The first edition of the Leagues Cup starts this Friday, July 21, with Inter Miami facing Liga MX side Cruz Azul.
People all over the world are tuning in to the game because it will be the debut of Lionel Messi for the Floridian club. The arrival of the Argentine star to MLS has shocked the world, and it's no wonder he'll be the most expensive player in the tournament with an estimated value of $39 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Well, well, well.
The first edition of the Leagues Cup, the summer madness that will see MLS and Liga MX locking antlers for a month, starts this week, with Lionel Messi possibly making his debut for Inter Miami in their game against Cruz Azul on Friday, July 21.
Not too shabby.
However, the Leagues Cup is way more than Lionel Messi, and here we have created a quick guide for MLS fans in which they can know a little bit more about their Liga MX opponents and if they should be worried or not, thanks to our revolutionary fear-o-meter.
Along with two thrilling Gold Cup semifinals, Wednesday featured a final midweek MLS matchday before teams take a break from interleague play. New signings across the league hit the ground running as the push for the playoffs begins to approach its thrilling climax in a few months.
What’s better than late-night soccer on the Fourth of July? With a few games remaining before the summer break, MLS treated its fans to a midweek smattering of entertaining fixtures for Matchday 23, including one of the league’s great rivalries at one of the nation’s most storied venues.
It was the kind of night you get dressed up for.
A record MLS crowd of 82,110 watched El Tráfico at the Rose Bowl on July 4th, and although the LA Galaxy won the match 2-1, LAFC's Kellyn Acosta won hearts and minds with the greatest custom boots to ever grace a professional pitch.
In front of an MLS-record crowd of 82,110 supporters, Riqui Puig's 73rd-minute goal gave the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 victory over visiting Los Angeles FC on Tuesday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Largest standalone match attendances in #MLS history:
MLS is now past the halfway point in its season, and the summer break for the new Leagues Cup is quickly approaching. Players are missing important games thanks to international play, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but as we saw on Saturday night, some teams’ struggles are other sides’ gains, so let’s see what we learned on MLS Matchday 21.
What’s the saying about guarantees in life? Death, taxes and the Union scoring 4+ goals against weak opposition? It's not? Well, maybe it should be.
Just six games were contested on Matchday 19 as many teams enjoyed a week off before having to do it all again this coming Wednesday. With 29 teams, the league schedule can easily become discombobulated, especially with rescheduled matches and bye weeks. To accommodate this, MLS Matchday 19 gave these teams a chance to catch up and re-level the playing field. While there may have been fewer games, the quality on display was as high as ever.
Imagine Lionel Messi, getting ready to play with his national team after another grueling yet fruitful season. He’s just come off a legacy-defining World Cup and a Ligue 1 title before shocking the world as he announced his intentions to leave Paris Saint-Germain to join Major League Soccer.
Brad Guzan made nine saves to secure a road point for Atlanta United in a 0-0 draw with Los Angeles FC on Wednesday.
The draw extended unbeaten streaks for both teams. Atlanta is 1-0-4 in its past five MLS games, while Los Angeles is 2-0-2 in its past four.
The result had the feel of two lost points for LAFC (7-1-5, 26 points) given how the home team dominated play. Los Angeles outshot Atlanta United by a 22-4 margin, including an 8-0 edge in shots on target.