Austin FC made a statement in their top-of-the-conference clash against Western Conference leaders Los Angeles FC, piling on three quick goals to open the second half of their 4-1 victory.
Incredibly, LAFC actually had more expected goals (1.58 to 1.02), but Austin were clinical with their difficult chances.
Austin opened the scoring in the 32nd minute through a picture-perfect direct free kick from Diego Fagundez, and it would be the only goal from the opening 45 minutes.
The second half was when the contest opened up, with the two teams combining for eight shots in the first half, before attempting 18 in the second half.
Austin's home fans did not have to wait long after the break to double their lead, with an indirect free kick this time leading to squaring ball back across goals, which Maximiliano Urruti was able to meet at the front post and loop over the LAFC goalkeeper with his glancing header in the 47th minute.
Urruti then took advantage of a mistake deep in the LAFC defense less than five minutes later, scooping up the loose ball in the penalty box and dribbling around the keeper to grab his brace, and make it 3-0 in the 51st.
Sebastian Driussi made it 4-0 for the hosts in the 59th minute, turning and hitting from a tight angle for his 19th goal of the MLS campaign, which is three more than any other player.
Cristian Arango nabbed a consolation goal almost immediately in the 61st minute, but that would be the only time they found the back of the net as Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver made four saves.
With the win, Austin have cut LAFC's lead atop the Western Conference to six points.
Meanwhile, the Portland Timbers held onto their position on the fringe of the West's playoff picture with a 2-1 home win against the Seattle Sounders.
It was the Sounders jumping ahead early through an eighth-minute strike from Yeimar Gomez, but it was all Portland in the first half, controlling 65 per cent of the possession and producing nine shots, while Gomez's goal was the visitors' only shot.
The Timbers were rewarded for their dominance with a penalty in the 41st minute, which Dairon Asprilla converted to head into the break at 1-1.
Possession flipped after half-time, with Seattle controlling 66 per cent in the second half, but they struggled to create chances.
Asprilla turned from scorer to distributor for the second goal, setting up Sebastian Blanco for a point-blank tap-in to go up 2-1 in the 51st minute.
The win leaves Portland two points clear of eighth-placed Los Angeles Galaxy in the race for the Western Conference's final playoff spot, although the Galaxy have three games in-hand.
Inzaghi expecting Arsenal reaction after Newcastle defeat
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi is expecting a difficult test against "one of the best teams in Europe" when Arsenal visit the San Siro in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arsenal come into the encounter against the reigning Serie A champions on the back of a defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League last weekend.
Mikel Arteta's side have now lost two of their last three league games, having tasted defeat just once in their 25 games in the top-flight (W21 D3) in 2024.
But Inzaghi, who helped Inter keep pace at the Serie A summit with a controversial 1-0 win over Venezia, is expecting a reaction from the Gunners.
"We are facing one of the best teams in Europe, very recognisable with a great coach," Inzaghi said.
"We all know how the big teams react after a defeat. Look at us after the derby... You find teams out for redress.
"I saw the match between Arsenal and Newcastle. Playing at Newcastle's home is not easy, but it was an open and fascinating match.
"We will find a team that lost two-and-a-half days ago, they will want to play a great game at San Siro."
Inter lost the Derby della Madonnina 2-1 to Milan in September, but have since gone on to win seven of their eight games in all competitions.
Inzaghi's side are just ahead of Arsenal in the Champions League table, with both teams picking up seven points from their opening three games.
The two sides have only met previously in the 2003-04 Champions League – both games were away wins (Arsenal 0-3 Inter, Inter 1-5 Arsenal).
While history favours the visiting side, Inzaghi has said his side will try to dominate possession against Arsenal in order to remain unbeaten in the competition.
"If you see Arsenal among 100 teams, without knowing the name, you recognise them. They played for the last two English titles, point for point with Manchester City," he said.
"We will have to try to keep the ball as much as possible, we know that we are facing a team that put on a lot of offensive pressure.
"We know that it will be a problem for us when they have the ball but the opposite is also true."
Arsenal have also struggled in recent games in the Champions League in Italy, failing to find the back of the net in their last four away games in the country.
Emmanuel Adebayor was the last Gunners player to score there in a 2-0 win over Milan in March 2008, and Inter will be confident of keeping it that way.
Although only five teams have faced more shots in the Champions League this season than Inter (53), they have kept three clean sheets so far.
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Columbus Crew crash out of MLS Cup Playoffs with shoot-out loss to Red Bulls
The Columbus Crew's MLS Cup title defence came crashing to a halt as they were eliminated from the playoffs following a penalty shoot-out defeat to the New York Red Bulls.
Following a surprise home defeat in Game 1, Wilfried Nancy's champions needed a road win in Game 2 to keep their season alive, but Yevhen Cheberko, Max Arfsten and Alexandru Matan all saw their spot-kicks repelled by Carlos Coronel following a pulsating 2-2 draw.
Arfsten had earlier given Columbus a 55th-minute lead moments after stepping off the bench, only for Dante Vanzeir to drill home a swift equaliser.
New York looked set to advance when Emil Forsberg's 80th-minute penalty completed the turnaround, but another Crew substitute, Christian Ramirez, headed home six minutes into second-half stoppage time to force the shoot-out.
Columbus couldn't keep up their momentum from 12 yards, though, with Colonel's three saves proving vital as New York won it at the second time of asking, Daniel Edelman scoring the decisive kick after Sean Nealis had failed to do so.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Sounders also needed penalties to dump the Houston Dynamo out in round one, prevailing from the spot for the second game in a row.
Seattle's Cristian Roldan scored at both ends, slotting home an 87th-minute opener only to put through his own net three minutes into stoppage time, turning in Griffin Dorsey's cross.
The first 13 penalties in the shoot-out were all scored, but Tate Schmitt was the unfortunate man to see his spot-kick saved, Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei pushing it away to send his team to the Western Conference semifinals.
Finally, Ryan Gauld scored and forced two own goals as the Vancouver Whitecaps kept their best-of-three series against Los Angeles FC alive with a 3-0 triumph at BC Place.
The Scotland midfielder powered home after 10 minutes and, just 180 seconds later, saw his long-range effort deflected past Hugo Lloris by the unwitting Ryan Hollingshead.
Denis Bouanga twice went close for the Western Conference's top seeds after the break before Gauld was involved again in Vancouver's third goal, seeing a cross go in off the heel of Eddie Segura.
The teams will now reconvene for a third match next week, with the victors set to face Seattle in the next round.
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