Soccer <\/p>\n
Matchday 5 is in the books.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
What did we learn? Did the games confirm what we already knew or change the complexion of the league?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s dive into some key takeaways from another weekend of MLS action.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
During the offseason, St. Louis<\/a> began a new era. Corey Wray<\/a>, formerly of the Columbus Crew<\/a> and Toronto FC<\/a> front offices, was hired to lead the sporting side of the club. A month later, Yoann Damet<\/a>, formerly an assistant under Wilfried Nancy with the Crew, was appointed as CITY\u2019s head coach.<\/p>\n On Saturday, St. Louis collected the first win of that new era, besting the New England Revolution<\/a> by a 3-1 scoreline<\/a>. Though it wasn\u2019t a perfect performance, they demonstrated many of the underlying principles expected to propel the team forward.<\/p>\n Playing out of a Nancy-esque 3-4-3 setup, the hosts showed great patience building through pressure, even to the point of eagerly drawing New England players to the ball to create exploitable space elsewhere.<\/p>\n You can see St. Louis\u2019 skillful play under pressure in the clip below, where nearly being trapped against the sideline turns into a final third entry in mere seconds:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis City might be the Columbus Crew now, because this is some lovely work to get out of pressure.<\/p>\n First win of St. Louis’ new era for Yoann Damet and Corey Wray. Building blocks starting to show \u2014 and more talent still to be integrated. pic.twitter.com\/oJILUXJOQn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Joseph Lowery (@joeclowery) March 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Of course, even the great Columbus Crew teams from earlier this decade that seem to have influenced St. Louis were headlined by more than tactics: they boasted elite talent, too.<\/p>\n Marcel Hartel<\/a> seems to fit that description, and the German attacking midfielder scored a genuine AT&T Goal of the Year candidate to cap off the weekend\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That center back Mamadou Mbacke Fall<\/a> made his CITY debut in second-half stoppage time is yet another positive for St. Louis, who find themselves building towards a brighter future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If you were skeptical of Real Salt Lake<\/a> heading into the weekend, I have some bad news for you: there\u2019s no room to doubt them anymore. A 2-2 road draw<\/a> with San Diego FC<\/a> on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire showed exactly what this Salt Lake team is made of: clear ideas and a bunch of very good soccer players.<\/p>\n Using an expansive 3-4-3 shape in possession and an extremely narrow, man-oriented defensive setup against the league\u2019s best buildup team, RSL managed to out-shoot and out-create San Diego. Even without\u00a0Diego Luna<\/a>, Stijn Spierings<\/a>, Emeka Eneli<\/a>, DeAndre Yedlin<\/a>, and others in the starting lineup, the visitors created six either \u201cgreat\u201d or \u201cgood\u201d chances, as defined by\u00a0MLS Analytics<\/a>, compared to San Diego\u2019s four.<\/p>\n What\u2019s behind RSL\u2019s start, one that\u2019s seeing them average 2.0 points per game across wins over Seattle<\/a>,\u00a0Atlanta<\/a>, and Austin<\/a>, a tight defeat to Vancouver<\/a>, and Sunday\u2019s draw with San Diego? One of the league\u2019s absolute best offseasons.<\/p>\n Both of the assists on Salt Lake\u2019s goals this past weekend came from newcomers. The first arrived from\u00a0Juan Manuel Sanabria<\/a> at left wingback and the second from half-space attacker Morgan Guilavogui<\/a>. While those two look like the biggest hits out of RSL\u2019s winter additions, rookie striker\u00a0Sergi Solans<\/a> continues to produce, and the academy graduates’ performances are nothing short of impressive.<\/p>\n The Real Salt Lake train is rolling out of the station. It\u2019s time to hop on board.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n secure +1 with this one from GOALatunji pic.twitter.com\/Ok0IcEutbq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It\u2019s unwise to go overboard with praise after beating a shorthanded Sporting Kansas City<\/a> squad, which is exactly what the Colorado Rapids<\/a> did on Saturday to the tune of a dominant 4-1 victory<\/a>. Still, it sure looks to me like Matt Wells\u2019 Rapids team is growing more comfortable with his on-field principles.