Ahhh the sweet, sweet sound of no midweek madness. We’ve got a good one for you this week. We got an El Traffico (which if you didn’t watch, you missed out on currently the best rivalry in MLS. Maybe for some offseason fun we’ll do a little Power Rankings of MLS Derbies… Could be fun 🤷‍♂), an I-85 Derby (not as fond of that name), and a goalfest in the PNW.

We’ll have analysis today as well so don’t miss out on those, including a Bounga break down, Atlanta’s defensive woes, and why Seattle has success year after year.

We’re also adding a new segment at the end— it’ll be short, but I’ll drop in a set of three games to look forward to in the next Matchday.

Los Angeles FC 3-3 LA Galaxy

Since it’s inception, the Southern California rivalry dubbed El Traffico has ALWAYS lived up to the expectations.  Saturday’s iteration was absolutely no exception, as the struggling LA Galaxy overcame a pair of two goal deficits to leave BMO Stadium with a well earned point.  There’s a strong argument that it’s currently the best rivalry in MLS, and you won’t hear any other opinion out of me.

In 24 MLS matches, the statistics are nearly deadlocked.  LAFC currently have the edge with nine wins compared to Galaxy’s eight, with seven draws mixed in.  There’s real hatred between the cross town rivals, which throws gasoline on the already massive fire that’s ignited every time they meet.  It does’t ever seem to matter how their respective season’s are going, this game always brings fireworks— and that’s what rivalries are all about.

This edition felt like it would be an anomaly after Denis Bouanga pulled LAFC ahead in the 25th minute (more on him in the analysis).  The hosts doubled their lead just five minutes later when Nathan Ordaz found Javairô with a beautiful cross whipped behind the back line, which he tucked neatly into the far post.  It seemed the Galaxy were in for a long night until they received a lifeline in the 36th minute.  Gabriel Pec cut the deficit in half, converting a penalty kick preceded by a Ryan Hollingshead handball in the box.  The scoreline held firm until the 67th minute when Bouanga picked up a ball on his own side of midfield, outpaced both Galaxy center backs and slotted his second of the game, finishing off a stunning solo effort.  Just 10 minutes later, Pec nabbed his own brace, bringing the Galaxy deficit back to just one.  Galaxy nearly drew level in the 88th, but Hugo Lloris made a last ditch save on Christian Ramirez, seemingly saving the game for LAFC.  Tempers flared a couple minutes later and when the dust settled, LAFC center back Eddie Segura saw his marching orders, getting sent off as added time began (another all time MLS photo right here).

Seven minutes into the prescribed five of added time, Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida channeled his inner striker, rising above the rest and heading in the tying goal, silencing BMO Stadium.  The final action of the game sealed one of the most drama filled El Traffico chapters yet.

Galaxy will be thrilled with the stolen point, and they’ve quietly been in improved form over their last five games.  Wins against Vancouver and DC United and draws in both of their rivalry matchups see the reigning MLS Cup Champs in the midst of their best form of the season.  LAFC on the other hand dropped a spot, falling to 5th in the West and losing their grip on a clear path for first place.  With San Diego and Vancouver’s slight falloff in form, LAFC will have no problem believing the top spot is still well within their grasp.

Click here for full recap and analysis

Last week we toyed with putting two games in the same category.  I liked it, so I think we’ll do it again.  I could have put the Inter Miami away win in New York in here (as it did have the largest goal total), but we’ve talked about Miami a lot so I’ll just say this: Messi scored a brace for the fifth time in his last six games and Inter Miami rolled over New York Red Bulls.  You’re welcome.

Atlanta United 2-3 Charlotte FC

Charlotte FC marched into Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the I-85 derby and left with all three points on Saturday, but it was the 5 Stripes that struck first.  Tristan Muyumba left no chance for Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, perfectly heading in a cross from Bartosz Slisz in the 19th minute— a lead the home team would take into the halftime break.  We’d all love to know what was said in both of the locker rooms at the break, but it was clear within a minute of the whistle to start the second half that Charlotte came out of the break more motivated.  Kerwin Vargas slipped a teasing ball behind Atlanta’s back line which found Idan Toklomati who somehow slipped in the equalizer past Brad Guzan.  Kahlina made an incredible save 10 minutes later to deny Muyumba his brace, shifting the momentum back in Charlotte’s favor.  Just five minutes later, two passes sliced through the heart of the Atlanta defense, and a clever touch and a display of some power from Wilfried Zaha set him up to put Charlotte into the lead, one which they wouldn’t give up.  Kahlina answered the call once again in the 71st minute, stonewalling a shot from Atlanta star Miguel Almiron.  Pep Biel added the winner in the 77th, slotting home a cutback cross from Wilfried Zaha to put the game out of reach for the hosts.  Emmanuel Latte Lath netted a goal in the 86th minute cutting the Charlotte lead to one, finishing off a wonderful pattern of play in the attacking box.  Latte Lath’s 7th goal of the season would be only a consolation as the game finished 3-2 to The Crown.

July marked a fresh start for The Crown, after losing nine of their past 11 games heading into the month, they’re unbeaten in the last four.  Sitting in 7th place, they’re narrowly avoiding the play in game.  They’ve kept themselves above the playoff line for most of the season and have shown the ability to play with anyone on their day, although they do have a fair bit of inconsistency.  Fact of the matter is, they’veallowed almost as many goals at this point in the season than their staunch defense did all of last season (39 currently, 40 last season).  They’ll welcome a new look Toronto FC on Saturday, hoping the winning ways will continue.

