Atlanta

There was no doubt about who the dominant side was on the day, as City finished with 66 per cent possession and 16 shots to the Rapids' six, while completing nearly double the amount of passes (529-271).

Despite their struggles, it would be Colorado who broke the deadlock as Michael Barrios struck a low drive into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area in the 68th minute.

The lead would be short-lived, with Talles Magno expertly controlling a cross on his chest before volleying in the equaliser less than five minutes later in the 72nd minute.

New York would produce multiple quality opportunities down the stretch, but the Colorado defense would hold firm and take a valuable point away from home, slightly improving their standing up to ninth in the Western Conference.

City remain one point clear of New York Red Bulls atop the East, while further down the table Atlanta United were convincing 2-0 winners against Inter Miami.

Atlanta were in control all game, taking the lead through a Luiz Araujo strike in the fourth minute and finishing with 60 per cent possession.

It was Josef Martinez who assisted Araujo's goal, and Araujo returned the favour, assisting Martinez in the 61st minute to double United's advantage and allow the home side to cruise to the win.

New England came from a goal down to defeat Minnesota United 2-1 at home after the visitors went ahead in the 37th minute through an Emanuel Reynoso penalty.

Minnesota were deserving leaders early, with 10 shots to one in the first half, and all five of the game's shots on target.

That all flipped on its head in the second half, as New England were able to produce 10 shots compared to United's three, with 20-year-old Dylan Borrero equalising in the 53rd minute, before Gustavo Bou scored a terrific free-kick winner in the 69th.

Rounding out Sunday's action was a surprise result as the team with the worst goal differential in the league – Sporting KC (minus 14) – defeated Nashville SC 2-1 on the road.

In a scrappy, defensive battle, neither side finished with more than 0.80 expected goals, but it would be the visitors who were more clinical with their two goals both coming from well outside the penalty area.

Felipe Hernandez scored the game's first goal with an indirect free kick from close to 40 yards out as the bounce beat the Nashville goalie, before Graham Zusi curled in a beauty into the far post with his left boot. Sporting KC finished with 0.35 expected goals.

Charlotte's win moves them up to 10th in the Eastern Conference, with the visitors scoring twice in the final quarter of an hour to claim victory.

The defeat means City have only managed one point from their past four games and sit third in the east with 42 points from 25 games.

Karol Swiderski had put Charlotte ahead in the fourth minute despite goalkeeper Sean Johnson's best efforts on the line, but City levelled before the half hour mark via Maxime Chanot's 30-yard strike into the top corner.

City's Anton Tinnerholm struck the crossbar from range before Charlotte found an avenue to victory with Swiderski's clever back-heel for Brandt Bronico to restore their lead in the 77th minute.

The visitors won an injury time penalty after video review which ex-Leicester City defender Christian Fuchs coolly converted to seal all three points.

Domenico Criscito lashed in a spectacular 75th-minute equaliser to earn Toronto a 2-2 draw with New England Revolution.

Filippo Bernadeschi had put Toronto ahead with a 31st-minute spotkick, but the Revs replied with goals either side of half-time from Tom McNamara and Justin Rennicks.

But Criscito intervened when Toronto took a corner short to Michael Bradley who lobbed to the edge of the box towards the former Italy international, who rifled in a left-foot volley.

Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union were beaten 1-0 by FC Dallas with US international Jesus Ferreira scoring the only goal in the 34th minute.

Paul Arriolo broke down the right flank and passed centrally for Ferreira, who showed good skill to create space inside the box and fire a low strike past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

New York Red Bulls reinforced their status as playoffs contenders with a 2-1 win at struggling Atlanta United while Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Colorado Rapids 2-1.

NYRB had to hold in final stages after leading by three goals at one stage, with goals from Sebastian Driussi and Ethan Finlay bringing Austin back in the contest, but Gerhard Struber's side deservedly took the win to keep up with Philadelphia Union and New York City.

First-half goals from Serge Ngoma and Dru Yearwood had the visitors up 2-1 at the interval after Driussi's first of the night, but Yearwood then set up Cameron Harper, who deftly cut inside Ruben Gabrielsen and finished to make it 3-1 after 51 minutes.

Substitute Tom Barlow made it 4-1 14 minutes later with a thumping finish on the half-volley straight from Carlos Coronel's goal-kick.

Following Union and City's wins on Saturday, NYRB restored their gap to the Eastern Conference's top two to five points with the win and joined Austin in earning the most wins on the road this season, with seven.

Los Angeles Galaxy marginally moved back into the Western Conference's playoff spots in Sunday's later game, defeating Atlanta United 2-0.

Needing the three points after losing their previous three games, the Galaxy hit the lead in only the seventh minute through Kevin Cabral.

They sought to absorb pressure in the second half with only 35.7 per cent possession, before substitute Dejan Joveljic eventually scored the sealer on the break in added time.

Greg Vanney's side moved into seventh in the Western Conference with the win, leapfrogging Portland Timbers despitte both being on 30 points, having secured two more wins.

