Major League Soccer Weekend Review

We are well and truly in the thick of the Major League Soccer campaign now, and the stakes are (finally) starting to get higher.

Let’s dig into the weekend that was in MLS.

Inter Miami proved that they can get it done without the big guns. With no Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, or Sergio Busquets, the Herons marched into BC Place and snatched all three points in front of a near sell-out crowd in Vancouver.

In perhaps the game of the season so far, Cincinnati stunned Toronto away from home in a seven-goal thriller to keep up their march towards a second consecutive Supporters Shield.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Pineda’s hot seat in Atlanta potentially reached a boiling point as the Five Stripes dropped another game at home, this time falling to LAFC after each team had a man sent off.

Reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew continue to rediscover their form in MLS, easing past Orlando away from home to move into fourth place in the East.

And finally, both Cascadia clubs got back to winning ways as they look to turnaround dismal starts to the season. Seattle impressed with a win in St. Louis, while Portland’s stars carried them over the line against Sporting KC.

We’ve got ourselves a goal of the season candidate, folks!

Jeong Sang-bin – Minnesota United

Sang-bin is quickly making a name for himself as a standout goalscorer in MLS.

With three goals in his last two games for the Loons, including a brace against Colorado Rapids at the weekend, the Korean has helped elevate Minnesota into the upper echelon of MLS teams this season.

The LA Galaxy have been one of the most watchable teams in MLS season, and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.

After starting the campaign with a six-game unbeaten run, the Galaxy stumbled between late April and the opening weeks of May, but the turnaround may have begun this past weekend against Houston.

Lead by talisman Riqui Puig, the Galaxy eased past the dynamo to keep themselves alive in the Western Conference picture, now just five points off of the top.

With games against Dallas, Chicago, and Sporting KC to come, Greg Vanney’s side have a perfect chance to catch fire once again.

With nearly 55,000 fans in attendance at BC Place Stadium and an Inter Miami team without the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Sergio Busquets, the Whitecaps had the best chance they will get in a long time to put on a show at home.

But despite the deck seemingly being stacked in their favor, Vancouver could only muster two shots on target against a notoriously brittle Miami defence and found themselves on the losing end of a match for the third time in their last four games.

To make matters worse, the Cascadia club have not won a game in MLS since late April and have all but slipped out of the conversation at the top of the Western Conference.