Montreal Impact

Clark – aged 17 years, four months and 18 days – became the youngest player to score in his first two MLS appearances on Wednesday, per Opta.

Hours after joining the Red Bulls, Clark capped his debut with a goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over Atlanta United.

Clark became the youngest player to score his maiden goal for the Red Bulls since Jozy Altidore in 2006.

He continued where he left off against Toronto, netting the equaliser with 13 minutes remaining midweek.

Following Alejandro Pozuelo's 23rd-minute penalty, Clark earned the visiting Red Bulls a point by firing a shot into the top corner of the net from outside the box.

The Red Bulls are seventh in the Eastern Conference, while Toronto – already play-off bound – remain top through 18 games.

Elsewhere, reigning Supporters' Shield holders Los Angeles FC and struggling LA Galaxy were beaten.

Lucas Cavallini's brace lifted Vancouver Whitecaps to a 2-1 victory against fourth-placed LAFC.

Canada international Cavallini has now scored in back-to-back games after finding the net just twice in his first 11 MLS matches for the Whitecaps, who climbed up to eighth in the standings and in the play-off positions.

As for the Western Conference's bottom side – the Galaxy – they were swept aside 4-0 by San Jose Earthquakes in the Cali Clasico.

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Javier Hernandez was substituted early in the second half, with the Galaxy only managing four goals in the 652 minutes 'Chicharito' has been on the pitch this season.

It was a sixth consecutive defeat for the slumping Galaxy as the Earthquakes moved within a point of LAFC in the west.

Wednesday's scheduled Minnesota United-Chicago Fire fixture was postponed due to a suspected coronavirus case among Minnesota's team delegation.

In other results, New England Revolution edged Montreal Impact 3-2, FC Cincinnati were 2-1 winners over Columbus Crew, Orlando City and New York City drew 1-1, Atlanta saved a 1-1 draw at Inter Miami, Sporting Kansas City fell 1-0 to Dallas, DC United and Philadelphia Union shared the points in a four-goal clash, Real Salt Lake trumped Portland Timbers 2-1 and Nashville accounted for Houston Dynamo 3-1.

Adam Buksa's goal after 70 minutes kept New England atop the east with a 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati.

The Revolution are now five points clear of second-placed Orlando City after the Lions' 2-1 defeat to New York Red Bulls. 

Ten-man New York City FC stunned Los Angeles FC 2-1 on Ismael Tajouri-Shradi's 90th minute goal after Jesus Medina had equalised 20 minutes earlier. 

Trailing 2-0 heading into the final 10 minutes, Nashville saw Hany Mukhtar score in the 80th and 83rd minutes to lift the visitors to a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United.

Mason Toye's 87th-minute strike gave Montreal a 1-0 victory over Chicago Fire, while Columbus Crew held on to beat Toronto FC 2-1 on early goals by Luis Diaz and Gyasi Zardes. 

Sporting Kansas City rallied from a first-half deficiit to defeat Houston Dynamo 3-2 as Gianluca Busio, who turned 19 on Friday, started the comeback with an outrageous free kick. 

Ola Kamara's brace led the way as D.C. United rolled 3-0 to keep Inter Miami winless at home. 

A late own goal from Tanner Beason of the San Jose Earthquakes gave LA Galaxy a 1-0 win.

Niko Hansen's 78th-minute tally salvaged a 1-1 draw for Minnesota United against Real Salt Lake after Damir Kreilach opened the scoring in the 13th minute. 

Colorado Rapids got goals from Keegan Rosenberry, Tanner Tessmann and Michael Barrios to ease past last-place FC Dallas 3-0. 

Bou struck at the death in the play-in match at Gillette Stadium, where the Revolution earned a date with Philadelphia Union in the opening round of the MLS Cup play-offs.

The Argentine forward's goal came on his eighth shot of the match, the most by a Revolution player in a play-off match in club history, per Opta.

Bou's match-winning effort – officially timed at 94 minutes, 37 seconds – is New England's latest winning goal since Kelyn Rowe at 95:47 in 2017.

The tie was level after Montreal's Romell Quioto cancelled out Carles Gil's 38th-minute opener just past the hour mark – the Impact scoring in 21 consecutive away matches (including play-off games), the longest streak in MLS history.

In the day's other play-in fixture, Nashville eased past David Beckham's Inter Miami 3-0.