Gerhard Stuber's side looked to absorb pressure for the majority of the match and captain Aaron Long put them ahead in the 53rd minute, heading in at the back post after a finely worked corner routine.

Choice became necessity after a VAR review that forced Sean Nealis off in the 73rd minute, but they were able to hold out against a Sporting KC that failed to penetrate in possession.

The win makes for the first time NYRB have managed consecutive wins in the MLS since April, also putting them on 32 points, now two points clear of Philadelphia Union.

The Union were in a similarly dour contest, generating only two shots in the penalty area from open play in a goal-less draw away to Columbus Crew.

The Crew had an opportunity to take the lead in the 19th minute, only for Andre Blake to save Pedro Santos' penalty.

New Yoirk City are a further point back on 29 points, after they played out a 2-2 draw at home to Atlanta United, while the New England Revolution and Cincinnati also managed a 2-2 draw.

In the Western Conference meanwhile, Real Salt Lake critically slipped up in a chance to make up ground following LAFC's loss on Saturday, going down 3-2 to Minnesota United.

RSL were down 3-0 at one stage until Jefferson Savarino inspired a dramatic late fightback, scoring and assisting for substitute Anderson Julio within a five-minute span.

It was not enough however, with LAFC maintaining a five-point gap to second-placed Austin FC.

Elsewhere in the West, Nashville and Portland Timbers played out a 2-2 draw, while Houston Dynamo lost 2-1 at home to Charlotte FC.

In Sunday's final game, the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 via Benjamin Kikanovic's brace, with his first coming after the Quakes extraordinarily hit the frame of the goal twice in the same passage.

The Red Bulls have not won since MLS returned following the Leagues Cup break, with Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire extending their winless streak to four games.

They have now slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference and though a playoff berth still looks overwhelmingly likely, the pressure is on as they battle for a home seeding.

"Pressure is normal in professional sports, especially when you lose games like we did, or like the home game against Philly," Schwarz said.

"But we can influence this with our behaviour on the field and off the field, and it starts today. 

"We have to change our behaviour immediately now for the last five games and the pressure is normal. It's also normal to have pressure when you win, for the game after."

Atlanta, meanwhile, are one point outside the playoff picture, having earned a creditable 2-2 draw with Inter Miami in midweek.

"From a tactical point of view maybe it's not the type of soccer we want to play, but in terms of work rate and a commitment to try to win the game, it gets you far. You can't just turn it on or turn it off, it doesn't work that way," interim boss Rob Valentino said.

On the playoff battle, he added: "I think we were one point out of it so I can't sit here and think about being disappointed.

"We move forward, now we're going to have to pick up points on the road."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Dante Vanzeir

Vanzeir recorded his 12th goal involvement of the season as the Red Bulls were beaten in Chicago last time out, teeing up Dennis Gjengaar's equaliser.

His 10 assists in MLS play this term are more than twice that of the next-closest Red Bulls players, with Elias Manoel, Lewis Morgan and Dylan Nealis all having four apiece.

Atlanta United – Aleksey Miranchuk 

Miranchuk's late goal salvaged a draw for Atlanta versus Miami last time out, his first MLS goal in his fourth appearance in the competition. If the Five Stripes are to gatecrash the playoffs, they need him to produce in the coming weeks.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

The Red Bulls trounced Atlanta 4-0 at Red Bull Arena when the sides met in this exact fixture last season, and while Atlanta should be more competitive this time around, another home win looks likely.

Saturday's hosts have only lost one of their 14 home matches in MLS play this year, winning seven and drawing six. 

Atlanta, meanwhile, have lost half (7/14) of their road games, and have only won one of their last six matches in all competitions (three draws, two defeats).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 51.8%

Atlanta United – 23.7%

Draw – 24.6%

City had ended a three-game losing run with a 2-0 win at Chicago Fire 10 days before losing to Orlando City on the weekend but their poor form continued at Red Bull Arena.

Ola Kamara tapped in from point blank range to give the visitors at 24th-minute lead, but Heber side-footed in an equalizer three minutes later.

Steven Birnbaum restored United's lead with a header from a Martin Rodriguez free-kick in the 57th minute and City could not find a response with David Ochoa palming away Gedion Zelalem's 95th-minute effort.

The win is Wayne Rooney's second since taking over at United who are still last in the Eastern Conference, while it sees City slide down to fourth in the east.

Riqui Puig scored a spectacular late equalizer with a long-range curler after a give-and-go to earn LA Galaxy a 2-2 draw away to Toronto.

Douglas Costa had put the Galaxy into a 24th-minute lead before Toronto hit back with second-half goals to Jesus Jimenez and Filippo Bernardeschi before the Spaniard's 89th-minute strike.

Riqui Puig was making only his third appearance for the Galaxy following his August move from Barcelona.

The result dents star-studded Toronto's playoffs aspirations, leaving them 10th in the east, while the Galaxy are eighth in the west.

Philadelphia Union became the second team behind LAFC to book their postseason berth with a 4-1 home win over Atlanta United.

