ways with new manager Olof Mellberg<\/a>. Turns out that, despite the confidence with which he was presented, the big Swede was not<\/em> the right fit for a team looking to push back into Audi MLS Cup Playoffs contention after a year on the outside.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision to part ways with Olof goes beyond just results,\u201d is how sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel put it in the press release announcing Mellberg\u2019s departure. \u201cWe\u2019ve analyzed the team\u2019s performance across a number of factors, including the need to execute against a style of play that led to the team\u2019s initial success and has been part of our DNA for four years.\u201d<\/p>\n Those words sound right and the decision to cut bait with Mellberg now rather than letting him grind the entire season into dust was the correct one.<\/p>\n The problem is I\u2019m still not exactly certain what the style of play referred to in Pfannenstiel\u2019s quote is supposed to be. There just hasn\u2019t been a consistent one across the first two-and-a-half years of St. Louis\u2019s existence:<\/p>\n Which brings us to new interim head coach David Critchley, the fourth man to walk the sidelines in 28 months. On Saturday he steered the team to a late, dramatic, 2-1 win<\/a> over a heavily rotated San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> side.<\/p>\n This was no masterpiece \u2013 both St. Louis goals came when they capitalized on mistakes from a rookie center back and a backup goalkeeper, and in between they found a way (as has been their wont this season, no matter how many center backs are crammed into the lineup) to cough up a late goal. In the 90th minute this one looked destined to finish 1-1, another disappointment in a season full of them.<\/p>\n But the difference was they spent the whole game trying to play on the front foot. There was a timidity, or maybe even an outright fear, to how Mellberg wanted his team to operate. On Saturday that was not on display, which is a big part of how and why Simon Becher<\/a> won the deciding penalty in second-half stoppage time.<\/p>\n That was baked into the game plan. You can see the more aggressive positioning in the network passing graphic:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Yeah, that\u2019s a pretty standard 4-2-3-1, but Eduard L\u00f6wen<\/a> (No. 10) pushed forward early and often from the double pivot, and both fullbacks were given orders to get forward on the overlap.<\/p>\n This was not something that happened under Mellberg. Almost ever.<\/p>\n Now, the final ball wasn\u2019t great from anyone in red (boy does Critchley need to help Hartel and Cedric Teuchert<\/a> rediscover their 2024 form) but at least the structure gave them a chance to\u2026 get chances. More balls into the final third, more balls into the box, more runners in the box when those balls get there, etc. It eventually showed up on the scoreboard; all of it showed up in the advanced data after the game as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI believed in the team and I knew everything we talked about. We accepted nothing today but three points as a team. So, the mentality was super, super important for us,\u201d Critchley said in the postgame presser. \u201cYes, they equalized, gave us a little bit of adversity. It’s okay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re changing things around here. We don’t sit back in those moments. We go and try and win a football game, and that’s what we\u2019ve done and that’s what was deserving of the three points today.”<\/p>\n The loss ended San Jose\u2019s eight-game unbeaten run across all comps, one that stretched back to early May. Like Nashville, they\u2019ve played their way into an Open Cup quarterfinal next month and might\u2019ve paid for the energy they expended with some dead legs at the end of this one.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team has played very well during the month of May. They\u2019ve battled real hard,\u201d head coach Bruce Arena said afterward, in a press conference long on brevity. \u201cThey\u2019ve done a real good job.\u201d<\/p>\n Like I said, May\u2019s a busy month. The Quakes were mostly great and are well set up to climb in the season\u2019s second half.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 11. The Red Bulls, another of those<\/strong> Open Cup quarterfinalists, finished the month with a nine-point week, which was capped by Saturday\u2019s relatively ho-hum 2-0 win<\/a> over Atlanta<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cameron Harper<\/a> accepted a third-minute gift to make it 1-0, then delivered one to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting<\/a> 26 minutes later for the final:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scores again!@NewYorkRedBulls<\/a> up 2-0. pic.twitter.com\/AzieSqmNR1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n I\u2019m giving Alex Hack<\/a> our Pass of the Week for dropping that ball right into Harper\u2019s run. Great job of avoiding that Atlanta pressure, carrying the ball upfield a bit and then playing the runner through.<\/p>\n 10. Charlotte were on the wrong end<\/strong> of a bad one midweek at RBNY, but went up to Toronto<\/a> and took out their frustrations via a goal from Pep Biel<\/a> and a late insurance goal from Pat Agyemang<\/a> for the 2-0 final<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n Agyemang continues to dig himself out of the slump he\u2019s spent most of the season in, and his goal was classic Big Pat: with the opponents pushing up in search of an equalizer he got loose on the break, buried one defender, cut another, and finished nicely. He\u2019s devastating in those open-field moments.