In a battle of the 2020 expansion sides, Nashville progressed to face Toronto thanks to goals from Randall Leal, Hany Mukhtar and Dax McCarty.

A two-goal first half, fuelled by Leal and Mukhtar, set the tone as Nashville became the first true expansion team to win a play-off match since Chicago Fire in 1998, according to Opta.

Cristian Roldan inspired Seattle to a 3-1 win over the Galaxy in California.

Roldan opened the scoring in the 12th minute, completing a fine team move by getting on the end of a Jordan Morris cross.

Morris doubled the lead seven minutes before half-time, finishing after a lovely pass from Nicolas Lodeiro.

Roldan produced a clinical finish from a Joao Paulo pass to make it 3-0 just after the hour-mark, with Seattle winning despite Sebastian Lletget's late goal for the LA Galaxy.

It marked Roldan's third multi-goal game in MLS, and two have come against the Galaxy.

Seattle are top of the Western Conference, equal on points with the Portland Timbers, who recorded a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

After joining Inter Miami following his Juventus release, Higuain had a tough debut in a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union.

Higuain hit the outside of the post with a bicycle kick and later put a penalty over the crossbar.

Anthony Fontana, Ilsinho and Brenden Aaronson scored for Philadelphia, who are second in the Eastern Conference.

Higuain, meanwhile, has failed to convert his past four penalties in all competitions.

Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew fell to a 3-1 loss to Toronto.

The New York Red Bulls thrashed the Montreal Impact 4-1, the New England Revolution beat DC United 2-0 and Chicago Fire overcame Atlanta United 2-0.

Minnesota United played out a goalless draw with Real Salt Lake, while Dallas' clash with Orlando City also finished 0-0.

The San Jose Earthquakes ended a nine-game winless run by beating Los Angeles FC 2-1.

Alan Pulido, Luis Martins and Daniel Salloi all scored within 16 minutes as KC raced to a 3-0 lead. Salloi's classy volley took his tally to nine goals this MLS season.

Israeli midfielder Gadi Kinda added a fourth in the 58th minute with Graham Zusi getting his second assist, before LAFC got a consolation from Danny Musovski.

The win lifted Sporting KC past Seattle Sounders who conceded in the 90th minute to draw 1-1 at home with Dallas.

Fredy Montero had put the Sounders ahead in the 72nd minute with a set-piece header but Dallas equalised from Franco Jara's 90th-minute close-range strike.

Sporting KC are ahead of Seattle on goal difference, with both sides having 33 points, although the leaders have a game in hand.

LA Galaxy are third following a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake, secured by Efrain Alvarez's cool 53rd-minute winner.

Eastern Conference leaders New England extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 0-0 draw against Nashville, who slip to fourth despite the result.

The draw also extends Nashville's undefeated streak to nine games.

Former England international Kieran Gibbs netted a 66th-minute equaliser to earn Inter Miami a 1-1 draw away to fellow Florida outfit Orlando City. The goal was Gibbs' first in the MLS.

Philadelphia Union ended their three-game winless run with a 3-0 victory over Toronto after three first-half strikes.

Ola Kamara and Yordy Reyna both netted doubles as DC United won 4-2 over Columbus Crew.

Tomas Pochettino scored a first-half brace as struggling Austin won 3-2 over Houston Dynamo.

Chicago Fire and 10-man New York City played out a goalless draw, while New York Red Bulls and Cincinnati also ended 0-0 and Portland Timbers drew 1-1 with San Jose Earthquakes.

Sergio Santos netted three times as Philadelphia crushed Toronto 5-0 at Subaru Park on Saturday.

The result equalled the Union's biggest ever win and Toronto's largest defeat, as per Opta.

Philadelphia needed until the 27th minute to get going, Sergio Santos heading in a wonderful cross from Kai Wagner.

Just six minutes later and the hosts doubled their lead, Mark McKenzie heading in from close range after a corner.

Jamiro scored a spectacular third for Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia in the 56th minute, his 20-yard effort going in off the underside of the crossbar.

Sergio Santos put away two more to complete his hat-trick – the fourth in the Union's history and first since C.J. Sapong in May 2017.

Western Conference leaders Sporting also enjoyed a fine win, thrashing the Colorado Rapids 4-0.

Alan Pulido, Andreu Fontas, Gadi Kinda and Gerso Fernandes netted in the victory.

