The league table is finally taking shape as the top teams separate themselves from the pack while the league's cellar dwellers cling to every point that will hopefully save their seasons. There were several struggling teams that earned massive wins while some top teams slipped up, making for another thoroughly entertaining matchweek.
Major League Soccer delivered another Sunday matinee on Apple TV+, following last weekend's thrilling El Tráfico, with Atlanta United opening the roof on Mercedes-Benz Stadium to welcome the Chicago Fire in a match that finished 2-1 in favor of the Five Stripes.
Chicharito Hernández bagged his first goal of 2023 on Saturday and ended the miserable, winless hell the LA Galaxy were experiencing in MLS.
With four losses and three draws, the mood around the team was far from giddy and the absence of the Mexican striker was a big reason for the stinky start. Hernández had been struggling with muscular injuries and missed the first five matches of the campaign. Although he returned to play some minutes against the Houston Dynamo and provided an assist against LAFC, both games ended in defeat.
Major League Soccer is bound by parity and married to the chaos that comes with it. With late goals, monumental upsets and high-scoring affairs, Matchday 8 was one for the books.
Major League Soccer handed a six-game suspension to New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir on Thursday in response to his admitted use of racist language last Saturday in a game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
The ban applies to MLS games, but during the duration of the suspension, Vanzeir is also prohibited from appearing in U.S. Open Cup games, MLS Next Pro games and exhibition games.
MLS Matchweek 7 proved severely dichotomous to the league’s image. Fans were treated to the best that MLS offers with individual brilliance, age-defying heroes, local rivalries and close games. However, it was an alleged incident that occurred between San Jose and New York that left an extremely sour taste in fans' mouths.
Houston Dynamo forward Amine Bassi made MLS history with his 65th-minute penalty goal in the Dynamo's 3-0 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night. Bassi became the first player in league history to score on a penalty in four straight games.
As calm as Bassi's penalty was, the lead-up was chaos. The Dynamo (3-3-0, 9 points) had great pressure and were working through the Galaxy box when a Dynamo player went down but no penalty was called.
Un gol de Héctor Herrera a balón parado abrió el triunfo por 3-0 del Houston Dynamo sobre LA Galaxy y arruinó el debut de Javier Hernández en la temporada 2023 de la MLS.
Sin victorias en los primeros cinco partidos de la liga, el LA Galaxy esperaba cambiar su suerte con el retorno de Chicharito, quien se había perdido el inicio del torneo debido a una rebelde lesión muscular. Sin embargo, la presencia del delantero mexicano – que entró al minuto 55 – fue en vano y el Dynamo no tuvo compasión.
¡Ah! Bendito fin de semana. Hora de ver a la gente que amas, respirar al aire libre, pero también de hundirse en el sofá para ver tus partidos de fútbol favorito.
Sí, sabemos que sería ideal verlos todos, pero es físicamente imposible. Lo bueno es que aquí tenemos la cartelera de la Liga MX y los mexicanos en el extranjeros para que programes tu vida de manera acorde.
Viernes 7 de abril
If the most sensational rumors are to be believed, Apple is looking for a quick exit from its 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS while the league prepares for an NASL kind of collapse into oblivion.
The Athletic previously detailed an opt-out clause in the contract predicated on Apple obtaining a certain number of subscribers within a set timeframe, but it's impossible to speculate from the outside since Apple hasn't released any viewership statistics through six matchweeks.