Julian Carranza, Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag and Nathan Harriel were all among the goals for Union who are eight points clear in the east.

New York Red Bulls moved up to third in the east with a 1-0 win at second-placed Montreal with Lewis Morgan hitting the winner in the 43rd minute.

LAFC suffered a shock 2-1 loss to lowly Houston Dynamo, who condemning the Western Conference leaders to their third straight defeat.

Inter Miami slumped to back-to-back losses with a 1-0 defeat at Columbus Crew, while New England's winless run extended to four games after a goalless draw with struggling Chicago Fire who snapped a three-game losing run.

Hany Mukhtar netted a hat-trick as Nashville beat Colorado Rapids 4-1, while Orlando City came from two goals down to defeat Seattle Sounders 3-2.

Real Salt Lake proved too good for Minnesota United 3-0 and Portland Timbers moved into the west's top seven with a narrow win against second-placed Austin 2-1.

City had ended a three-game losing run with a 2-0 win at Chicago Fire 10 days before losing to Orlando City on the weekend but their poor form continued at Red Bull Arena.

Ola Kamara tapped in from point blank range to give the visitors at 24th-minute lead, but Heber side-footed in an equalizer three minutes later.

Steven Birnbaum restored United's lead with a header from a Martin Rodriguez free-kick in the 57th minute and City could not find a response with David Ochoa palming away Gedion Zelalem's 95th-minute effort.

The win is Wayne Rooney's second since taking over at United who are still last in the Eastern Conference, while it sees City slide down to fourth in the east.

Riqui Puig scored a spectacular late equalizer with a long-range curler after a give-and-go to earn LA Galaxy a 2-2 draw away to Toronto.

Douglas Costa had put the Galaxy into a 24th-minute lead before Toronto hit back with second-half goals to Jesus Jimenez and Filippo Bernardeschi before the Spaniard's 89th-minute strike.

Riqui Puig was making only his third appearance for the Galaxy following his August move from Barcelona.

The result dents star-studded Toronto's playoffs aspirations, leaving them 10th in the east, while the Galaxy are eighth in the west.

Philadelphia Union became the second team behind LAFC to book their postseason berth with a 4-1 home win over Atlanta United.

Julian Carranza, Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag and Nathan Harriel were all among the goals for Union who are eight points clear in the east.

New York Red Bulls moved up to third in the east with a 1-0 win at second-placed Montreal with Lewis Morgan hitting the winner in the 43rd minute.

LAFC suffered a shock 2-1 loss to lowly Houston Dynamo, who condemning the Western Conference leaders to their third straight defeat.

Inter Miami slumped to back-to-back losses with a 1-0 defeat at Columbus Crew, while New England's winless run extended to four games after a goalless draw with struggling Chicago Fire who snapped a three-game losing run.

Hany Mukhtar netted a hat-trick as Nashville beat Colorado Rapids 4-1, while Orlando City came from two goals down to defeat Seattle Sounders 3-2.

Real Salt Lake proved too good for Minnesota United 3-0 and Portland Timbers moved into the west's top seven with a narrow win against second-placed Austin 2-1.

The Five Stripes went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal at Inter&Co Stadium full of confidence after ditching Lionel Messi and the rest of Miami's stars out of the playoffs last time out.

Yet it was Orlando who, for the first time in club history, booked their place in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to Ramiro Enrique's 39th-minute winner.

Enrique tucked in from close range after Atlanta failed to clear their lines from a corner.

That goal came after Orlando had started brightly, with Dagur Thorhallsson hitting the woodwork early on before Facundo Torres saw an effort cleared off the line.

Buoyed by a fine record against Orlando, who they had lost to just four times in 22 meetings ahead of this contest, Atlanta pressed for an equaliser after the break, but they could not find a way through a robust Lions defence.

Orlando will now host the New York Red Bulls in next week's Eastern Conference final, with a place in the MLS Cup final on the line.

Data Debrief: Stay away from the Lions' den

Fresh from the Orlando Pride's victory in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday, Orlando had plenty to live up to if they wanted to cap a great sporting weekend for the city.

And they did just that, with the backing of a vociferous crowd that helped them get over the line. Those fans will be called on again next week when the Red Bulls roll into town, but Orlando need not fear. They have lost only one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions (W9 D4 including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss). 

And while Atlanta huffed and puffed, they never really threatened to blow the door down, as Orlando limited them to just eight shots, with none of those hitting the target.

Indeed, Orlando had openings on the counter and could have put the match to bed with a bit more composure, as they finished with 1.3 expected goals to Atlanta's 0.4 xG.

The Five Stripes go into the final day in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Philadelphia Union, and three points behind the cut-off line.

While needing favourable outcomes from the matches involving CF Montreal and D.C. United, Gregersen said the focus must remain on their own performance, while also trying to maintain momentum from their win over the New York Red Bulls last time out.

“I think it's a little bit sad that we had the break because we were so good into this match, but of course, we have to look back at it and keep up,” said Gregersen. “Continue with the confidence we had after this game and continue this weekend, in the training.”