Leandro Gonzalez Pirez's 89th-minute winner saw Inter Miami – without the suspended Gonzalo Higuain – edge Orlando City 2-1, while DC United overcame Atlanta United 2-1.

New York City recorded a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps were too good for the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.

The Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls drew 2-2, Minnesota United edged Cincinnati 1-0, Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew drew 1-1 and Real Salt Lake and Dallas played out a goalless draw.

Super sub Ruidiaz came off the bench and scored a delightful game-winning goal just past the hour-mark as the Sounders downed Dallas 1-0 in MLS on Wednesday.

The Sounders were winless in 10 consecutive visits to Dallas (D3 L7, including play-offs) dating back to 2014 – their second-longest winless away run against a single opponent in MLS (11 straight at LA Galaxy from 2010 to 2015).

But Seattle snapped that skid thanks to Ruidiaz as Sporting KC's 1-1 draw with Portland Timbers allowed the Sounders to move top of the west by one point.

Atlanta extended their winning streak to three matches after Ezequiel Barco's first-half goal secured a 1-0 win at home to Toronto.

Since the sacking of head coach Gabriel Heinze following a falling out with star Josef Martinez, Atlanta – who had won successive matches for the first time since the opening two games of the 2020 season entering the fixture – have steadily climbed the table.

Atlanta are three points outside of the play-off positions in the Eastern Conference, which is topped by New England Revolution – 3-2 victors against DC United despite ending the contest with 10 men.

Elsewhere, Rodolfo Pizarro's stoppage-time winner guided Inter Miami to a dramatic 3-2 win against Chicago Fire midweek.

Pizarro struck in the 93rd minute to clinch a third straight home triumph for David Beckham's Inter Miami, who have now lost just once in their last six games.

Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls were 1-0 winners over New York City and Columbus Crew respectively, Vancouver Whitecaps topped Austin 2-1, Real Salt Lake defeated Houston Dynamo by the same scoreline, 10-man Montreal drew 0-0 with Cincinnati, while Nashville and Orlando City played out a 1-1 draw.

Defending champions the Sounders secured their post-season berth for the 12th consecutive campaign thanks to goals from Raul Ruidiaz and Nicolas Lodeiro on Tuesday.

Ruidiaz opened the scoring for Seattle in the 54th minute, finishing off Nouhou's cross, after the goal had initially been flagged for offside before VAR intervened.

Western Conference leaders the Sounders doubled their lead six minutes later when Ruidiaz picked out Lodeiro, who finished from inside the penalty area.

Only MLS great and San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski (14) has scored more goals against the Whitecaps in their league history than Lodeiro (six), per Opta.

New York City – fifth in the Eastern Conference – also advanced to the play-offs after Thierry Henry's Impact lost to Nashville 1-0.

Nashville boosted their post-season hopes after leaving Red Bull Arena with maximum points courtesy of Randall Leal's 33rd-minute goal.

Leal is the fourth Nashville player to score three goals this season, tied for the most at the club, while Joe Willis has kept nine clean sheets this term – more than any other goalkeeper in MLS in 2020.

Expansion franchise Nashville are now seventh in the east and on track to qualify for the play-offs in their maiden campaign.

After Raul Ruidiaz's 40th minute opener, the visitors had taken the lead after goals from Cristian Dajome and Lucas Cavallini.

Medranda intervened with his 71st minute strike, coming after a corner was cleared into his path, lashing home from the edge of the box.

The result means Seattle remain top in the Western Conference, having conceded only seven goals in 11 games.

It also ends Vancouver's five-game losing streak, although they remain second last in the west.

Former Manchester United striker Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scored a double to lift LA Galaxy to a 3-1 win away to San Jose Earthquakes.

The Mexico international opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he swept home Samuel Grandsir's dangerous cross from the right.

Hernandez produced a similar finish to double their advantage in the 50th minute, tapping home from Kevin Cabral's ball.

Galaxy are third in the Western Conference, four points behind Seattle with a game in hand.

Philadelphia Union extended their unbeaten run to eight games with a 3-3 draw away to Chicago Fire.

Toronto's struggles continued with a 2-0 home defeat to Cincinnati, condemning them to five consecutive defeats.

Sporting Kansas City defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1, Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo drew 1-1, Minnesota United won 1-0 at Portland Timbers and Abu Danladi netted a late leveller to help Nashville claim a 1-1 home draw with Montreal.

Roldan struck in the 18th minute for the unbeaten Sounders, who left PayPal Park in San Jose with maximum points on Wednesday.

