MLS Rewind: Union dominate Fire, LAFC cruise past Charlotte FC, and more
08/14/2022 01:42 AM
Another weekend of MLS action came packed with goals, with the Philadelphia Union, Los Angeles FC and Austin FC each winning to continue their dominance toward the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings.
The Union used another strong performance from Daniel Gazdag to show their strength, a week after losing to FC Cincinnati to snap a winning streak. LAFC showed no signs of slowing down, either, with a thoroughly dominant performance in a 5-0 home win against Charlotte FC.
Austin FC completed a comeback from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 against Sporting Kansas City. Sebastian Driussi scored deep into stoppage time to keep Josh Wolff’s side in contention for the Supporters’ Shield and to keep Driussi top of mind in the MVP conversation.
Here are the results from Week 25 in MLS.
Sunday
Nashville SC 1, Loons 2
(Hany Mukhtar 61′) – (Franco Fragapane 27′, Alan Benitez 75′)
Man of the Match: Emanuel Reynoso was the architect of the winning goal, embarrassing a defender and playing Joseph Rosales into the box. Reynoso also assisted the Loons’ first goal.
Moment of the Match: Alan Benitez scored in his second start since signing with Minnesota United in July. Benitez’ 75th-minute header was the winning goal.
Match to Forget: Walker Zimmerman will regret making a lobbed pass into the middle of the field, which led to an easy turnover and the Loons’ first goal. Zimmerman also wasn’t in position to clear the cross away for the Loons’ second goal.
Sounders 1, Real Salt Lake 2
(Albert Rusnak 62′) – (Sergio Cordova 32′, Andrew Brody 64′)
Man of the Match: Andrew Brody did it all for Real Salt Lake on Sunday, scoring the winning goal and also delivering a strong defensive shift. Brody won all seven of his duels, completed four dribbles, and made two interceptions in the victory.
Moment of the Match: The Sounders piled on the pressure late at Lumen Field, but missed three key chances in stoppage time at RSL held on for three points.
Match to Forget: Yeimar Gomez struggled to deal with RSL’s attacking pieces, losing seven of his 12 duels and eventually being replaced in the 77th minute with the Sounders fighting for an equalizer.
Saturday
Red Bulls 0, Orlando City 1
(Facundo Torres 17′)
Man of the Match: Orlando City central midfielder Cesar Araujo turned in a strong performance in defensive midfield. Araujo won seven duels and made one tackle with 91% pass completion.
Moment of the Match: Facundo Torres found plenty of space and finished past Carlos Coronel in the 17th minute.
Match to Forget: Lewis Morgan had a few chances to score for the Red Bulls, but he couldn’t put two volleys on target, which might have gone in had they troubled Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
FC Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 2
(Brandon Vasquez 29′, Brenner 41′) – (Thiago Almada 17′, Andrew Gutman 83′)
Man of the Match: Thiago Almada powered Atlanta United to earn an away result. His goal in the first half will be remembered as one of the best goals of the week, and he started the play that led to Andrew Gutman’s equalizing goal.
Moment of the Match: Andrew Gutman provided more late heroics for Atlanta United, scoring late in the second straight game to earn a result.
Match to Forget: FC Cincy centerback Geoff Cameron failed to intervene on the play that led to Gutman’s late goal to take a point. Cameron had the chance to make a tackle to prevent the final pass.
Revolution 1, D.C. United 0
(Carles Gil 18′)
Man of the Match: Carles Gil bossed the match for the Revs, with nine of his team’s total 20 shots and four on target. Gil missed a few chances, but ultimately scored when it mattered.
Moment of the Match: Carles Gil punched the Revs into the lead in the 18th minute, scoring on a feed from Brandon Bye.
Match to Forget: Martin Rodriguez couldn’t keep up with Brandon Bye to prevent the fullback from assisting Carles Gil’s decisive goal.
Union 4, Fire 1
(Daniel Gazdag 16′, Jack Eliott 37′, Julian Carranza 53′, Cory Burke 82′) – (Chris Mueller 49′)
Man of the Match: Daniel Gazdag put the Union up early, and started the play that led to Cory Burke’s late goal. Gazdag continues to strike early to help the Union earn points.
Moment of the Match: Julian Carranza’s sweet chipped finish allowed the Union to take a commanding 3-1 lead early in the second half.
Match to Forget: Gaga Slonina will surely want to forget dropping the ball on the goal line while making a save on a corner kick. Jack Elliott punched the dropped ball in to put the Union up 2-0 in the 37th minute.
Toronto FC 3, Timbers 1
(Jonathan Osorio 41, Lorenzo Insigne 79′, Federico Bernardeschi 85′) – (Juan Carlos Van Rankin 73′)
Man of the Match: Lorenzo Insigne scored the go-ahead goal, and also provided eight shots with five on goal.
