Howdy folks,

European footy is back, and the MLS season is rearing towards an entertaining ending. We’ve got the 5-minute update for you. Dig in.

• 2️⃣ 9️⃣ MLS Match Day 29 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• ⬅️ Western Conference Snapshot

• ➡️ Eastern Conference Snapshot

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

A quick note from Pathway.

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MLS Match Day 29 Recap

Minnesota United were able to stymie a hot Seattle team with their 1-0 win, ending the Sounders’ 10-game unbeaten run. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — the Loons ceded possession to their opponent and scored on a set piece. It’s how they’ve won games all year. Tough loss for the Sounders, who controlled 71% of possession and had 1.4 expected goals to Minnesota’s 0.7.

The New York Red Bulls snapped a 16-game winless skid against the Philadelphia Union with their 1-0 win. A streak dating back to 2019🤯. It was a little revenge after losing to them mid-week in the US Open Cup quarterfinals. The Red Bulls are still in this wild-card race.

FC Cincinnati took care of business on the road with a 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers. Evander had a sick long-range strike (see below) and an assist in his first match against his old team. He was berated with boos from the fans and gestured to them to get louder by holding his hand to his ear. It’s his 20th goal in all competitions, just one shy of Lucho Acosta’s club record in a season. Cincinnati leads MLS with 9 road wins, a sign of a really good team. And yet, I still don’t feel like they’ve played their best footy. That’s scary.

Inter Miami beat LA Galaxy 3-1 in Messi’s return to action. The GOAT had a goal and a cheeky back heel assist to Luis Suarez. It was his 875th career goal and 388th career assist. He leads MLS in goals (19), non-penalty goals plus assists (27), and non-penalty xG plus expected assisted goals per 90 minutes (that was a mouthful). He’s probably going to win MVP again.

Americans Abroad

Our lads are back with a hot start to the season. Here’s what went down across the pond.

Tanner Tessman's highlight reel from his first game of the season goes hard. He bossed Lyon’s midfield, with 2 tackles, 7 recoveries, 6 clearances, and 6 passes into the final third.

Josh Sargent scored his third goal of the season, making it three goals in his first three games. It looks like he’s taking Pochettino's Gold Cup snub to the heart.

Paxten Aaronson got his first minutes back in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt after coming on as a late substitute. He made an immediate impact, scoring in only 11 minutes of play.

Johnny Cardoso was outstanding in his Atletico debut, suffocating Espanyol’s midfield and counterattack. In the first half, he had 2 tackles, 5 duels won, and completed 35/40 passes. Pochettino was in attendance for this one. Look for Cardoso to have a huge role in Diego Simeone’s midfield. He is exactly the type of guy Simeone loves to have in front of the back line.

Sergino Dest completed 7 dribbles (most in match), won 10 ground duels (most in match), and won Man of the Match. Give this highlight reel a quick watch. Dest is too good 1 v 1 against these poor wingers.

Christian Pulisic scored off a slick turn and shot inside the penalty box, assisted by Mexican international Santi Gimenez. AC Milan beat Bari 2-0 in the first round of the Coppa Italia.

Western Conference Snapshot

The West isn’t as talented as the East this year. The three clubs I see as the most likely to represent the conference in the MLS Cup are San Diego, LAFC, and Seattle.

San Diego FC just keeps on winning. They’re one win away from tying St. Louis City’s record for most wins by an expansion club (17) and 5 points from LAFC’s expansion points record of 57. Anders Dreyer scored his 13th goal and MLS leading 30th goal contribution. The biggest lesson for future expansion teams, or really just any team that’s entering a new era, is that if you nail a couple of designated players, you’re about 80% of the way there. Sounds obvious, but it bears being repeated.

Son Heung-min got his first goal contribution on this assist to Mathieu Choiniere. Look at what it means to him. I LOVE when a big DP signing like this truly cares. Here’s an example of the chemistry building between Son and Denis Bouanga. I would not be surprised at all if this team won the West.

The Colorado Rapids have two wins from two games without Djordje Mihailovic. Rafael Navarro had two goals and an assist in their 3-1 win over a hopeless Atlanta team. They should hold to a playoff spot as their remaining schedule isn’t difficult. According to Tom Bogert, they’re also in advanced talks to acquire Paxten Aaronson from Eintracht Frankfurt for a potential club record deal.

The bottom half of the west is just… blah. Every team has at least one major issue that has kept it from contending. For example, St. Louis City blew another late lead on Saturday. They were up 2-1 on Chicago in the 67th minute and lost 3-2. They’ve given up 26 goals after the 60th minute, 17 after the 75th minute, and 13 after the 80th minute, all of which are either the most or second-most in MLS.

Eastern Conference Snapshot

I can’t remember a time when the top of a conference was this loaded. Only 9 points separate the top 8 teams. Inter Miami still has three games in hand on everyone in front of them ,though. It’s going to be an incredible finish to decide the pecking order for the playoffs.

The Columbus Crew dropped points again on Sunday. They’re now 5W-4L-6D since the first 11 games of the season. Very un-crew-like. New DP signing Wessam Abou Ali has to bring the goals that Daniel Gazdag didn’t.

Nashville SC has fallen from grace. They gave up a late goal against NYCFC on Sunday night for their third straight loss. They have a massive “get right” game this weekend against Orlando, who sit right behind them in the table.

The battle for the last wild card spot will be a fun one. The NY Red Bulls are currently on the out, looking in even after their win. NYCFC, Chicago, and the Red Bulls are all within two points of each other. The rest of the East can pretty much kiss their playoff hopes away.

Goal of the Week

The best player in MLS not named Messi is…

Tweet of the Week

A small child invaded the pitch at the Chicago Fire game. I didn’t know kids these days had the guts to pull this off 👏 

Quick Hits

• Middlesbrough to sign Adilson Malanda from Charlotte FC for $8 million (Link)

• Charlotte FC acquires Goalkeeper Drake Callender from Inter Miami (Link)

• Italian side Parma is advancing to sign US International Gio Reyna (Link)

• Pittsburgh Riverhounds announce a $125M stadium expansion (Link)

• FC Cincinnati and Miles Robinson agree to long-term contract extension (Link)

• Tom Bogert’s notes as the summer transfer window comes to a close (Link)

Give us some love below. See you next week 🤙 

Max & Mason