“Every match has its pressure, but this one will be a little bit more special. But we need to focus on ourselves because we know that we have to win.

“After that, we will see what happens with the other teams. I don’t want to know what happens in the other games because we have to win. We can’t control what they are doing. We have to focus on ourselves and then we will see.”

Orlando, meanwhile, have already confirmed their place in the postseason, but are arguably the most in-form team heading into the playoffs.

The Lions’ last fixture before the international break saw them sweep aside FC Cincinnati away from home, earning their sixth win from their last seven MLS games (L1). During that run, they have also scored 19 goals.

Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja understands what is at stake for Atlanta this weekend but highlighted the importance of his team scoring the first goal to control the pace of the game.

“We have found net. We have found answers from our forwards. The offensive side of the team has improved tremendously. I think the compromise that they have had with our defensive phase has brought that product,” Pareja said.  

“It doesn't make sense, but that they are scoring goals because they are defending better, and we are much, much better team when we have this commitment that the boys had up front and we're happy to do it. It's the same as we ask the defenders.

“And I said, you have to be proactive to play with the ball, and you have to have personality to play with the ball because that's the best way to defend, just being offensive. So, I'm very proud of the guys. The guys are doing a good job.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Orlando City – Facundo Torres

Torres has recorded 19 goal contributions this season (14 goals, five assists) tied for the second-most in a single season in Orlando's MLS history.

The only player with a season with 20 or more goal contributions for the Lions was Nani, who recorded 22 goal contributions in the 2019 campaign.

Atlanta United – Saba Lobjanidze 

Lobjanidze enters the final match of the season as Atlanta’s leading scorer with eight goals.

The Five Stripes have had at least one 10-goal scorer in each of the team’s first six full MLS seasons (excluding shortened 2020 season) with at least one player scoring 12 times in each season.

MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN

The last 10 meetings between Orlando and Atlanta have been split, with each side winning three times and drawing four. Neither team has won two consecutive times over those meetings with Atlanta recording a 2-0 home win in the last matchup on March 17.

However, the Lions have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches (D1 L2), including the last three in a row. No team has collected more points than Orlando’s 31 since the beginning of July.

Atlanta have 37 points entering the final match of the season. The fewest points the Five Stripes have totalled over a full MLS season (excluding shortened 2020 season) is 40 in 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Orlando City – 57.9%

Draw –21.9%

Atlanta United – 20.2%

A day after the MLS is Back Tournament was announced, the league held a draw for the group stage on Thursday, placing the 26 teams into six groups.

Sixteen teams will then progress to the knockout stage, which will begin on July 25 ahead of an August 11 final.

Aside from the opening match, the rest of the tournament schedule has yet to be announced.

The groups for the MLS is Back Tournament:

Group A (Eastern Conference): Orlando City, Inter Miami, New York City, Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire, Nashville SC.
Group B (Western Conference): Seattle Sounders, Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps, San Jose Earthquakes.
Group C (Eastern Conference): Toronto, New England Revolution, Montreal Impact, DC United.
Group D (Western Conference): Real Salt Lake, Sporting Kansas City, Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United.
Group E (Eastern Conference): Atlanta United, FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls, Columbus Crew.
Group F (Western Conference): Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers.

RSL moved above Portland Timbers into the last playoffs spot in the Western Conference with their 3-1 victory, while Orlando achieved the same feat in the east after beating Columbus Crew 2-1 after a late penalty.

Pablo Mastroeni's RSL will take on two seed Austin in the first round of the MLS playoffs, navigating their way past Portland who started the day in sixth spot, but dropped to eighth, with Minnesota United also qualifying with their 2-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps.

Jefferson Savarino settled any nerves for RSL, who had claimed only three wins from their past 17 games, by curling in a 19th-minute opener before Rubio Rubin's deflected shot doubled their lead in the 48th minute.

Bode Hidalgo sealed RSL's playoffs spot with a classy finish in the 82nd minute, with Dairon Asprilla scoring a late consolation for the Timbers.

Minnesota, who will take on Dallas in the first round of the playoffs, got their win after Franco Fragapane's low 17th-minute drive. Jonathon Gonzalez added a second with a left-foot volley in the 77th minute to seal the Loons' spot.

Hany Mukhtar was confirmed as the MLS Golden Boot winner with 23 goals, although he did not score as Nashville locked in the five seed with a 1-0 win over Supporters Shield winners LAFC.

Teal Bunbury scored the only goal in the 53rd minute, with Nashville to face LA Galaxy in the playoffs. Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 3-1 with Riqui Puig and Javier Hernandez among the scorers.

Facundo Torres converted an 84th-minute spot kick to send Orlando into the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Crew. The Lions will take on Eastern Conference two seed Montreal.

Columbus came into the game one point ahead of Orlando and had gone ahead through Derick Etienne in the 38th minute.

Junior Urso leveled for Orlando in the 56th minute before Milos Degenek's handball led to Torres' decisive penalty, condemning the Crew to missing the playoffs.