<\/p>\n Where he still needs to improve is in finding one-touch finishes from sequences of possession. So while his boxscore numbers from the half-season are ok (6g\/1a in about 1,250 minutes won\u2019t get you benched), his underlying numbers are worrying: just 22nd percentile, as per FBRef, in non-penalty xG, and just 44th percentile overall in shots.<\/p>\n Agyemang is great at scoring the types of goals that few other players can score. He\u2019s got to get better at scoring the types of goals that have Tai Baribo<\/a> atop this year\u2019s Golden Boot presented by Audi race and won Christian Benteke<\/a> last year\u2019s award.<\/p>\n 9. Hugo Cuypers got one of those goals<\/strong> to make it 2-0 Fire<\/a>, then almost immediately scored an Agyemang-type goal to make it 3-0 in what eventually became a big, 3-1 Fire win<\/a> down in Orlando<\/a> against the suddenly struggling Lions.<\/p>\n The Belgian DP is having a season typical of No. 9s under Gregg Berhalter, whose scheme generates a ton of looks in the box if your movement is good:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Hugo Cuypers extends the @ChicagoFire<\/a> lead! pic.twitter.com\/cS5j1yoide<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This is just classic Berhalter Ball. Kei Kamara<\/a>, Ola Kamara, Gyasi Zardes\u2026 they all feasted on sequences like this. Cuypers<\/a> now has 10 goals on about 12 xG, so even as he\u2019s underperforming a little bit, he\u2019s well in the Golden Boot race.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were a couple things that we focused on that I thought we did a really good job in and a lot of it had to do with our midfield and our wingers,\u201d Berhalter said in the post-match presser. \u201cPart of the game plan was to open up space and get their back line out of position, and I think we did that well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fire are another Open Cup quarterfinalist and lost just once in May across all competitions.<\/p>\n Orlando City, meanwhile, have now followed up a 12-game unbeaten run by losing three of four (all competitions), conceding three goals in each of those losses.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s a blip \u2013 I think this team is good, and I don\u2019t think Pedro Gallese<\/a> will wave at many more shots like he did on Philip Zinckernagel<\/a>\u2019s opener, which set the tone \u2013 but it\u2019s worth keeping an eye on.<\/p>\n 8. New England pushed their league<\/strong> unbeaten run to nine games, absolutely burying CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> by a 3-0 scoreline<\/a> after Giacomo Vrioni<\/a>\u2019s 36th-minute red card reduced the hosts to 10 men.<\/p>\n The Revs<\/a> then did the right thing in releasing their wingbacks higher and enveloping a Montr\u00e9al side that had been on the front foot for the first half-hour. Armchair Analyst special correspondent Calen Carr was on the 1s and 2s:<\/p>\n Twenty-year-old wingback Ilay Feingold<\/a> built off his first-ever MLS goal midweek by scoring two and assisting another in Montr\u00e9al. In the process, Feingold picked out his fellow wingback, 17-year-old Peyton Miller<\/a>, for his first MLS goal to boot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Miller is one of the top young prospects in MLS (recently called up for the US U20s) and has had moments where he\u2019s shown his ability to drive forward inside on the ball or stretch in behind off the ball, and then find the right pass (he had a nice assist to Feingold and also had one to forward Ignatius Ganago<\/a> that was called offside). Miller seemed soft-spoken (reminder: he is 17) and said all of the right things about the team after, but plays with a poise and some personality beyond his years (I can\u2019t say for sure, but there was a moment before his goal where I thought he asked Montr\u00e9al and former USYNT player Dante Sealy<\/a> if he wanted his shirt after being pulled down by it \u2013 which I loved).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Either way, the best versions of the Revs, whether under Bruce Arena (with DeJuan Jones<\/a> and Brandon Bye<\/a>) or this younger version (with Miller and Feingold) under Caleb Porter, weaponized the wingbacks to allow Carles Gil<\/a> time, space and cutting runners coming from deep areas out wide.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Their home-heavy schedule this summer won\u2019t be enough on its own to take this project to the next level \u2013 they\u2019ll need Leo Campana<\/a> healthy and scoring goals for that \u2013 but in the meantime, these wingback-to-wingback goals are fun to watch.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n 7. Also fun to watch: Leo Messi.<\/strong> The GOAT put together a 2g\/3a masterclass as, in their final outing before the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>, Inter Miami<\/a> ripped a massively (heh) depleted Columbus Crew<\/a> side to shreds, to the tune of a 5-1 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first goal? Columbus fell asleep and Messi<\/a> took a quick free kick to play Tadeo Allende<\/a> over the top.<\/p>\n The second goal? Crew backup \u2018keeper Nicholas Hagen<\/a> flubbed a pass right to Messi at the top of the box trying to build out.