Moment of the Match: Insigne scored with an incredible volley past Aljaz Ivacic to put TFC ahead in the 79th minute.
Match to Forget: Bill Tuiloma struggled to contain Insigne and couldn’t prevent Insigne or Bernardeschi from piling on pressure.
Inter Miami 3, NYCFC 2
(Alejandro Pozuelo 39′, 83′, Ariel Lassiter 63′) – (Talles Magno 34, Thiago Andrade 45+2′)
Man of the Match: Alejandro Pozuelo led Inter Miami’s attack, with two goals, including the winning goal. Pozuelo also helped create the play that led to Ariel Lassiter’s 63rd-minute goal.
Moment of the Match: Pozuelo jumped on a misplaced pass in the 83rd minute to take all three points in a tight match.
Match to Forget: NYCFC’s back line was all out of sorts, but it was midfielder Alfredo Morales who made the critical mistake, whiffing on a pass to allow Pozuelo to score the winner.
Sporting KC 3, Austin FC 4
(Jon Gallagher 27′, Julio Cascante 63′, Danny Hoesen 85′, Sebastian Driussi 90+4′) – (Andreu Fontas 12′, William Agada 23′, Johnny Russell (pen) 40′)
Man of the Match: Sebastian Driussi had six shots with two on goal, and scored the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Driussi would have also assisted Julio Cascante’s goal, if it weren’t for a deflection by a Sporting KC player.
Moment of the Match: Driussi completed Austin FC’s comeback by finishing off a set piece chance in which the ball bounced into the middle of the box.
Match to Forget: Ben Sweat had a rough showing. A weak header out of the box allowed Jon Gallagher to score Austin’s first goal, and Sweat held Danny Hoesen onside as Austin scored its third goal.
Rapids 1, Crew 1
(Cucho Hernandez 5′) – (Diego Rubio (pen) 41′)
Man of the Match: Cucho Hernandez allowed the Crew to attack effectively in a difficult stadium. Hernandez had a goal and six shots, with two on target.
Moment of the Match: Steven Moreira’s handball stopped the Crew’s momentum and allowed the Rapids to save a point despite a poor home performance.
Match to Forget: Diego Rubio scored from the penalty spot, but he showed a complete lack of intensity in trying to stop Pedro Santos’ cross that led to Hernandez’ goal early in the game.
FC Dallas 4, Earthquakes 1
(Jesus Ferreira 3′, 41′, Marco Farfan 20′, Alan Velasco 57′) – (Jeremy Ebobisse 60′)
Man of the Match: Jesus Ferreira earned the early advantage with two goals. Sebastian Lletget also had a solid match, with two assists.
Moment of the Match: Jesus Ferreira took on several defenders for FC Dallas’ third goal, in which he showed off his speed and footwork to collect Paul Arriola’s pass.
Match to Forget: Quakes left back Paul Marie had trouble stopping Paul Arriola on the right side. He was easily turned by Arriola to lead to Dallas’ third goal.
Dynamo 2, CF Montreal 3
(Sebastian Ferreira 12′, Daniel Steres 36′) – (Romell Quioto (pen) 15′, Alistair Johnston 28′, Lasse Lappalainen 69′)
Man of the Match: Alistair Johnston contributed to defense and attack, scoring a goal, winning four duels and taking two shots.
Moment of the Match: Lasse Lappalainen showed his individual skill, creating a shot for himself and scoring to give CF Montreal three big road points.
Match to Forget: Dynamo defender Zarek Valentin was fooled by Lasse Lappalainen’s dribbling moves on the decisive third goal for CF Montreal in the 69th minute.
LA Galaxy 5, Whitecaps 2
(Samuel Grandsir 12′, 40′, Javier Hernandez (pen) 20′, Efrain Alvarez 89′) – (Ryan Gauld 38′, Toisant Ricketts 70′)
Man of the Match: Samuel Grandsir scored two goals, both with impressive finishes. Grandsir’s ability to finish slammed the door shut on a possible Whitecaps comeback.
Moment of the Match: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez put the Galaxy convincingly ahead with his Panenka-style penalty kick in the 20th minute.
Match to Forget: Whitecaps defender Ranko Veselinovic committed a handball in the box in the first half, leading the Galaxy to take a two-goal lead.
LAFC 5, Charlotte FC 0
(Jesus Murillo 49′, Jose Cifuentes 59′, Carlos Vela 73′, Cristian Arango 76′, Anton Walkes (OG) 90+2′)
Man of the Match: Jose Cifuentes continues to show his value to LAFC’s crowded attacking corps, with a goal and an assist before this match became a blowout.
Moment of the Match: Cristian Arango’s goal in the 76th minute put LAFC’s team chemistry on full display, with Latif Blessing, Ryan Hollingshead,
Match to Forget: Anton Walkes was out of position to challenge Murillo’s header for LAFC’s first goal. Walkes also committed an own goal to finish the match.
