MLS Match Week 1 – A Hooligan Take

I just don't have the bandwidth to do justice to every MLS opening game. That's why I selected a handful to deliver something, um, color. Yes. Color.

This was the match that started in the season, and boy was a fool. As the old saying is … “F: How much stop time is there? A: just enough to rate Inter Miami. “ This should not take away from the quality of the 1990 +10 Equalizer. Lionel Messi delivered a perfectly weighted pass to the sprint from Telasco Segovia, which held a nice chip over the slide. It was Messi's second assist of the night and what a blow for visitors who played a man after Tomás Avilés issued a red for Dogso in the 24th minute. This is proof that the league really does not try to develop all messis away. Somehow.

The over 65,000 fans in the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Stop. Take a look at this participation. Do you think football is not popular? Arsenal was over 60,000 to hell, the only Premier League game that came close to this number. Now back to our report … The supporters of Atlanta were spoiled with a struggle with a heavyweight of a game, since each page exchanged the goal for the gate until Edwin Mosquera's 85th minute. Anyone who doubts whether Emmanuel Latte Lath was a good business should eat their socks. Keep on, get ketchup.

It is fair to say that this was not the opening day GRG was desired. The explosive start of the pairing of Brian Gutiérrez and Jonathan Bamba had to have given hope for hope that they had struck them before the half-time pipe of a Carlos Táran's own goal and the last second of Diego Rossi. Followers of the crew members are enjoyed as a punch to see their DP Rossi in good shape. Firefighters will be used to seeing their club below. As usual.

This battle of the 10th and 11th place in the east did not end surprisingly, in a draw. United was light at the beginning, and Boris packed the first of the team's first after nine minutes. Jonathan Osorio from Toronto shaped it in the 27th, but the great old Belgian (and 2024 MLS-MVP candidate) Christian Benteke appeared in a header to give the hosts the lead of a gate at halftime. Kim Joon-Hong scored five parades to keep his team in the game, but could not stop a Federico Bernardeschi PK.

So much disappointment here. First, there was the news that Wilfried Zaha would not be at the start -xi for Charlotte for “personal reasons”. For Sounders fans, this own goal of his own goal had to crush, especially when Jordan Morris was in such a good shape and recorded a bracket. A big compliment to Charlotte's commentator Brian Dunseth because he described Charlotte's debut goalkeeper Adilson Malanda as a “up -and -coming salmon” when he called on the defense of Seattle to bring the ball home from a Pep Biel corner. This is the type of creativity that we need on the radio.

Did the sea divers do enough in the low season to support their offensive? Based on this game, the answer is a resounding number. They produced a shot on the frame from twelve tries. LAFC had the same attempts, but six at the destination and forced Dayne St. Clair in five parades.

This is not a typo. The quakes goalkeeper Daniel made seven parades for empty visitors, but it was the attacks of the home team that surprised me. Arena's 3-5-2 is an offensive formation, but the crispy and execution in the third-party attack was something that the squad missed very much last season. Nine of their 14 shots were within the framework, and the gates were scored by four different players (two of them replacement substances of the second half). Cristian Espinoza provided two templates. The earthquakes dominated, although only 38% were possessed.

Warning of Quakes fans: Do not get big British, only your team is at the top. Take a picture to remember it later when the film comes.

If SKC thought they were warmer to the south, they went wrong. Austin dominated the first 45 completely and ran up in the left flank, but it was SKCS William Agada who drove the best chance of half over the latte. When Osman Buchari came to the game winner from a corner, this meant that the superior team would take all three points.

Nothing like a sharp derby that starts a season, right? In the wet and wind of the Providence Park, the Timbers started a bad start when Centerback Kamal Miller was guilty in the 11th minute to tighten Brian White right in front of the box. If the foul had been initiated in the box, the resulting PK would have alleviated the referee's map in a yellow. We will never know. The whitecaps would easily win.

My colleague Drew Thompson made a fantastic report about it. Read it here.