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.
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.
Un gol de Héctor Herrera a balón parado abrió el triunfo por 3-0 del Houston Dynamo sobre LA Galaxy y arruinó el debut de Javier Hernández en la temporada 2023 de la MLS.
Sin victorias en los primeros cinco partidos de la liga, el LA Galaxy esperaba cambiar su suerte con el retorno de Chicharito, quien se había perdido el inicio del torneo debido a una rebelde lesión muscular. Sin embargo, la presencia del delantero mexicano – que entró al minuto 55 – fue en vano y el Dynamo no tuvo compasión.
¡Ah! Bendito fin de semana. Hora de ver a la gente que amas, respirar al aire libre, pero también de hundirse en el sofá para ver tus partidos de fútbol favorito.
Sí, sabemos que sería ideal verlos todos, pero es físicamente imposible. Lo bueno es que aquí tenemos la cartelera de la Liga MX y los mexicanos en el extranjeros para que programes tu vida de manera acorde.
Viernes 7 de abril
If the most sensational rumors are to be believed, Apple is looking for a quick exit from its 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS while the league prepares for an NASL kind of collapse into oblivion.
The Athletic previously detailed an opt-out clause in the contract predicated on Apple obtaining a certain number of subscribers within a set timeframe, but it's impossible to speculate from the outside since Apple hasn't released any viewership statistics through six matchweeks.
There was an interesting moment during Saturday's MLS 360 show when analyst Shep Messing said he had "inside info" on a Lionel Messi move to MLS and that "it is going to happen and it's going to happen soon."
Like any great amateur sleuth, I then carefully watched PSG's home match against Lyon on Sunday looking for clues. I think I found them: Messi wants to get out of Paris like a bat out of hell.
A week on from international matches and MLS has returned to full strength. The superstars have reappeared, replacing the excuses that swam in their wake and results are once again indicative of each team’s true ability.
Life under new manager Wilfried Nancy left a bit to be desired for the Crew. The former CF Montréal boss saw his new side secure just four points from its first four matches, but back-to-back dominant displays have given this marriage a new outlook.
Jordan Morris continued his historic goal scoring run as his tally in the 21st minute helped the Seattle Sounders to a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday in Carson, Calif.
Seattle (4-1-1, 13 points) ran its unbeaten streak against the Galaxy to 10 games, and became the first MLS team in history with a streak that long against the Galaxy (0-2-3, 3 points).