Where to begin with Atlanta… We’ll get into them more in the recap, but the long and short of it is, they haven’t had nearly enough production from all the cash they threw around in the offseason and they haven’t won a game away from the comfort of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  They’ve conceded 43 goals, which puts them third worst in the East, exactly where they sit in the table.  The Seattle Sounders are next up for Atlanta, who will be looking to break their seven match winless streak.

Charlotte’s media team love basking in the glory of a derby win, so just enjoy these:

Click here for full recap and analysis

Seattle Sounders 3-2 San Jose Earthquakes

A moment for the third kits: I don’t know if I’ve seen a better throwback kit in ANY sport than San Jose’s Heritage kit.  It’s the perfect mix of vintage 90’s vibes in modern elegance, and it pays a wonderful homage to the club’s former Clash name (see how creative that lead is now?).  They’re easily the best of all the MLS editions and I don’t know if there’s a close second.  Okay enough of the fashion takes.

In soccer there’s a couple guidelines that are commonly communicated when it comes to timing:

The first one is self explanatory, really.  You want to start the game well and no matter if you’re leading, tied, or chasing the game, you definitely don’t want to concede in the final five minutes (there’s a bunch of scenarios that I could give you to break those down, but they seem pretty obvious).  The second one is a little more detailed.  Picture it: you’ve just scored, excellent.  One thing you know for sure is that it’s a guarantee you’ve pissed off your opponent— They’re going to come after you and they want to do it as soon as possible.  You’re also on a high! You’ve gone up 1-0 or whatever the score is, but now is when you’re at your most vulnerable. San Jose broke this rule not once, but twice on their travels to Seattle.

It seems like everyone is adopting this new opening kickoff routine made famous by Paris Saint-Germain.  San Jose isn’t the first team to do it in MLS, and we’ll talk through that one more in the analysis (hint: it’s not pretty, but it’s effective if you do it well). After some preliminal pressure from San Jose, Jordan Morris had a golden opportunity for a dream start just 45 seconds into the game.  A breakaway chance saw his effort go wide, and Seattle would be happy with the start, however it was San Jose who broke the tie first.  Preston Judd found the end of a Jamar Ricketts cross in the 26th minute,  capitalizing on some poor marking in the box.  Judd makes clever runs, and he’s a handful.  He’s got a bit of Brian White in him, he’s big, strong, a willing runner, and he’s got a nose for goal in the box.  Immediately off the ensuing kickoff, San Jose barely touched the ball before goalkeeper Daniel was picking the ball out of his own net.  Danny Musovski rose above Dave Romney and Daniel, and connected on a teasing ball from Albert Rusnak to draw the match level.  Only a few minutes after that, Jon Bell had a chance to put the hosts ahead, but his header found the crossbar.  Daniel made a nice save deep in to first half stoppage time, getting down low to his near post to deny Rusnak a chance to put Sounders ahead before the break.

In the second half, the Moose was certainly set loose as they say, as Danny Musovski headed home his second goal of the game.  His brace wouldn’t be the winner, however, when Chicho Arango was first to react after Sounders goalkeeper brilliantly saved a San Jose set piece off the post.  Thomas has been a great fill in for recovering Stefan Frei, making big saves in big moments that have either kept Seattle in games or kept them in a winning position.  He’d have his save later in this one as well.  Within five minutes of scoring, San Jose again conceded.  Pedro De La Vega finished off a great solo run with a stunning finish, curling his effort into the far post from outside the box.  A few minutes into stoppage time San Jose had their final chance at an equalizer.  Cristian Espinoza curled a free kick off the crossbar from long distance, and an acrobatic bicycle kick from Josef Martinez was saved brilliantly by Andrew Thomas (even if it might have been offside) directly after.

Seattle rose to 4th in the Western Conference standings, even though LAFC still has games in hand.  They’ll make the long trip to Atlanta on Saturday to take on the struggling 5 Stripes.  San Jose is holding onto the final playoff spot in the West in a tight lower half of the table, with a real six pointer at Salt Lake on the docket for the weekend.  Real Salt Lake sit one spot behind the Quakes for that coveted final spot, although they do have one game in hand.

Click here for full recap and analysis

Columbus Crew vs. Orlando City SC

Orlando will travel to Columbus with a chance to put the top five teams in the East on notice.  An opportunity to prove they’ll be tough to eliminate come playoff time lies ahead, and watch out for Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic.  The two have combined for 22 goals and 11 assists this season.  If they can keep Columbus off the scoresheet, it could be a huge boost for The Lions heading into the final stretch.

Inter Miami CF vs. FC Cincinnati

The biggest question of the week is if Messi and Jordi Alba will play after sitting out of the midweek All-Star activities.  The two should be subject to a one game suspension for declining participation, per MLS rules, but we’ll see if the league holds strong… my senses tell me they’ll play, but maybe the league will surprise us for once 🤷‍♂ .  It’s a big matchup for two sides that are right in the mix at the top of the East.

Chicago Fire FC vs New York Red Bulls

Now these are the matchups I like to see down the stretch.  There’s nothing better than two teams scraping for the final playoff spots duking it out as the weather turns.  We’re not quite to the Fall yet, but this one is a true six pointer.  Red Bulls hold the final playoff spot, one point ahead of Chicago, although the Fire do have a game in hand.  Will Red Bulls give themselves some breathing room or will Chicago take a jump above the playoff line?