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Evander and Lorenzo Insigne provided game-winning worldies before Atlanta United steamrolled New England. Also, Minnesota, Columbus and St. Louis all found critical goals in stoppage time. Let’s talk it out.
NEW YORK CITY FC - 1 | PORTLAND TIMBERS - 2
S. Rodríguez (10') | Antony (85'), Evander (90+7')
EVANDER FROM DEEEEEEEEEP… BANG! BANG!
An AT&T Goal of the Year contender from Evander just before full-time gave Portland a huge road win at Yankee Stadium. It’s another performance where the Timbers didn’t necessarily impress, but they got the job done anyway. The vibes are pretty excellent to start the season and Portland have seven points through their first three games.
Then there’s NYCFC. They at least got on the board in this one. But everything is off when it comes to the general feeling around this team. It’s one thing to struggle, but when you’re struggling and unlucky on top of that, existence is pain.
NYCFC have one goal and three losses through their first three games. In the stacked Eastern Conference this year, there’s just not a ton of margin for error. There’s reason to worry about falling behind.
TORONTO FC - 1 | CHARLOTTE FC - 0
L. Insigne (80')
INSIGNE FROM DEEEEEEEEEP… BANG! BANG!
An AT&T Goal of the Year contender from Lorenzo Insigne livened up a lackluster 0-0 stalemate and handed Toronto FC their second win of the season. Through three games, Toronto have as many points as Inter Miami. This isn’t how anyone envisioned it going for the reigning Wooden Spoon winners and I’m not sure it’s sustainable yet. But, right now, who cares? This is a breath of fresh air for a club that’s woefully underperformed as of late.
Charlotte nearly had a road point here. They were an Enzo Copetti finish away from taking the lead. They shouldn’t be too worried. They should just focus on getting new DP winger Liel Abada into the lineup as soon as possible.
ATLANTA UNITED - 4 | NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION - 1
T. Almada (45+2' PK), G. Giakoumakis (55' PK, 60', 74') | C. Gil (83')
A Giorgos Giakoumakis hat trick led the way for Atlanta United as the Five Stripes rolled over New England in front of 67,727 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Yeah, the Revs looked a bit worn out by the end after a midweek Concacaf Champions Cup matchup, but credit is due toward Atlanta. The bottom line is they have plus players at both central midfield spots and both center back spots for the first time in a long time. It makes everything so much easier. And when they aren’t gifting goals, their attack will eventually wear you down.
COLUMBUS CREW - 2 | CHICAGO FIRE FC - 1
J. Russell-Rowe (68'), M. Farsi (90+10') | F. Herbers (72')
Oh, Chicago.
I’m not sure what to say anymore. Even when things go right, they go wrong. Have we mentioned yet how Hugo Cuypers hasn’t lived up at all to the price tag?
Anyway, Columbus are good.
NEW YORK RED BULLS - 2 | FC DALLAS - 1
E. Forsberg (30' PK), L. Morgan (54') | J. Ferreira (59’)
Phew, y’all. I’m about ready to buy as much stock as possible in this Red Bulls side. If Emil Forsberg and Lewis Morgan are going to be this effective in attack, then the rest will take care of itself. They may get lost a bit in the shuffle this year in a stacked Eastern Conference, but it feels like this group has the potential to be the best Red Bulls team in a while.
ORLANDO CITY SC - 2 | MINNESOTA UNITED FC - 3
D. McGuire (1', 83') | T. Pukki (4', 38'), B. Hlongwane (90+6')
Duncan McGuire opened the game with a goal just 14 seconds in, but the night belonged to Bongi Hlongwane in the end. His late winner gave the Loons a stunning road win and their seventh point in three games. Along with Portland and Toronto, the Loons are one of the most remarkable stories of the young season.
That being said, you probably aren’t going to go on the road, give up 4.1 xG to your 1.0 xG and often come out with a win. Minnesota caught a bit of a break here. Still, it seems like the Loons have plenty of quality and they haven’t gotten Emanuel Reynoso back from injury.
Orlando will be fine in the long run.
AUSTIN FC - 2 | ST. LOUIS CITY SC - 2
M. Hedges (14'), J. Cascante (51') | E. Löwen (49' PK), C. Pompeu (90+3')
Célio Pompeu’s late equalizer ruined a potential party in Austin. Austin took a one-goal lead twice and couldn’t hold on either time. St. Louis probably aren’t thrilled it took them so long to get even with Austin, but the lesson is always “a road point is a good point.”
REAL SALT LAKE - 1 | COLORADO RAPIDS - 2
C. Eneli (22') | R. Navarro (43' PK), C. Bassett (70')
RSL looked just fine in the first half of the Rocky Mountain Cup’s first 2024 chapter. But after converting a penalty just before the break, Colorado came back out of the locker room and outplayed RSL to pick up their first win of the year. RSL will be wondering what happened here, while the Rapids finally got a much-needed boost of confidence.
LAFC - 0 | SPORTING KANSAS CITY - 0
Both teams, especially LAFC, found some huge chances and couldn’t break through. Hugo Lloris and Tim Melia were both fantastic in goal for their respective teams. Also, Sporting KC have earned three draws to start the year.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - 0 | VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC - 2
A. Schöpf (74'), A. Ahmed (86')
The Whitecaps scored twice late to put away the Earthquakes and earn a big road win. That Ali Ahmed clinching goal was pure class, too.
San Jose are still waiting on their first win and have a Western Conference-worst negative-5 goal differential through three games.
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