After the Earthquakes failed to clear their lines, Roldan riffled a thunderous half-volley into the back of the net from outside the penalty area.

The Sounders are now four points clear of the Earthquakes and LA Galaxy, who have played a match less in the west.

David Beckham's Inter Miami – coached by former Manchester United defender and midfielder Phil Neville – suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Montreal following a 140-minute weather delay.

Bjorn Johnson scored twice in the space of 11 first-half minutes to give visitors Montreal a 2-0 lead inside the opening half an hour in Miami.

The match was then suspended in the 47th minute due to lightning strikes at DRV PNK Stadium, where Montreal held on for victory after more than two hours of waiting.

Montreal top the Eastern Conference, level on eight points with New England Revolution, who played out a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia Union, while Inter Miami have five points from five games.

Elsewhere, Toronto celebrated their first win of the season after topping defending champions Columbus Crew 2-0, Houston Dynamo were 1-0 victors over Sporting Kansas City, while Minnesota United defeated Vancouver Whitecaps by the same scoreline.

Johnny Russell's 79th-minute goal gave Sporting KC a 2-1 win away to Seattle Sounders, locking up a play-off spot for the second-placed team in the Western Conference table as Russell netted for the seventh straight game.

Colorado also are in after defeating Portland Timbers 2-0 behind golas from Dominique Badji and Diego Rubio. 

The Seattle loss ensured New England, who face Orlando City on Sunday, will finish atop the overall table. The Revs are on 69 points, 20 points clear of Philadelphia and Nashville in the Eastern Conference and 11 clear of Seattle overall. 

Nashville had a chance to clinch the play-offs with a win but fell 1-0 to Philadelphia Union on Kacper Przybylko's first-half penalty. 

Inter Miami got a goal and three assists from Gonzalo Higuain, while his brother Federico also found the net in a 5-1 rout of Cincinnati, who lost their ninth in a row. 

Toronto dealt a blow to rival Montreal's play-off hopes as Jozy Altidore's free kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time secured a 1-1 draw after Sunusi Ibrahim had netted in the 55th minute for the visitors. 

Minnesota and LAFC also finished at 1-1, as did San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps. 

New York City crushed DC United 6-0 and Sean Nealis' 87th-minute goal lifted New York Red Bulls past Columbus Crew 2-1. 

Sebastian Lletget's brilliant 83rd-minute equaliser gave LA Galaxy a 2-2 draw with Dallas, while Chicago Fire downed Real Salt Lake 1-0. 

The victory brought the visitors within two points of the first-placed Sounders in the MLS Western Conference table, with one fewer match played. 

KC captain Johnny Russell set the tone in the 31st minute with a beautiful free kick from just outside the area to give the visitors the lead, and Daniel Salloi doubled the advantage before half-time. 

After Fredy Montero answered for Sounders in the 51st minute, Cameron Duke sneaked behind the defence in the 72nd minute to seal the win. 

KC are unbeaten in their last five matches and have only one loss in their last 10. 

A brace from Gustavo Bou helped New England Revolution expand their lead atop the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over Montreal. 

Kacper Przybylko found the net for the third straight game, putting home a rebound in the 85th minute to salvage a 1-1 draw for Philadelphia against Inter Miami as Phil Neville's side remain bottom of the table. 

New York City FC matched their season-high in goals, scoring four times after the break in a 5-0 demolition of Orlando City. 

Ola Kamara's 27th-minute goal gave DC United a 1-0 victory over New York Red Bulls. 

David Beckham's Inter Miami and fellow expansion club Nashville SC will enter the league, which will increase to 26 teams.

Seattle Sounders are the defending champions, record-breaking Los Angeles FC will look to go all the way this year after falling short last term, while Arsenal and Barcelona legend Thierry Henry is at the helm of Montreal Impact.

With the season set to kick off, here is a selection of the best Opta facts related to MLS.

- Only one of the last eight teams to debut in MLS have won their inaugural match, dating back to Portland Timbers in 2011 (LAFC 1-0 Seattle in 2018). Orlando City and New York City drew against each other in both teams' inaugural match in 2015, while the other five teams that joined the league in that time lost their opening match.

- Of MLS' last nine new teams, only one have failed to score in their inaugural match in the competition. Montreal lost 2-0 to Vancouver Whitecaps in 2012.