Cincinnati clinched their spot in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, leapfrogging up into the five seed slot, with their 5-2 win at struggling DC United.

Brenner hit a hat-trick for Cincy, who will take on New York Red Bulls in the playoffs. The Red Bulls won 2-0 over Charlotte after Elias Manoel's double to secure the four seed.

Inter Miami lost 3-1 at home to Montreal, meaning Phil Neville's side slipped to the six seed and will take on reigning MLS Cup champions New York City. City beat Atlanta United 2-1 to clinch the three seed.

In other games, Seattle Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes drew 2-2, Chicago Fire drew 1-1 with New England and Austin and Colorado Rapids ended 1-1 after Diego Rubio's late equalizer for the visitors.

Eastern Conference winners Philadelphia Union thrashed Toronto 4-0 with Daniel Gazdag netting a hat-trick, while Western Conference three seed Dallas got past Sporting KC 2-1.

The Lions are the highest-seeded team in the East, meaning they will have home advantage for the final if they make it past Atlanta United on Sunday.

They beat Charlotte FC in the first round, winning both of their home matches – the second on penalties – to advance, and Pareja remains hopeful his side can keep their playoff journey going.

"It's good [that the road to the final goes through Orlando]," he said. "I'm always optimistic to advance and have the advantage to play it at home and the next game.

"In Major League Soccer, anything can happen. I would love to not just advance to the final of the conference but to bring the MLS Cup here. Our responsibility is to play one game at a time, and we're going to be ready for this one for sure."

Atlanta, meanwhile, pulled off arguably one of the greatest upsets in playoff history when they knocked out MLS Cup favourites Inter Miami.

Having lost the first tie, they won the following two in the series to advance, having previously been given a slim chance of making the playoffs in the first place, getting through by beating Orlando 2-1 away on decision day.

Before another trip to Florida, Dax McCarty outlined the ways in which they can make it difficult for their hosts.

"It's a fine balance," he said. "You don't want to allow them to have too much of the ball, because then we get frustrated...

"We're just going to have to be sharp in all phases of the game, in transition and possession, because if we can keep the ball away from them, they don't want that, they'll get a little bit frustrated."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Orlando City – Facundo Torres

Facundo Torres' equalizing goal at 101:47 in Game 3 against Charlotte FC was the third-latest stoppage time goal in MLS history (regular season & playoffs).

It was also the second-latest result-changing goal (Tom Barlow – 90'+17 for New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes in 2023).

Atlanta United – Jamal Thiare

Jamal Thiare's two goals in 107 seconds in the first half of Atlanta’s Game 3 win over Inter Miami was the fastest a player has scored twice in a postseason match since Nicolas Mezquida scored two goals in 90 seconds for the Vancouver Whitecaps against San Jose in the 2017 playoffs.

MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN

This will be the first postseason meeting between Orlando and Atlanta. Orlando have four wins in 22 all-time meetings with the Five Stripes (D7 L11), including losing the only previous knockout match 2-0 in the 2019 US Open Cup semifinals.

Orlando have lost only one of their last 13 home matches in all competitions (W8 D4, including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss). Orlando's only home defeat in that time was a 2-1 loss to Atlanta United on October 19.

Atlanta's 3-2 win at Miami in Game 3 on November 9 ended a six-match road winless run in the playoffs (D1, advancing in a penalty shoot-out, L5).

It was Atlanta's second-ever road playoff win after also beating NYCFC on the road in the 2018 conference semifinals.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Orlando City – 55.6%

Draw – 22.9%

Atlanta United – 21.5%

Atlanta sit 12th in the Eastern Conference, 21 points adrift of pacesetters Miami, after failing to win any of their last nine matches since the start of April (four draws, five defeats).

Sporting Kansas City (two) are the only team in MLS to earn fewer than the four points Atlanta have picked up in that span.

However, Pineda believes the fact Atlanta are still creating chances is a major positive, saying Thiago Almada's return to full fitness will surely lead to an upturn.

Speaking after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC, he said: "I'm very confident in the team, honestly. 

"Once again I thought we created some big chances, and we didn't have Thiago available for more than 30 minutes. With that, we have our backline being stable again and we'll have our best attacking pieces together again.

"That's the confidence I have. We're creating chances and we just need to be a little bit more clinical."

Miami, meanwhile, continued their strong form with a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps last time out, despite Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets all being rested.

While Messi's absence infuriated many of the 55,000 fans present in Vancouver, coach Gerardo Martino says it was important to give the Argentina great a breather, and he is expected to feature on Wednesday.

"It must be stressed that he has played a lot of minutes this season, so we had to find a moment to give him a break and to rest him for a match," Martino said of Messi.

"In this specific case, the trip to Vancouver made the most sense. We understand people's frustrations, especially because of the desire these fans have to see these players. 

