Heyyo,

Is there anything better than starting Saturday morning watching our USMNT boys in Europe and ending the day with MLS action? Because we can’t seem to think of anything. It’s the best time of year.

• 🔙 MLS is Back

• 🏆️ Crew are Champions

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• ⚽️ Possession to Points

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

MLS is Back

She’s back. Weird goals, new signing debuts, upsets, and high-scoring affairs. Everything you could ask for. MLS play is here again.

Inter Miami locked in a playoff spot with their 2-0 win at home against Cincinnati. Suarez’s brace was all that was needed. They’re 4 points clear of the Shield race despite Messi playing only 12 of 26 matches. They’re easily one of the best teams in league history.

San Jose upset Real Salt Lake 2-0 on the road. RSL out-shot San Jose 17-15 and had 65% of possession but only 4 shots on goal. Chicho Arango left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury 🤕 

Marco Reus debuted in the second half for the LA Galaxy and made an instant impact. He scored and assisted to give the home team a 2-0 win over Atlanta. This attack is just bonkers.

Portland and St. Louis traded blows to a 4-4 tie late into the evening Saturday (full highlights). Mora, Evander, and Rodriguez have now combined for 62 g/a this season, breaking the record for a Timbers trio.

FC Dallas beat DC United 4-3 to get their first road win. Sebastian Lletget had a vintage performance with a goal and two assists. They’re 1 point behind the playoff line and are starting to look like they’re creating an identity under interim head coach Peter Luccin. This was a beautiful build-up out of the back that led to Lletget’s goal.

Crew Win Again

Columbus are inevitable. Wilfried Nancy has molded this team into a lethal weapon, capable of striking in so many different ways. It was all on display again Sunday night, less than 9 months after beating LAFC on the same pitch.

Unsurprisingly the Crew dominated possession, especially in the first half. But they found it difficult to break down LAFC’s low block in the final third. That is until Cucho hammered home a header from Mo Farsi right before half.

LAFC looked better in the second half. Giroud scored his first goal in black and gold and the game was on. But it still felt like Columbus was in control. Because doesn’t it always feel like they’re in control?

Cucho added a second in stoppage time and Jacen Russel-Rowe put on the finishing touches a minute later. A masterful, methodical, and deadly performance from the Continents best football club. With two major trophies in the past 9 months and another finals appearance, the Crew have entered their name into the conversation for greatest MLS team of all time. They’re that good.

Under Wilfried Nancy, the Crew are 29W-12D-2L with a +61 goal differential at Lower dot com field. It’s a fortress. And boy do they have LAFC’s number.

I HATE to admit this but it seems unlikely that Nancy will remain in MLS for much longer. European clubs will come calling. It’s only a matter of time. Will he stay if a Ligue 1 club offers him? It’s to be determined. For now, I’m going to enjoy his brand of football that our league has never seen before.

Yanks Abroad

Another solid week for the boys across the pond.

Antonee Robinson had the game-winning assist in Fulham’s win over Leicester City. He has 7 assists since the start of last season, the second most among defenders in the Premier League in that time span.

Christian Pulisic scored his first of the season in Milan’s loss to Parma. He became the first USMNT to score in 10 different seasons in the top 5 European leagues. Captain America doing his thang 🇺🇸 

Weston McKennie resigned with Juventus after some contract stall and conversations with the club. The new manager Thiago Motta originally had no plans for Weston but decided to give him a new contract after impressing thus far.

Tanner Tessmann signs with Lyon till 2029. Fresh off captaining the US Olympic team and helping promote Venezia back to Serie A, the Birmingham, Alabama native is headed to France.

Josh Sargent put another through ball away to add to his tally. He now has 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games. Premier League teams are rumored to be after him before deadline day on August 30th. We’ll see if a deal gets done.

Brendan Aaronson got his second goal of the season for Leeds United with some quick footwork in the box. The Championship is loaded with American attackers scoring goals to start the season.

Possession to Points

Over the past 3 seasons, the amount of possession your team had didn’t always correlate to points (see here). This year, that’s changed.

Besides LAFC, who don’t need the ball to win due to how good they are in transition, the other 5 Shield contenders all have dominated possession.

Houston stands out here. They’ve desperately needed a #9 for some time that can turn possession into more points.

Goal of the Week

Not the last time we’ll be featuring this kid 😮‍💨

Tweet of the Week

This tweet popped off yesterday. The Columbus local morning news show are savages 🤣 

Quick Hits

• San Diego FC set to name Mikey Varas as first head coach (Link)

• Des Moines, Iowa proposed USL stadium preparing to claim $23M in public funding (Link)

• Messi is set to return before the end of the season (Link)

As always, thanks for tuning in!

Max & Mason