- Of the 14 teams to play their inaugural MLS match on the road, only two have managed to win; including Los Angeles in 2018 (also Chicago Fire in 1998, at Miami Fusion). Two more managed draws while 10 of the 14 teams that started on the road lost their inaugural match.

- The last six MLS expansion clubs scored in their first away match in the league dating back to 2015. Five of the teams scored one goal while Atlanta United scored six against fellow newcomers Minnesota United in 2017.

- The last three reigning MLS Cup winners lost the opening match of the following season, including Seattle's 2-1 defeat at Houston Dynamo in 2017 after reigning supreme in 2016.

- LAFC equalled the all-time record for goals scored in a single MLS season last campaign (85 – level with LA Galaxy in 1998). Their striker Carlos Vela also broke the record for single-season goals in MLS history; scoring 34 and beating Josef Martinez's record haul of 31 from 2018.

- Atlanta star Martinez has scored a goal against all 23 of the opposition teams that he has faced in regular-season MLS matches – Nashville will be the 24th different opponent he has played against in the competition.

- New York City's 177 points and 50 wins are both second-most over the past three MLS regular campaigns, both behind Atlanta (182 points and 54 wins). NYC are the only team that have won at least 16 regular-season matches in each of the past three MLS campaigns.

- Last season was the 10th straight in which New York Red Bulls qualified for the MLS postseason. The Red Bulls' 10 successive play-off appearance represent the second-longest active run (Seattle – 11) and the longest in the history of the Eastern Conference.

- New Impact manager Henry took charge of Monaco in Ligue 1 last season between October 2018 and January 2019. During his 12 league games in charge, he won just twice (17 per cent); which was the worst win ratio of every Monaco head coach to take charge of five-plus top-flight games in their history.

- Colorado Rapids have missed the play-offs in three successive MLS seasons for the first time since 2007-2009. They have collected just 106 points over the past three MLS campaigns, only Orlando City (104) have collected fewer among the teams that have been in the league for each season since 2017.

- 85 of LA Galaxy recruit Javier Hernandez's 89 goals within the big five European leagues during his career came from inside the box (96 per cent), including each of the past 30 of these strikes.

Sibling pair Diego and Yimmi Chara were among the goals as the Timbers – unbeaten in six matches – eased past RSL at Providence Park on Saturday.

Felipe Mora, Dairon Asprilla, Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Cristhian Paredes also scored for the Timbers, who have netted in 16 consecutive matches against RSL (including play-offs) – the second longest streak against any opponent in their history, behind the 17 straight versus Dallas from August 2012 to March 2018.

The Timbers led 2-1 at half-time before putting RSL to the sword in the second period to match their six-game unbeaten streak from September-October last season.

Portland are fourth in the Western Conference, six points behind leaders Sporting Kansas City, while RSL occupy the seventh and final play-off position in the west.

Los Angeles FC are three points outside the top seven following their 2-0 defeat to San Jose Earthquakes, while Vancouver Whitecaps are also on 33 points after topping Dallas 1-0.

The Union defeated Atlanta 1-0 thanks to Kacper Przybylko's goal with less than 20 minutes remaining.

Back-to-back wins sent Philadelphia up to fourth in the Eastern Conference as Atlanta's three-game winning streak came to an end to leave them eighth in the east and outside the post-season positions.

In other results, Supporters' Shield leaders New England Revolution were 2-1 winners over Orlando City.

The Revolution extended their MLS single-season record for wins by one-goal margins to 16. Nine of New England's last 10 MLS victories have come by a one-goal margin.

It continued Orlando's misery against New England – the team have never won at the Revolution (D1 L5), the only side they have visited more than three times without recording a victory in MLS play.

DC United prevailed 4-2 against FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls overcame rivals New York City 1-0, defending champions Columbus Crew won 2-1 against Montreal, Houston Dynamo lost 2-0 to Minnesota United, while Colorado Rapids and Toronto played out a 0-0 draw.

Patrick Mullins' first-half goal saw Toronto edge FC Cincinnati 1-0 on Sunday to book a spot in the play-offs.

Mullins produced a side-footed finish from inside the area after a Richie Laryea cutback just before the half-hour mark.

Toronto are top of the Eastern Conference and three points clear of Philadelphia Union.

Philadelphia won six straight home regular-season matches for the first time in their history, as per Opta, thanks to a 2-1 win over Montreal Impact.

Danny Musovski scored a double as LAFC enjoyed a 3-1 victory against Seattle Sounders.

