Atlanta United lost their position atop the MLS' Eastern Conference standings after a surprise 6-1 hammering at the hands of the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Atlanta boasted three wins and a draw from their first four matches of the season – and had won their past two by a combined margin of 8-1 – but they were no match for an inspired Columbus outfit in front of their home fans.
Crew forward Christian Ramirez bagged a brace in the second half, while Alexandru Matan was credited with three assists in Columbus' second win of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Seattle Sounders striker Jordan Morris raced out into the Golden Boot lead with a four-goal haul in his side's 4-1 away win against Sporting Kansas City.
The 28-year-old American more than doubled his three goals from the opening four matches, opening up a two-goal lead on rest of the competition.
With Atlanta going down, it was the New England Revolution capitalising and taking over as the Eastern Conference leaders, overcoming a first-half strike from Christian Benteke to defeat D.C. United 2-1.
The loss left D.C. near the bottom of the standings with four points from five matches, where they are joined by Charlotte after their 1-1 home draw against New York Red Bulls.
Cincinnati are the only undefeated team in the East through five matches, securing their third win with a 1-0 triumph over Nashville, to go with two draws as they sit one point behind New England.
A 92nd-minute winner gave the Chicago Fire a 3-2 victory away from home against Inter Miami – their first win of the season – while two goals in the first 10 minutes were enough for Orlando City to prevail 2-1 against the Philadelphia Union.
LA Galaxy remain winless after battling out a 0-0 draw against the Portland Timbers, while it was more dramatic for the Vancouver Whitecaps as they needed a 98th minute equaliser to snatch a point in their 1-1 tie with Minnesota.
Austin FC let a golden opportunity to climb the Western Conference slip away as they dropped points in a 1-1 home draw against the cellar-dwelling Colorado Rapids, who doubled their points tally for the season with the result.
A 55th-minute penalty from Amine Bassi was enough to give the Houston Dynamo a 1-0 win against New York City, while expansion side St. Louis City continued their perfect start to their first season with a convincing 4-0 drubbing of Real Salt Lake, leaving them the only side with the maximum 15 points from five matches.
In the late window, Los Angeles FC benefitted from a first-half red card to defeat FC Dallas 2-1, while Toronto FC battled out a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Chicago Fire v Atlanta United: ‘Think like champions’ urges Giakoumakis
Atlanta United must “think like champions” if they are to correct their form, says striker Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The Five Stripes face the Chicago Fire this weekend, as they look to return to winning ways after three games without a victory.
Indeed, they lost to FC Cincinnati last time out, and Giakoumakis believes Atlanta must correct a mentality issue.
“One simple thing I can tell you is that we have to stay concentrated,” said Giakoumakis.
“Think like champions, because you cannot drop this amount of points when you are leading a game.”
Atlanta are seventh in the Eastern Conference, six places and two points better off than the Fire, who have lost two of their last four games.
“Number one, there are no easy matches in MLS,” said Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda. “It is always difficult to play in that stadium; sometimes it can be windy. They have very good players, and they have a very good coaching staff that prepares them to compete at the highest level.
“The process we have, we expect it to translate to three points. At times, you have to create certain situations on the field to spark a reaction, and some toughness or some resilience.
“That will bring more discussions and more accountability… as much as it hurt me and my coaching staff (losing five points), you can see it hurt them. They were not happy with that, and that is why I think they will have a good response against Chicago.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Brian Gutierrez
Gutierrez is the Fire’s leading scorer this season, with three goals, which have come from five shots on target.
Atlanta United – Giorgos Giakoumakis
Giakoumakis has scored four goals in three career matches against Chicago, scoring at least once in each match. Four players have scored in their first four regular-season matches against the Fire, including just one, Cory Burke (five straight from 2018-21), since 2011.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Atlanta have won only four of their last 39 away matches in all competitions (D14 L21) dating back to early April 2022. The Five Stripes are winless in their last nine away from home (D4 L5).
Chicago’s 4-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last week equalled the largest margin of defeat in a home match in club history (4th time in all competitions). The Fire have lost six of their last 10 home matches in all competitions (W3 D1) after losing two of their previous 17 at home.
The home side is unbeaten in the last 11 meetings between the Fire and Atlanta United (W9 D2). In fact, the only road win in the 14 regular-season meetings was a 2-1 victory for Atlanta in Chicago in 2018.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 37.9%
Atlanta United – 33.3%
Draw – 28.8%
New York Red Bulls v Vancouver Whitecaps: Facing Eastern Conference teams ‘like going to the casino’
Vanni Sartini is anticipating a tight encounter when his Vancouver Whitecaps team face the New York Red Bulls.
Vancouver have enjoyed a fine start to the MLS season and sit second in the Western Conference.
The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are in second place in the East.
This game will be the first meeting of the teams since 2019, and Sartini joked that facing sides from a different Conference is akin to a trip to a casino.
He said: “It’s going to be hard. It’s like going to the casino when you play the Eastern teams – you never know!
“Maybe you’ll face the team in last, the team that’s in first place. Unfortunately this season we’re going to play the Red Bulls, who are doing very well.”
Explaining what he expects to see from the Red Bulls, Sartini added: “They’re a team with a very distinct and particular style of play, like we have, to be honest.
“We need to be very intense, because that’s what they are, they are very intense in pressing, counter-pressing, counter-attacks and we need to be very well organised. It’s a game that will be decided in the second half, it’s going to be tight until the end – that’s what I feel.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan
Morgan is enjoying a fine campaign, and he leads the Red Bulls’ scoring efforts with six goals in MLS.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
White joined the ‘Caps from the Red Bulls in 2021. He has scored four goals in MLS this season, making him Vancouver’s leading scorer.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
Ryan Gauld and White have each contributed to at least one goal in their last five MLS appearances, equalling the longest streak in Whitecaps’ history. Prior to them, only three players in team history had recorded a goal contribution in five straight matches.
With 16 points through eight matches, the Whitecaps are off to the joint-best eight-match start in club history (also 2015). Vancouver have never had more than 17 points (2012) after nine matches of a season before.
The Red Bulls have lost only one of their first nine matches this season (W4 D4), the second time in club history they have had fewer than two losses at this stage of a season, along with their Supporters’ Shield winning 2015 campaign (also W4 D4 L1).
Six of the 12 all-time meetings between the Red Bulls and Whitecaps have been drawn (Whitecaps W4, Red Bulls W2), but New York are anticipated to win this one.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 48.9%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 23.3%
Draw – 27.8%
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
