MLS

While most European leagues are reaching their gripping conclusions, MLS is still very much up for grabs with 16 matchdays completed. The table has taken shape, but anything is possible in America’s top flight. From last-minute equalizers to incredible displays of impotence in front of goal, there was something for everyone on Matchday 16. 

What is form but a spell to be broken? What are records but standards to be rewritten? Comfort and predictability have no home in MLS, especially not during Matchday 15. Across the league, teams and players alike found ways to buck their trends of frustration while others gave frustration a chance.

As the tail end of the nation’s oldest and most storied soccer tournament approaches, two second-division teams continue to linger. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Birmingham Legion both welcomed MLS opposition into their humble abodes for the US Open Cup Round of 16 and won more than just the hearts of those watching.

Thank you, Pittsburgh

Thank you, Birmingham

All El Tráficos count the same, right? Well, maybe that wasn't the case Tuesday night with LAFC and the LA Galaxy meeting in the U.S. Open Cup at only the Round of 16 stage and with LAFC entirely focused on next week's Concacaf Champions League final against León.

This meeting was basically the El Clásico equivalent of Barcelona playing Real Madrid in a preseason friendly at Hard Rock Stadium.

But don't tell Riqui Puig that.

Rivalry Week in MLS is a special time. Chaos wrapped in pandemonium served with a side of unpredictability. The best sides find a way to rise above the volatility, to keep their heads when all about them are losing theirs. Rivalry week separates the wheat from the chaff, and MLS Matchday 14 embodied that. 

Major League Soccer (MLS) awarded its 30th team to San Diego on Thursday, with the club set to make their debut in 2025 under the ownership of entrepreneur and investor Mohamed Mansour.

San Diego, which was a well-publicised front-runner to be awarded the expansion franchise, follows several other recent additions to the top-flight North American league, including St Louis City SC, which debuted this year.

In a word, forgettable. Following one of the most exciting matchdays of the MLS season, the league’s first foray into midweek play definitely did not live up to the billing, but there were still a few moments that caught our attention. Despite MLS Matchday 13 being promoted as a continuation of Rivalry Week, there were few games that truly fit that description, and it showed both on the field and in the scorelines.