LAFC are fourth in the Western Conference, which the Sounders top.

Erik Hurtado scored a spectacular volley to see Sporting Kansas City edge a 10-man Nashville 2-1.

Hurtado produced a wonderful finish from Amadou Dia's lofted pass to earn Sporting three points.

New England Revolution beat New York City 2-1, Chicago Fire were 2-1 winners over DC United and Jaroslaw Niezgoda netted twice as Portland Timbers claimed a 3-0 victory against San Jose Earthquakes.

Toronto moved level on points with Philadelphia after a 2-1 win over Inter Miami and the Union's 2-1 defeat to Columbus Crew on Sunday.

Columbus took a 37th-minute lead at home, Artur finding the bottom corner from 20 yards.

However, Philadelphia drew level in the 57th minute thanks to a penalty from Jamiro, although the hosts would strike late.

Krisztian Nemeth got on the end of a Luis Diaz Espinoza cross from the right to tap away a winner six minutes from time for Columbus, who are third in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto boosted their chances of winning the Supporters' Shield by overcoming Inter Miami.

Former Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi opened the scoring for Inter Miami with his first MLS goal.

But Toronto would win after conceding the opening goal for the third time this season, which is tied for the most with San Jose Earthquakes, as per Opta.

Ayo Akinola scored a fine equaliser after outmuscling his opponent before Gonzalo Higuain almost responded for Inter Miami, hitting the crossbar with a powerful 20-yard effort in the 79th minute.

Instead, Alejandro Pozuelo tucked away an 84th-minute penalty for the winner for Toronto.

Pozuelo has scored each of his past seven penalties for Toronto in MLS.

Valentin Castellanos scored a hat-trick to inspire New York City to a 5-2 derby win over the Red Bulls.

Castellanos became just the second player to net a hat-trick in the Hudson River Derby, joining David Villa (2017).

Elsewhere, Teal Bunbury's brace saw New England Revolution overcome DC United 4-3 in a thriller and Atlanta United beat Cincinnati 2-0.

Orlando City edged Montreal Impact 1-0, Colorado Rapids beat Seattle Sounders 3-1, the Portland Timbers overcame the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 and LA Galaxy edged Real Salt Lake 2-1.

Alejandro Pozuelo's fine run of form continued as Toronto came from behind to beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in Connecticut.

Sergio Santos' delicate chip had put Philadelphia ahead in the fifth minute, but Toronto fought back in the second half.

Ayo Akinola headed in a Tony Gallacher cross from the left approaching the hour-mark to bring Greg Vanney's side level.

Pozuelo scored what proved to be the winner in the 76th minute, heading in at the back post following a corner.

As Toronto won for the 10th time in their past 13 meetings with the Union, Pozuelo has been directly involved in 10 goals since the MLS regular season resumed in August, as per Opta.

Toronto joined Columbus on 31 points atop the Eastern Conference after the Crew were held to a 2-2 draw by Dallas.

LA Galaxy are bottom of the Western Conference after slumping to a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the California Clasico.

The Galaxy seemed on track when Sebastian Lletget put away the opener after Javier Hernandez hit the post, and goalkeeper David Bingham saved Chris Wondolowski's 12th-minute penalty.

But Marcos Lopez drilled in a wonderful equaliser before half-time, and Andres Rios made no mistake with San Jose's second spot-kick of the game in the 82nd minute.

Orlando City continued their fine season with a 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls.

The club's tally of 29 points from their first 15 matches is five more than they have ever had through the same number of games in any previous campaign, according to Opta.

Gonzalo Higuain's Inter Miami fell to a 3-2 loss to New York City, while Atlanta United crushed DC United 4-0.

Montreal Impact and Chicago Fire drew 2-2, Alan Pulido scored a brace as Sporting Kansas City edged Houston Dynamo 2-1 and Minnesota United enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati.

Western Conference leaders the Seattle Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1, while the clash between the New England Revolution and Nashville finished goalless.

White scored a hat-trick as the Whitecaps moved within just one point of the seventh and final post-season spot in the Western Conference heading into the last seven matches of the regular season.

A recruit from New York Red Bulls following June's trade, White – who has scored eight goals in his past nine games – opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

White doubled the lead with a header approaching the hour mark before completing his first career hat-trick 17 minutes from the end – using his head to get on the end of Ryan Gauld's corner.