<\/p>\n So far this year, the former Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach has turned Colorado into one of the league\u2019s most patient buildup teams. According to American Soccer Analysis\u2019 passing data, only San Diego move the ball more patiently in their defensive third than the Rapids. Zooming out even further to look at ASA\u2019s entire database, which reaches back to 2013, the Rapids still have the second-shortest average vertical passing distance in their own third.<\/p>\n So, then, Wells & Co. aren\u2019t just halfway committed to building up. Rather, they\u2019re historically committed to building up.<\/p>\n Against Kansas City, that commitment paid dividends. Colorado regularly broke out of the opposing high press with delicate passing moves, pushed play downfield quickly, and punished their hosts at the other end:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Darren serves it up on a platter and Paxten does the rest\ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f\ud83d\ude24#SKCvCOL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/nhbVbExZ8d<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) March 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Consistency is still needed for the Rapids, as is an answer for when teams sit deeper and take away the possibility of a press break. Still, Colorado are must-see TV right now \u2013 and they\u2019re quietly stacking results.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The award for The Weekend\u2019s Most Dominant Victory Without A Red Card goes to…\u00a0Nashville SC<\/a>! They bested Orlando City<\/a>, 5-0<\/a>, on Saturday, showing off a slew of the tenets that make them so dangerous.<\/p>\n For one, the right side \u2013 headlined by Cristian Espinoza<\/a> and Andy Najar<\/a>, but also featuring Hany Mukhtar<\/a> and Patrick Yazbek<\/a> when they drift that way \u2013 punched right at the Lions on repeat. If at first Nashville didn\u2019t succeed at finding a box entry down that wing, they tried again. And again. And again.<\/p>\n The result? Goals. Lots of goals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nashville were dominant down the right, with 58% of their passes into the final third coming from that side. With Mukhtar, Espinoza, Najar and Yazbek all shading to the right, and Tagseth pitching in to win back possession, they picked Orlando apart.pic.twitter.com\/jhkkec5MyC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Wright (@benwright) March 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It wasn\u2019t just the finesse coming down a star-studded right side that broke open the game on Saturday (Epinoza, Najar, and Mukhtar were considered stars at their respective positions coming into the year, and I don\u2019t think it will be long until we start talking about Yazbek with a roughly similar reverence from his No. 8 position).<\/p>\n Instead, it was also the sheer amount of athleticism at B.J. Callaghan\u2019s disposal. With committed Designated Players, a ground-covering double pivot, and\u00a0Maxwell Woledzi<\/a> providing even more speed in the back than Walker Zimmerman<\/a> did before him, Callaghan\u2019s team is a hard one to defend against and<\/em> equally tough to attack against at the other end.<\/p>\n Orlando managed to do neither of those things, while Nashville look like a top-tier trophy threat.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s what their performance was against the Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a> on Saturday: serious.<\/p>\n As Bruce Arena noted in his postgame press conference, San Jose<\/a>\u2019s 1-0 victory<\/a> over the \u2018Caps featured a night-and-day performance when compared to the one that led to their 4-1 defeat<\/a> at BC Place last fall. \u201cWe played here last year and were embarrassed,\u201d the manager said. \u201cSo this shows how much progress we\u2019ve made as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n While they had the benefit of facing a partially rotated Vancouver team on short rest following a mid-week\u00a0Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> loss, beating even a slightly tamer version of the Whitecaps is no easy feat. According to American Soccer Analysis, on Saturday, the Earthquakes held the \u2018Caps to their fourth-lowest single-game xG tally in a regular-season game since Jesper S\u00f8rensen was hired.<\/p>\n With more dedicated defending from the front via Preston Judd<\/a> and Niko Tsakiris<\/a> than San Jose enjoyed from Chicho Arango and Josef Mart\u00ednez last year and a lower line of confrontation leading to fewer gaps in midfield, the Quakes have turned the tables on the defensive end.<\/p>\n In Arena\u2019s first year, they were porous. So far in year two? They\u2019ve been downright stingy.<\/p>\n Sitting in third in the West with 12 points through five games, discount the Earthquakes at your own peril.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n
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