Good morning all,

Five MLS teams play for a trophy tonight — more midweek action for you. You know the drill…

• ⏯️ Match Day 32 & 33

• 🏆️ Who Will Win MVP?

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad Update

• 🏙️ NYCFC Viral Tifo

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

Match Day 32 & 33

Two match days. Colorado and Salt Lake locked in a playoff spot. Decision day is looming. Let’s get to it.

You have to have your seat belt on to watch Portland Timbers matches. They beat the Galaxy 4-2 and then tied Salt Lake 3-3 in chaotic affairs. Their attacking trio of Evander, Mora, and Rodriguez have become the first trio in league history to each score at least 14 goals in a season. But they still sit in 8th place in the West after giving up 53 goals this season.

LAFC are winless in their last 5 games and now get FC Cincinnati on the road this Saturday. They’ve fallen to 4th place in the West and have a legitimate shot at losing out on the home playoff spot. But they can win the US Open Cup tonight to get back on track.

After finishing dead last in the West last season, the Colorado Rapids have secured a playoff spot. New signing, Reggie Cannon scored in his debut. This team is very much a threat to make a deep playoff run and Chris Armas should be on the shortlist for Coach of the Year.

Real Salt Lake clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive season. They benefited from another crazy VAR explanation on Saturday.

Don’t count out the Philadelphia Union. They’ve won 5 of their last 7 and are back in the final playoff in the East. They outscored NYCFC and D.C. United 9-1 last week.

The New England Revolution are a total dumpster fire. They’re now dead last in the East with one win in their last ten and their players are fighting each other on the field. If it weren’t for San Jose, they’d be your Wooden Spoon favorites.

Who Will Win MVP?

This is the most competitive MVP race in a while. You can make a strong argument for seven different players. Let’s make a case for each one.

Evander

He now has 11 consecutive games with a goal contribution. On Saturday he became the 6th player in MLS history to have 15 goals and 15 assists in a season. Three of the previous five to do this won MVP. If Portland weren’t 8th place in the West, this wouldn’t be much of a debate.

Messi

Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for injuries he’d have this on lock. Below are the categories that Messi leads the league in per 90 minutes. If Miami breaks the Revolution’s point record with more contributions from him, he’ll likely win this.

• Goals - 1.01

• Assists - .80

• Goals & Assists - 1.81

• Non-penalty goals - .94

• Non-penalty goals + assists - 1.73

Cucho

The best player on the best team in Concacaf — there’s the simple argument. He’s tied for 5th in the lead with 27 goal contributions. In the outside chance the Crew catch Miami for the Shield, he’ll definitely take this award.

Luis Suarez

The leading goal scorer on the Shield-winning team; sometimes that’s all you need. He’s 2nd (behind Messi) in every per 90 metric except assists. Remember when people said he was washed and the knee wouldn’t hold up?

Denis Bouanga

One of the most dynamic players in the league is tied for 5th in goal contributions. LAFC’s slide to 4th place in the West will hurt his chances though.

Chicho Arango

He’s tied with Messi for third in goal contributions and still has a legit shot to win the Golden Boot. Oh, and he’s got Salt Lake to second place in the West. Is that good enough for you?

Lucho Acosta

The reigning MVP leads the league in key passes (90) and is tied for assists (18). Last year he had 31 goal contributions in 29 starts, this year he has 30 in 25 starts. He’s arguably been better. Will voter fatigue hinder his chances?

Americans Abroad

Mauricio Pochettino will coach his first competitive match in the Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal in St. Louis on November 18th. Until then, he’ll be scouting the fellas across the pond.

Christian Pulisic has 5 goal contributions in his last 5 games, including a sick solo goal in the Milan Derby last weekend (see below). He ranks atop almost every chart compared to other Serie A wingers this season.

Malik Tillman had 2 goals including this free-kick blast in PSV’s win over the weekend. Tillman has started the season in great form with 4 goals and 1 assist in 6 games. He’s becoming one of the better number 10’s in the world.

Brenden Aaronson continues his good start to the season with another good run and assist. He’s been involved in 3/7 goals to start Leeds's season and looks like their top attacking talent.

Gianluca Busio got his first goal of the season for Venezia! A bending cross that the keeper had a tough time seeing eventually found its way into the goal.

Folarin Balogun scored his first league goal of the season to help seal the win for Monaco. He needs to be scoring to get minutes, and we need our young guys getting minutes. This was a big goal for him, hopefully, he builds off this in the next few games after struggling to start the season.

NYCFC’s Viral Tifo

The Third Rail unveiled quite the banner on Saturday against Inter Miami.

It read, “Don’t Be Plastic. Messi Sold Separately. Support Your Local Club.”

It’s a bit ironic coming from a club that is owned by the City Group. An ownership group accused of ruining the game with the gobs of money they throw at the world’s best players. But alas, it was an interesting portrayal of what many diehard MLS fans feel.

Here’s my take: It’s an undeniable fact that Messi being in MLS is good not just for MLS but also for American soccer in general. Sure, he brings in tourist fans who may only be here till he leaves. And sure, there are many more bandwagon Miami fans because of him. But damn… the greatest player in the history of the game plays in OUR league. How incredible is that?

Hats off to NYCFC fans though for creating a raucous welcoming for the Inter Miami bus. American soccer culture is alive and well.

Goal of the Week

MVP? MVP

Tweet of the Week

MLS refs are one of a kind

Quick Hits

• Liverpool are reportedly interested in Antonee Robinson (Link)

• Patrick Viera is a finalist for the Atlanta United head coaching position (Link)

• San Jose Earthquakes have interviewed four external candidates for thier head coaching vacancy (Link)

If you made it this far do us a huge favor and let us know how you liked it below. We put 7 hours into creating this weeks edition — any feedback is helpful!

Max & Mason