"But as coaches, we have to make these decisions that are uncomfortable and that will frustrate people. Ultimately we have to look after our players and the team."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Inter Miami – Leonardo Campana

Prior to missing last week's trip to Vancouver, Messi had gone consecutive starts without a goal contribution for the second time since joining Miami last year. 

Fortunately for the Herons, Campana has stepped up, hitting back-to-back winners against D.C. United and the Whitecaps. He has four goals in MLS this term, despite only making six starts.

Atlanta United – Brooks Lennon

No Atlanta player has recorded more key passes in MLS this year than Lennon's 33, a tally only Almada can match. 

If the Five Stripes are to end their dismal run of form, he could have a key role to play.

MATCH PREDICTION – INTER MIAMI WIN

Atlanta are winless in 13 straight away matches in all competitions (seven draws, six defeats), and have now managed just four wins in their last 43 road games.

Miami, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last 10 MLS matches, winning seven of the last eight. They even showed they can cope without Messi on Saturday, recording just their third win in 14 matches without the Argentine since his arrival last July (five draws, six losses).

Miami have never lost a home game against Atlanta, winning four and drawing two versus them, including winning each of the teams' last three clashes in Fort Lauderdale.

The only road win in the 12-match history of the teams' series was a 2-1 victory for the Herons at Atlanta in September 2020.

Martino's team enter Wednesday's game as big favourites, regardless of the status of their stars.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Inter Miami – 51.2%

Atlanta United – 25.7%

Draw – 23.1%

Caden Clark had put the Red Bulls up with a spectacular goal early in the second half but last season's Western Conference top spot finishers hit back.

Gadi Kinda netted a 59th minute penalty with Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi putting KC ahead barely 60 seconds later with a simple close-range finish.

New York City were also opening day losers, blowing a 1-0 lead to go down 2-1 at D.C. United.

City, who reached last season's play-offs, went ahead on the quarter hour from Valentin Castellanos.

But United responded by taking the lead before the interval with a sensational long-range drive from Brendan Hines-Ike and another from Russell Canouse, coming from a perfectly executed corner routine.

10-man Revolution hit back, Pato debut

Last season's semi-finalists New England Revolution fought back from two goals down to claim a thrilling 2-2 draw away to Chicago Fire.

Revolution, who were reduced to 10 men in second-half stoppage time after a DeJuan Jones red card, trailed 2-0 after 11 minutes following goals from Robert Beric and Luka Stojanovic.

Polish attacker Adam Buksa and Gustavo Gou netted in the following 15 minutes to level the match.

New England debutant Edward Kizza should have scored the winner when he struck the crossbar with an 87th minute header.

Victor Wanyama was among the goals as Montreal eased past Toronto 4-2 in their Canadian clash, while former Brazil international Alexandre Pato debuted for 2020 quarter-finalists Orlando City who had a scoreless draw with Atlanta United.

However, Pato limped off in the 80th minute with an apparent knee issue which will have Orlando sweating on scans.

Los Angeles FC started the new season with a solid 2-0 victory at home over newcomers Austin with goals from Corey Baird and Jose Cifuentes.

Nashville fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Cincinnati thanks to Randall Leal's 64th minute long-range curler, while Dallas and Colorado also played out a 0-0 draw.

Premature substitution

LAFC coach Michael Bradley admitted he "might have jumped the gun" when he accidentally subbed off star Mexican attacker Carlos Vela in the 22nd minute after he waved in his direction. In hindsight, Vela was calling for treatment from a trainer after picking up a knock.

Teenager's special strike

The Red Bulls went ahead when 17-year-old midfielder Clark fired in a superb volley out of mid-air. The teenager appears a star in the making.

Saturday's results

Montreal 4-2 Toronto FC
Orlando City 0-0 Atlanta United
Los Angeles FC 2-0 Austin
Sporting KC 2-1 New York Red Bulls 
FC Dallas 0-0 Colorado Rapids
DC United 2-1 New York City FC
Chicago Fire 2-2 New England Revolution
Nashville 2-2 Cincinnati

Galaxy in Florida

There's three games on Sunday including a glamour fixture between David Beckham's Inter Miami against his former club Los Angeles Galaxy.

Nashville had gone ahead in the 28th minute from Hany Mukhtar's penalty but Hernandez was the centre of attention once again.

The former Manchester United forward failed to convert a 97th-minute penalty attempting a Panenka last Sunday against Sporting KC, spurning a hat-trick and winner.

Hernandez stepped up again in the 55th minute after being bundled over by Shaquell Moore but had his low shot tipped around the post by goalkeeper Joel Willis.

With their season on the line, the Galaxy earned a late reprieve after a penalty was awarded for a Walker Zimmerman handball following VAR review, with the defender receiving a second yellow card.

But Riqui Puig grabbed the ball and took the responsibility instead of Hernandez, before firing just beyond Willis' fingertips for the goal.

The result means the Galaxy are winless in three games and sit eighth in the Western Conference on 40 points.

Western Conference leaders LAFC stumbled again, suffering their fourth loss in their past five games with a 2-1 defeat to Dallas.

