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Hope you’re week is going well. If you missed last week’s newsletter, we gave you a guide on how to get World Cup tickets. The first step of the process ends on Friday. Get those applications in asap!

• 3️⃣ 3️⃣ MLS Match Day 33 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 9️⃣ Nine Straight for Charlotte

• 💭 More MLS Tidbits

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

MLS Match Day 33 Recap

There were 57 goals across the 15 games played on Saturday, tied for the most for a single match day in league history. Let’s recap…

Minnesota United continues to find ways to win even when they shouldn’t. They beat San Diego 3-1 on the road despite being outshot 28 to 6 and having only 33% of possession. San Diego had 3.4 expected goals to Minnesota’s 0.6. It’s what Minnesota has done all year. Dayne St. Clair was superb, making 12 saves to keep the Loons in it. Minnesota has set its single-season club record for points(53).

The Supporters Shield-leading Philadelphia Union suffered their worst loss in club history on Saturday, a 7-0 thumping from the Vancouver Whitecaps. This league is so weird, I love it. Thomas Müller had a hat trick and an assist to secure a playoff spot for the Whitecaps and prove that they are indeed a part of this Shield race.

The Columbus Crew went up 5-0 on Atlanta United, only to nearly end in a draw with a score of 5-4. Diego Rossi scored a first-half hat trick to give the Crew their first multi-goal league game since July 19th. It had been a shaky stretch of 4 winless. They looked like they were in store for an easy blowout until Atlanta came storming back. Columbus’s leaky defense remains its biggest weakness.

FC Cincinnati locked in a playoff spot with their 2-1 win over Nashville SC. Evander scored the winner in the final seconds of the game and added an incredible assist. Cincinnati should be the favorite in any game that he’s playing. He’s that good. They’re the first team in MLS history to win 55 games across a 3 season span. As for Nashville, the Supporters Shield is all but out of reach after losing 5 of their last 6, but at least they beat Philadelphia 3-1 to advance to the US Open Cup finals, thanks to a Sam Surridge hat-trick.

Yanks Abroad

Lots of action across multiple leagues and competitions for our USMNT lads in Europe. Here are the noteworthy moments.

Ricardo Pepi scored a welcome-back brace and Sergino Dest grabbed an assist in PSV’s 5-3 Eredivisie win. Both also started in PSV’s Champions League opener that ended in a 3-1 loss.

Haji Wright scored his 6th goal of the season in the 96th-minute to tie the game for Coventry.

Gio Reyna looked good in a bad Gladbach team and was the highest-rated player on his side. It’s still early, but he’s getting the minutes he needs to prove himself before the World Cup.

Patrick Agyemang snagged an assist in his debut for Derby County after recovering from surgery earlier this season. The Derby County podcast notes how the atmosphere changed when Agyemang came on, and it appears he will be starting up top in no time.

James Sands, on loan from NYCFC, has played all but four minutes in FC St. Pauli’s first four Bundesliga matches. He’s a big reason St. Pauli are fourth in the table and has been a steady midfield presence since going on loan.

Chris Richards scored for Crystal Palace against Millwall in the third round of the Carabao Cup

The Champions League kicked off yesterday, featuring 11 Americans this year.

Tim Weah scored his first Champs League goal for Marseille. And he did it against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. What a moment, and what a finish.

Charlotte FC Can’t Stop Winning

Charlotte FC is the biggest story in MLS right now. They beat Inter Miami 3-0 for their 9th straight win, tying the league record. With the win, they’ve clinched a third consecutive trip to the playoffs and a club points record (53). Everything is going right at the Bank.

Idan Toklomati, their exciting new number 9 was the star once again, scoring a hat trick. It’s his 7th straight game with a goal contribution, and in 6 of those, he’s had the game-winning goal or assist. Charlotte knew what they had in this kid when selling Patrick Agyemang. He’s been phenomenal.

Kristijan Kahlina pitched his 10th clean sheet in league play, making a big save on Messi’s panenka penalty kick to keep the game tied at zero. Per American Soccer Analysis, he has +0.54 goals added per 90 minutes, meaning he’s worth half a goal per game. From Kahlina to Toklomati to Pep Biel to Wilfried Zaha, all of Charlotte’s stars are contributing.

The win streak doesn’t tell the whole story, though. Over the 9 games, they have a negative expected goal differential. Prior to the streak, they had won just 2 of their last 12 games but had a positive xG differential over those games. It doesn’t make much sense, but Charlotte fans won’t care. They’re finding ways to win. Head coach Dean Smith was suspended for the game, but cameras caught him celebrating with ownership after the first goal. The vibes could not be any higher in the Queen City.

Next up is a tough road match against NYCFC to break the league win streak record.

More MLS Tidbits

FC Dallas has gone 5 straight unbeaten after defeating Austin 2-0 at home. They don’t seem to be missing Lucho Acosta too much. Logan Farrington had the assist of the week with this cheeky backheel pass to Petar Musa. Dallas is one point behind San Jose for the last wild card spot and has a game in hand.

Denis Bouanga scored a hat trick in LAFC’s rout of San Jose. He tied Carlos Vela for the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Bouanga and Son feasted on San Jose’s porous defense all night. The winger is now two goals away from becoming the first player in MLS history to score 20 goals in three consecutive seasons.

The New England Revolution has fired head coach Caleb Porter less than 2 years into his tenure. The Revs went 23W-39L-13D in all competitions under Porter and won only 8 of 32 home games. After overhauling the roster, a change at the helm was inevitable. Tom Bogert has reported that the Revolution has made contact with former Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtain.

The NY Red Bulls streak of 15 consecutive playoff appearances, the longest in North American sports, is in serious jeopardy after their 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers. The Red Bulls abysmal road record of 1W-10L-4D is the reason they may end their streak. Good teams find a way to get results on the road. They haven’t done that.

However, NYCFC did their cross-town rivals a favor by beating the Chicago Fire 3-1. And the Pigeons looked good doing it. They’ve won 5 of their last 7, and only six points separate them from Charlotte in third place.

Goal of the Week

Another one from DEEEEP

Meme of the Week

Charlotte FC is carrying the city’s sports crown.

Quick Hits

• American Manager Pellegrino Matarazzo is being considered for the Borussia Monchengladbach job(Link)

• Awesome video of Whitecaps Rayan Elloumi’s mom after scoring his first goal (Link)

• DC United part ways with General Manager Ally Mackay (Link)

• Chicago Fire sign Chris Brady to extension (Link)

Thanks for reading. See you next week!

Max & Mason