Montreal topped fellow Eastern Conference play-off hopefuls Atlanta United 2-1 courtesy of Romell Quioto's double.

Heading into the fixture, twelve of the last 15 goals conceded by Atlanta had come in the second half of their games and none of those 15 goals were shipped in the first half an hour.

Quioto scored a five-minute brace inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half to lift Montreal up to fifth in the east, while striking a blow to Atlanta's post-season chances.

Atlanta are eighth and outside the play-off spots – level on points with seventh-placed Philadelphia Union, who have played two games less.

Elsewhere, Orlando City catapulted themselves up to third in the Eastern Conference after Daryl Dike's 97th-minute goal snatched a 2-1 win over DC United, the Red Bulls edged FC Cincinnati 1-0, Austin defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 and Dallas played out a 0-0 draw with 10-man Minnesota United.

Montreal sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with 12 points from their first 10 league games under Courtois, 12 adrift of early pacesetters Miami. 

However, plenty of outside factors have impacted their start to the season, not least the fact they have played eight of their matches – including each of their first six – on the road.

Courtois is proud of the way his players have learned on the job, though he still believes there is more to come from them. 

"I keep telling them that I have no in-between. I'm either going to be your biggest fan, or really tough and really demanding. Because we don't have time to play. We don't have time to lose," he said.

"At the same time, I'm such a fan of what they've been doing, accepting the stuff that I've been asking them to do, while being on the road for three months. 

"I think they want to play soccer in the right way. I have a few codes that I think can be helpful. 

"We need together to come up with common ground to execute in this way. They're still far from what I think they can do."

However, Courtois does see one area for improvement ahead of Saturday's clash with the Herons, quipping: "I wouldn't change any of my players for any others – except Messi."

Miami trounced the New York Red Bulls 6-2 last week, with Messi scoring once and laying on five assists in an incredible performance. 

That display left coach Gerardo Martino in disbelief, as he said: "I always say this, and it's redundant at this point, but he always does something new. 

"To have an involvement in all six goals of a team's goals in a 6-2 is something that will be difficult to see again."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

CF Montreal – Jonathan Sirois

Last week's 4-1 defeat at Nashville SC was the seventh time Montreal have conceded four or more goals in a regular-season MLS game since the start of 2023, more than any other team.

Only two MLS goalkeepers have faced more shots than Sirois (55) in 2024, though he has conceded 2.1 goals fewer than Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model suggests he should have. He will need a big performance against Messi and company.

Inter Miami – Lionel Messi

Messi has 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league matches this season. No player in MLS history had reached 10 goals and 10 assists in fewer than 16 appearances in a season before.

The Argentine has also reached 25 goal contributions in 14 MLS matches overall, seven fewer than any other player in MLS history required to bring up that figure.

MATCH PREDICTION – CF MONTREAL WIN

Montreal have won six of their nine all-time meetings with Miami (one draw, two defeats), including a 3-2 victory over the Herons on March 10. 

Only New York City FC (2.22) and the Chicago Fire (2.17) average more points per match against Miami than Montreal (2.11) among teams the Herons have faced five or more times.

While Montreal are winless in their last three league games, the last two of those were played on the road.

On home soil, they are a different proposition, going unbeaten through their last six games (two wins, four draws), including a win and a draw in their first two home matches of 2024. They have only lost three of their last 17 regular-season home games dating back to last April (10 wins, four draws).

Miami, despite their star quality, have been vulnerable this campaign, trailing in nine MLS games – a joint-high alongside the San Jose Earthquakes. They cannot keep relying on rescue acts.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

CF Montreal – 47.2%

Inter Miami – 25.7%

Draw – 27.1%

Both teams were kicking off their Group C campaigns at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on Thursday after the MLS season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.

And Thierry Henry's Impact succumbed to Gustavo Bou's thunderous half-volley approaching the hour mark as the Revolution overcame their wastefulness in the final third.

Arsenal legend and former Monaco head coach Henry took a knee at kick-off, holding his stance until the 8:46 mark of the first half in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The time represents the eight minutes, 46 seconds a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Flody's neck before the African-American man died in May.

New England outshot Montreal 19-7 – Bou's 56th-minute effort the Revolution's only reward against the Impact.

The Impact, though, did come close to equalising in the sixth minute of stoppage time but Matt Turney produced a fine save to deny Ballou Tabla.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Union edged New York City 1-0 in the Group A fixture earlier on Thursday.