MLS the Daily Kickoff

By Anonymous (not verified), April 6, 2023

By Sam Jones

Good morning, y'all. Your pal Sam here. Let's soccer.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chicharito gets green light: Star forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is clear to travel with the team for LA Galaxy's Saturday fixture at Houston Dynamo FC (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), head coach Greg Vanney told reporters on Wednesday, with an eye towards a 2023 season debut. The decorated Mexico international has been sidelined to start the campaign with a hamstring injury suffered in preseason.
LAFC cruise in leg one against Vancouver: A flurry of three goals in 10 minutes from LAFC all but sealed qualification to the next round for LAFC in their CCL Quarterfinal matchup with Vancouver. Denis Bouanga delivered a stunning brace in the 3-0 win at BC Place.

ASSORTED TAKES FROM THE CCL GAMES THAT WERE

Just a few things to touch on from the CCL games that were before we get you to the Watchgridometer tomorrow and a Saturday filled with some excellent games. We won't take too much of your time here.Philly needed moreI'm not saying it should have been a rout. Atlas held their own at Subaru Park on Tuesday. However, the Union should be a little disappointed to be taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg.Philadelphia had an advantage on 10-man Atlas for an entire half and only squeezed out one goal. That's not the end of the world, but it feels like last year's Union team would have stepped on the gas there. It's not that simple or easy, but it's hard not to be uneasy about the team as a whole right now. Any moments where they aren't demolishing a team is another moment spent wondering how long it will take them to get back up to speed.Now, they'll head into a tough road trip in a decent position, but not a great position. An away goal will go a long way and if they score early that could be the tie. That's not a given though. Not in the way it felt like a given coming into the season.I'm just saying that it's all a little more nerve-wracking than I expected a few weeks ago. That has me shook. And until the Union see this through, I'll continue to be a little nervous as to whether they'll meet the lofty expectations that accompanied them into the season.Is Jack McGlynn a part of the answer?Despite maybe leaving the night wanting a little more from the team as a whole, homegrown midfielder Jack McGlynn received praise for his performance. He put in a shift both in attack and defense and seems to be primed to take a step forward this season.He's been a hyped young player for a while but he's faced an uphill task working to break into a stacked Union midfield consistently. If he's going to provide the newfound defensive elements to his game that he's been lacking at times, then he might be too good in attack to keep him out of the starting lineup much longer.Maybe McGlynn can provide a bit of a spark in the future? The Union feel like they could use one.Vancouver do not have Denis BouangaIn fact, it's just the one team that does. It's one of those things that makes the rest of the factors feel like they're not worth analyzing. His first goal was a stunner from distance that dipped and kissed off the underside of the crossbar. The next one he put Vancouver's backline into a washing machine and spun them around, then left them out to dry single-handedly. LAFC had the best player on the field last night and then a ton of other excellent players around him and then they brought more excellent players off the bench. I mean, they don't even feel compelled to start Jose Cifuentes right now and he was maybe the best midfielder in the league last year.That's it. That's all it takes to analyze this one. I don't really know what else to say about LAFC having better soccer players across the board. Other than…LAFC are the favoritesI"m taking them against everyone left on their side of the bracket at this point. Yes, that includes Philly. One team has gotten everything right and the other has sputtered. That's just the way it is.It's tough to compare them to other remaining Liga MX giants like Tigres, but, honestly, they might just be slight favorites against them too. LAFC are on the edge of something special in the same way it started to become apparent that Seattle were on the edge of something special last season. This is there for them.

AND OTHER THINGS

Sporting Kansas City waive defender Sweat: Sporting Kansas City have waived defender Ben Sweat. The 31-year-old joined SKC ahead of the 2022 season and provided three assists across 25 games (22 starts). His last contribution was receiving a second-half red card in a 4-1 home defeat to Seattle Sounders FC on Matchday 5. With Sweat's departure, SKC's main options at left back remain Bundesliga veteran Tim Leibold and Belgian youth international Logan Ndenbe.

THE READING RAINBOW

Toronto FC's Federico Bernardeschi won the AT&T 5G Goal of the Matchday.
Javier Morales has made his way from the Inter Miami academy to the first team.
Here's how to watch the Generation adidas Cup knockout rounds.
USMNT and Mexico's coaches addressed the latest updates in the rivalry.
LAFC star Carlos Vela said that he expects "way better" from himself.

FULL TIME

Good luck out there. All the roads we have to walk are winding.