Jesus Ferreira boosted his claims on a spot in USA's World Cup squad with a double for Dallas, while LAFC were reduced to 10 men after Ryan Hollingshead's 13th-minute red card.

Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union showed why they are arguably the best team in the MLS with a 5-1 thrashing of Orlando City securing their fifth straight victory.

Lewis Morgan scored a 78th-minute penalty to help New York Red Bulls secure a 2-1 home win over New England to firm up their grip on third in the east.

New York City suffered their seventh defeat from their past nine games, going down 1-0 to Charlotte.

Brenner scored a hat-trick as Cincinnati extended their unbeaten run to nine games, winning 6-0 over San Jose Earthquakes

Thiago Almada fired in a golazo as Atlanta United defeated Toronto 4-2, while Inter Miami slumped to a third straight loss with a 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire.

Seattle Sounders toppled Austin 3-0, Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC drew 0-0, Portland Timbers edged Minnesota United 1-0, Colorado Rapids beat Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 and Real Salt Lake and DC United ended goalless.

Messi, 33, is contracted at Barcelona until the end of the season, having stayed at the club after sensationally requesting to leave earlier this year.

With uncertainty still surrounding his future, the Barcelona star is apparently wanted by PSG.

TOP STORY – PSG EXPLORING POSSIBILITY OF SIGNING MESSI

PSG are exploring the possibility of signing Barcelona star Messi, according to ESPN.

Along with Manchester City and Inter, PSG have been among the clubs most heavily linked with a move for the Argentina international.

The report says Neymar and sporting director Leonardo have discussed bringing Messi to PSG.

It comes just days after Neymar said he wanted to play with Messi again and was keen for it to happen "next season".

ROUND-UP

- Still linked with Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, Manchester United could look elsewhere. The Sun reports United are eyeing Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes as a possible alternative.

- Staying at Manchester United and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been under some pressure. Bild reports the Premier League giants are interested in PSG coach Thomas Tuchel if they decide to sack Solskjaer.

- With Christian Eriksen seemingly set for an exit, Inter are considering their midfield transfer targets. CalcioMercato reports Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante remains Inter's dream signing, but Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum is also an option with his contract expiring at the end of the season. However, the report also says Inter could challenge Liverpool for the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma.

- Also at Liverpool, the Premier League champions are reportedly still eyeing a centre-back amid their injury woes. Bild reports RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano is on their list, as is his 21-year-old team-mate Ibrahima Konate.

- Atlanta United could be close to appointing a new coach. TyC Sports says former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze, most recently in charge of Velez Sarsfield, is a step away from taking over at the MLS club.

The Brazilian substitute leapt high to head home at the back post in the 85th minute from Olivier Mbaizo's cross.

Despite being reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Matthew Freese's inexplicable red card, Philadelphia were good value for a draw, edging possession 54-46 per cent and having more shots on target (7-3).

The Red Bulls had been hoping to move up as high as third spot in the Eastern Conference and looked on track when Patryk Klimala put them ahead from the spot.

New York won the penalty when Freese made a comical error, trying to dribble past Wikelman Carmona from a backpass.

Freese's touch was poor, opening the door for Carmona to tap in, with the keeper resorting to tackling the Red Bulls midfielder for a clear-cut penalty and red card.

Polish midfielder Klimala sent substitute keeper Joe Bendik the wrong way from the spot, but New York would be denied late by Santos' pinpoint header.

Philadelphia, remain winless from their past three games, but are third, four points behind Eastern Conference leaders New England. The Red Bulls stay seventh.

Nashville moved up to fifth with a 2-2 home draw against 10-man Atlanta United.

United had opened the scoring after captain Anton Walkes' fifth-minute header but Nashville replied with Hany Mukhtar setting up Jalil Anibaba to equalize before netting a 48th-minute penalty following Erick Torres' handball.

Atlanta's teenage substitute Jackson Conway equalized shortly prior to the hour mark but United were forced to hang on with Irish defender Jake Mulraney sent off late.

A Patryk Klimala brace secured the win for New York, including a penalty in the 91st minute, as they claimed top spot in the East on goal difference over Philadelphia Union. Both are on 17 points, but Philadelphia are still to play Nashville on Sunday.

Chicago also scored from the penalty spot to hit the lead, with Xherdan Shaqiri converting in the 16th minute after Ashley Fletcher was judged to have handled the ball.

New York regrouped after a weather delay which forced the two sides off, and substitute Klimala eventually restored parity after a fine assist from Luqinhas in the 75th minute.

A clumsy challenge at the death from Miguel Navarro handed New York the chance to snatch an otherwise even contest, and Klimala calmly put his penalty away for the three points.

Orlando City also moved to 17 points with a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC on Saturday, but have played 10 games in comparison to NYRB's nine and Philadelphia's eight.

Montreal CF and Columbus Crew kept within touching distance after respective wins over Atlanta and DC United meanwhile, and in Saturday's other Eastern Conference matchup, Cincinnati beat Toronto 2-1.