<\/p>\n The third goal? Mohamed Farsi<\/a> was late stepping up and Messi beat the offside trap to run in behind.<\/p>\n You get the idea. Just a lot of ruthless opportunism from the Herons, who\u2019ve got some spring back in their step over the past week, which started with their late rally for a point in Philadelphia last Saturday.<\/p>\n This was easily the best Miami performance of the year, which makes it the best of the Javier Mascherano era.<\/p>\n “We managed not only to score three goals but also to dominate the game and make Columbus run, which is not easy because normally they are a team that overwhelms you,\u201d Mascherano said. \u201cWith their style of play, you can beat them, but usually you suffer a lot, like we did in the match in Columbus.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Three assists. Last night, Messi recorded 5+ goal contributions in an MLS game for the second time. pic.twitter.com\/hzCg000pyA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It\u2019s the Crew who are now suffering, as they\u2019re winless in six and have lost two of three. Their Supporters\u2019 Shield hopes aren\u2019t exactly dead, but they took what looks like a mortal blow this month.<\/p>\n Columbus look like a team that badly needs two weeks off to get their legs back.<\/p>\n 6. Also suffering are their neighbors<\/strong>, FC Cincinnati<\/a>, whose winless skid hit four after a brutal 2-1 home loss<\/a> to D.C. United<\/a>, which followed Wednesday\u2019s equally brutal 3-3 home draw<\/a> to FC Dallas<\/a>, which itself came on the heels of the 4-2 clubbing<\/a> they took in Atlanta last weekend.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n These were three games you\u2019d have expected Cincy to win. These were three games they\u2019ve made a habit of winning since Pat Noonan arrived, grinding out 1-0s and 2-1s even when they haven\u2019t been playing well (as has been the case all season until this week).<\/p>\n “We don\u2019t concern ourselves with where teams are positioned in the table. Our focus is on us and trying to be a good team and improve,\u201d Noonan said to the press after the game. \u201cAll of those teams, despite their record, showed that they can go and beat good teams.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, right now I think that there\u2019s a lot that you could look at our group and say \u2018How good are we?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re second in the East \u2013 third in points per game (1.76) \u2013 but the underlying numbers say \u201cnot very!\u201d And while both D.C. goals came via set pieces, most of the work Noonan needs to do is on build-out patterns, because Cincy had no answers for ball progression once United blanketed Pavel Bucha<\/a>.<\/p>\n D.C. ended up taking four points this week, and I\u2019m gonna go back to Wednesday night\u2019s Gabriel Pirani<\/a> banger for our Face of the Week:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n He, uh, had a message he wanted head coach Troy Lesesne to hear.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think this represents any kind of turnaround for D.C., but they\u2019re well clear of the Wooden Spoon race at least, and find themselves crafting something of a Cinderella story in the Open Cup.<\/p>\n It really has been a good couple of weeks for the Black-and-Red.<\/p>\n 5. Dallas held on for dear life at home<\/strong> against Philadelphia, getting a scoreless draw<\/a> despite Lalas Abubakar<\/a>\u2019s 39th-minute red card. The Union generated 23 shots; just one of them was on goal. Dallas got numbers behind the ball and stayed disciplined.<\/p>\n A disappointing result for Philly, who nonetheless stayed atop the East on two points per game and pushed their unbeaten streak to 11 across all competitions \u2013 they had a very, very good May. That includes a couple of Open Cup wins, which means they\u2019ll be hosting the Red Bulls in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Dallas finished the month 0W-3L-3D in league play.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gotta have a long reflection of these last four or five, six games we’ve been in,\u201d is how head coach Eric Quill put it in the postgame.<\/p>\n 4. Dejan Jovelji\u0107\u2019s goals on either side<\/strong> of halftime gave Sporting KC<\/a> a 2-1 lead at Houston, at which point the visitors battened down the hatches amidst a second-half onslaught. It turned out to be enough, but to be safe they got a late one against the run of play from Santiago Mu\u00f1oz<\/a> for the 3-1 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sporting are now 4W-3L-3D since Kerry Zavagnin replaced Peter Vermes. Vibes are some of that, as it\u2019s clear the guys in the locker room needed to hear a new voice. Jovelji\u0107<\/a>\u2019s brilliance is maybe even a bigger piece, as he\u2019s got 7g\/1a in those 10 games, and has scored a brace in two of the wins.<\/p>\n Jovelji\u0107 became a father on Thursday, so it was a pretty, pretty big week for him.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably the best week ever,\u201d he said afterward. \u201cOne day before my wife delivered \u2013 actually a few hours before my wife delivered \u2013 we played against New England and I scored and we took one point, which is great after [going] 2-0 down.