The league table is finally taking shape as the top teams separate themselves from the pack while the league's cellar dwellers cling to every point that will hopefully save their seasons. There were several struggling teams that earned massive wins while some top teams slipped up, making for another thoroughly entertaining matchweek.
Major League Soccer delivered another Sunday matinee on Apple TV+, following last weekend's thrilling El Tráfico, with Atlanta United opening the roof on Mercedes-Benz Stadium to welcome the Chicago Fire in a match that finished 2-1 in favor of the Five Stripes.
Chicharito Hernández bagged his first goal of 2023 on Saturday and ended the miserable, winless hell the LA Galaxy were experiencing in MLS.
With four losses and three draws, the mood around the team was far from giddy and the absence of the Mexican striker was a big reason for the stinky start. Hernández had been struggling with muscular injuries and missed the first five matches of the campaign. Although he returned to play some minutes against the Houston Dynamo and provided an assist against LAFC, both games ended in defeat.
Major League Soccer is bound by parity and married to the chaos that comes with it. With late goals, monumental upsets and high-scoring affairs, Matchday 8 was one for the books.
Major League Soccer handed a six-game suspension to New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir on Thursday in response to his admitted use of racist language last Saturday in a game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The ban applies to MLS games, but during the duration of the suspension, Vanzeir is also prohibited from appearing in U.S. Open Cup games, MLS Next Pro games and exhibition games.
Julián Carranza's second goal of the night, in the 78th minute, lifted the Philadelphia Union to a 3-2 aggregate victory over Atlas on Wednesday in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the conclusion of a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series.
The Union escaped with a 2-2 draw in Mexico after beating Atlas 1-0 in Chester, PA, on April 4 in the two-game, total-goal series. Philadelphia moves on to a semifinal series against Los Angeles FC, with the first leg scheduled for the last week of April and the second legs due to be played in the first week of May.
They call him the King of LA and he doesn't shy away from the moniker.
Carlos Vela was sensational against Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring a brace in LAFC's 3-0 win over the Canadians to complete a 6-0 aggregate thrashing in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals series.
If you're not happy with that, Vela also gave us a particular and emotional moment, celebrating one of those goals by hugging his two kids, Romeo and India, and his wife, Saioa Cañibano.
Philadelphia Union’s Twitter community manager, in the attempt to heat up their upcoming Concacaf Champions League match against Atlas in Guadalajara, made one of the most unfortunate and unprovoked social media posts from a professional soccer team we’ve seen in a while.
The Union arrived to Guadalajara, Jalisco on Monday to begin their preparations ahead of their CCL quarterfinal clash against Atlas. They will defend their 1-0 lead in the Estadio Jalisco on Wednesday.
MLS Matchweek 7 proved severely dichotomous to the league’s image. Fans were treated to the best that MLS offers with individual brilliance, age-defying heroes, local rivalries and close games. However, it was an alleged incident that occurred between San Jose and New York that left an extremely sour taste in fans' mouths.
Houston Dynamo forward Amine Bassi made MLS history with his 65th-minute penalty goal in the Dynamo's 3-0 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night. Bassi became the first player in league history to score on a penalty in four straight games.
As calm as Bassi's penalty was, the lead-up was chaos. The Dynamo (3-3-0, 9 points) had great pressure and were working through the Galaxy box when a Dynamo player went down but no penalty was called.