New England Revolution joined Inter Miami as one of the six teams on 10 points in the East, with Damian River and Adam Buksa giving them a 2-0 victory.

In the West meanwhile, Austin FC also came from behind to go top of the conference, beating Texan rival Houston Dynamo 2-1 but in much less dramatic circumstances than NYRB.

Sebastian Ferreira put the Dynamo ahead in only the fifth minute, but Daniel Pereira was able to equalise before the interval.

Sebastian Driussi kept up his recent goal-scoring form and provided the eventual winner for Austin in the 66th minute, finding a pocket of space in the penalty are before rifling into the top corner.

Los Angeles Galaxy lost ground despite dominating the game, losing 1-0 to Real Salt Lake after Marcelo Silva's goal in the 49th minute.

A Mark-Anthony Kaye goal on the counter in injury time secured a 2-0 win for the Colorado Rapids over the Portland Timbers, while Sporting KC and FC Dallas played out a 2-2 draw.

The MLS expansion side had suffered back-to-back losses after creating league history by winning their first five games but responded at CityPark.

Jared Stroud fired in a third-minute opener from a set-piece before Eduard Lowen lashed home a volley in the 39th minute.

Kyle Hiebert glanced in Stroud's cross in first-half stoppage-time and St Louis did not relent after the break, with Nicholas Gioacchini adding another from Rasmus Alm's classy touch in the 53rd minute.

It was five in the 57th minute when Alm's rifled strike from outside the box hit the post and deflected in off goalkeeper Roman Celentano.

Sergio Santos grabbed a consolation for Cincy, who were unbeaten coming into this encounter.

Dairon Asprilla netted an early goal of the year contender with an acrobatic bicycle kick to equalise for Portland Timbers before they raced away with a 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders.

Asprilla brilliantly netted in the 71st minute before Portland added a further three goals in the final 20 minutes, meaning Seattle slipped from top spot in the West.

Sean Zawadzki netted a 90th-minute equaliser as Columbus Crew pinched a 1-1 home draw with 10-man New England, who move up to top spot in the Eastern Conference ahead of Cincinnati.

Lorenzo Insigne returned from a groin injury as Toronto drew 2-2 with Atlanta. Toronto have drawn four games in a row.

DC United ended their six-game winless run with a 1-0 victory over last-placed Montreal, while New York Red Bulls' streak without a win extended to four games after a 1-1 draw with Houston Dynamo.

Keaton Parks and Maxime Chanot scored excellent early goals as New York City moved up to fifth in the East with a 2-1 win over Nashville.

Austin drew 0-0 with Vancouver Whitecaps, while Orlando City rallied from behind to get past Minnesota United 2-1.

Bernard Kamungo scored an 88th-minute winner as Dallas moved up to fourth in the West with a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, while San Jose Earthquakes crushed Sporting KC 3-0 with a Jeremy Ebobisse double.

Struggling Charlotte drew 2-2 with Colorado Rapids and Philadelphia Union's winless run extended to five games with a 2-2 draw at Chicago Fire although they fought back from 2-0 down.

City had made MLS history by winning their first five games but that was ended by the Loons with Amarilla drilling home the spot kick after a needless challenge by Kyle Hiebert.

Hiebert brought down Amarilla just inside the box with a rash tackle when Jakob Nerwinski appeared to have Kervin Arriaga's wayward pass under control.

Substitute Samuel Adeniran came closest to equalising for St Louis, with a 95th-minute shot going over the bar after a great first touch from Klauss' right-wing cut back.

St Louis remain top of the table with 15 points from six games, but unbeaten Minnesota climb up to fourth in the Western Conference.

Cincinnati continued their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 home triumph over Inter Miami who slumped to their fourth straight defeat.

Yerson Mosquera scored the 45th-minute winner for Cincy, who are top of the Eastern Conference.

Giorgos Giakoumakis scored an early winner as Atlanta United moved up to second in the East with a 1-0 home win over New York Red Bulls, who are down in 12th in that conference.

Jordan Morris and Leo Chu scored first-half goals as Seattle Sounders stayed second in the West with a 2-1 victory at LA Galaxy, who are without a win and have only three points from five games.

LAFC remained unbeaten and third in the West despite a 0-0 draw at the winless Colorado Rapids, while SJ Earthquakes climbed to fifth with a 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo with all three goals coming from penalties.

Vancouver Whitecaps snapped a run of three straight draws with a resounding 5-0 win over 10-man Montreal with Simon Becher scoring a double. Becher is the fastest player (87 minutes) in MLS history to score his first four goals.

Franck Boli rescued a 1-1 draw for Portland Timbers at Dallas, Chicago Fire and DC United drew 0-0 and Nashville triumphed 2-0 at Orlando City.

Federico Bernardeschi netted another spectacular goal with a strike straight from a corner in Toronto's 2-2 home draw with Charlotte.

Sporting KC remained winless after a 0-0 draw at Philadelphia Union, New England drew 1-1 with New York City and Real Salt Lake suffered their fourth straight loss, going down 4-0 to Columbus Crew.