<\/p>\n \u201cThis game on the road in a very tough place to play \u2013 I hate this place, to be honest \u2013 so it\u2019s a huge three points. Now we go to LA and then we play three games at home. It’s going to be hard, but we need to get points to be in the race for a playoff spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Sporting are just four points back from ninth-place Houston, and good vibes + a hot striker = a great way to collect results. Structural issues remain, however, as they haven\u2019t won the xG battle since Zavagnin\u2019s second game in charge, and the even more granular advanced stuff is flashing a huge warning sign.<\/p>\n The biggest is that it\u2019s still just waaaaay too easy to complete meaningful passes against them, as so:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Great to see Lawrence Ennali back on the field for Houston. pic.twitter.com\/rmFjA2CcRb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n There are multiple instances there where some organized pressure can at least turn the whole Dynamo movement backwards, or maybe even cause a turnover. Instead, Sporting are so passive it opens an entire half of the field for Jack McGlynn<\/a> to dime up Lawrence Ennali<\/a> in a spot where he\u2019s born to do damage.<\/p>\n The loss snapped Houston\u2019s four-game unbeaten run in the league, but Ennali\u2019s return \u2013 this was his first game back after last year\u2019s ACL tear \u2013 means they don\u2019t have to look hard to find a silver lining.<\/p>\n I\u2019m buying Dynamo stock for the second half of the season.<\/p>\n 3. I\u2019m already loaded up on San Diego FC<\/strong> stock. They barely allowed Austin<\/a> a sniff in a comprehensive 2-0 win<\/a> on Saturday, which they needed after a frustrating 1-0 midweek loss<\/a> at Seattle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That graphic, courtesy of MLS Analytics<\/a> on BlueSky, is what positional dominance via possession looks like. What makes San Diego<\/a> special is the myriad ways they have to turn that positional dominance into attacking penetration. Sometimes it\u2019s via direct, off-ball running from the wingers, and sometimes it\u2019s off of combo play with the No. 9 (who\u2019s almost always a false 9 these days), and sometimes it\u2019s more traditional overlapping from the fullbacks.<\/p>\n In this one, it was releasing one of the 8s in Mikey Varas\u2019s 4-3-3 into the attack with well-timed box arrival \u2013 happening more and more of late with this team. That\u2019s how Luca de la Torre<\/a> made it 1-0 on the hour mark, while some late combo play opened up the Verde & Black backline for Milan Iloski<\/a> to add the coup de grace.<\/p>\n Los Ni\u00f1os went 5W-1L-1D in May with a +10 goal differential. They\u2019re second in the West and it\u2019s not an accident. They play beautiful, winning soccer.<\/p>\n Austin don\u2019t. They\u2019re winless in league play since mid-April and sinking like a stone, though they did manage to punch their ticket to the Open Cup quarterfinals.<\/p>\n 2. Minnesota United were looking for a signature Western Conference win<\/strong> and absolutely found one, taking points in Seattle<\/a> for the first time in their history with a 3-2 win<\/a> at Lumen Field. Praise Kier!<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to shock you to learn they were dangerous on set pieces and devastating on the counter. They were also mostly very, very comfortable defending in their 18-yard box, which they did for most of the game.<\/p>\n In short, it all went to Eric Ramsay\u2019s plan. If you\u2019re a regular reader you know I have my doubts about the long-term efficacy of that plan \u2013 teams that play so completely against the ball tend not to win things in MLS \u2013 but the Loons<\/a> are third in the West and into the Open Cup quarterfinals. So this might be the year.<\/p>\n Seattle\u2019s little, two-game winning streak came to an end, and while the injuries to the center backs have taken a toll, they were at least able to welcome Jackson Ragen<\/a> back to the XI after a prolonged absence.<\/p>\n The other silver lining here was the play of Georgi Minoungou<\/a> in the second half. He constantly found space and beat his man out wide, and damn near got his team a point doing so.<\/p>\n Still, this was neither the performance nor the result they wanted. Obviously.<\/p>\n 1. And finally\u2026 finally. Finally.<\/strong> It finally happened. Finally. At last. Finally.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Matheus ???? Lucas ???? pic.twitter.com\/PSc040xygr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Galaxy<\/a> had been playing better over the past four or five games. Not great, mind you \u2013 not even good, really \u2013 but good enough<\/em> to eventually pick off a win if they got a couple of lucky breaks and an opponent lacking focus or manpower or both.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what the schedule gods served up with RSL<\/a> in town on Saturday night. The 2-0 win<\/a> for the hosts, with both goals coming in semi-transition against a raggedy backline, snapped LA\u2019s record 16-game winless streak to start the season.<\/p>\n I\u2019m gonna let Galaxy coach Greg Vanney take the mic and sing us out:<\/p>\n \u201cThe last five games, we\u2019ve been more healthy. We\u2019ve had the majority of our group together. We\u2019ve seen some younger guys come along,” Vanney said in the postgame.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see why we can\u2019t get on a run. For us, as a group, it\u2019s about learning how to win and getting across the finish line. So hopefully tonight will be a lesson.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Two goals.
One ????.<\/p>\n\n
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