Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela netted a hat-trick as LAFC crushed Colorado Rapids 3-0 on the opening day of the 2022 MLS season on Saturday.

Vela struck twice within six first-half minutes, first from the penalty spot before getting in behind the Colorado defence and calmly finishing past goalkeeper William Yarbrough.

The former Mexico international produced his best goal of the game to complete his hat-trick in the 50th minute, curling in a fine left-footed shot from just inside the box.

Vela only managed five goals from 20 MLS appearances last season with LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo cautiously optimistic about his potential impact this term.

“We will have to wait and see what it does. But I think we all know what he can do,” Cherundolo said. “He showed it again today and he worked very hard in preseason to get to where he is today. I'm very happy for him and the group that we're all rewarded for it.”

Yimmi Chara's spectacular 78th-minute goal earned Portland Timbers a 2-2 draw with 2021 Supporters' Shield winners New England Revolution.

Portland, who reached the MLS Cup final last year, found a way back with Chara firing home a stunning overhead goal while Jozy Altidore debuted for the Revs as a 79th-minute substitute.

Ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri made his debut for Chicago Fire as they drew a blank in a 0-0 draw at Inter Miami.

Leonardo Campana's 10th-minute header from Gonzalo Higuain's cross hit the crossbar for Miami, while Chicago's Stanislav Ivanov struck the upright in the 31st minute. Shaqiri was impressive throughout, with a long-range first-half chance his only major goal attempt.

Toronto, who made a major off-season signing with Lorenzo Insigne to join in July, only managed a 1-1 draw at Dallas.

Philadelphia Union started its new season with a 1-1 home draw against Minnesota United, with Cory Burke levelling Robin Lod's 23rd-minute strike.

New York Red Bulls won 3-1 at San Jose Earthquakes, while Columbus Crew swept aside 10-man Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0.

Cecilio Dominguez netted a double as Austin won 5-0 over last year's bottom side Cincinnati, while Michael Estrada scored a brace as DC United eased past newcomers Charlotte 3-0.

Xherdan Shaqiri has completed his move Chicago Fire just six months after joining Lyon, the MLS club confirmed on Wednesday.

The Switzerland forward left Liverpool after three years to join the Ligue 1 on a three-year deal back in August, but has now made the move Stateside.

Shaqiri made nine Ligue 1 starts, scoring two league and providing three assists in France's top flight.

Chicago Fire, who finished a disappointing 12th in the MLS's 14-team Eastern Conference last season, announced the winger has signed a three-year deal with the franchise, becoming the most expensive player in their history. 

"We're extremely pleased to formally welcome Xherdan Shaqiri to the Fire," said Chicago Fire's sporting director Georg Heitz. 

"Xherdan is a game-changing player, and someone who will bring joy to our supporters and to the city of Chicago. 

"As one of the most accomplished Swiss athletes of his generation, Xherdan joins us at a very important time for the club, and fully believes in what we are aiming to accomplish. We look forward to welcoming him and his family to Chicago very soon."

It was also announced that Shaqiri would don the number 10 shirt for his new club, and he will occupy one of the side's three designated player spots for the 2022 campaign. 

Shaqiri, who has 100 caps for his national side, was involved in Champions League, Premier League, and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs during his time at Anfield, where he made 63 appearances for Jurgen Klopp's side.

The Chicago-based outfit will hope the Swiss wide man can bring some much-needed creativity to Soldier Field.

The Fire netted just 36 times in their 34 league games last season, with their joint-top goalscorers in the 2021 season Robert Beric and Luka Sojanovic, who each netted eight league goals, both departing in the off-season. 

The 2021 MLS Cup play-offs are set following a wild final round of the regular season which saw LA Galaxy dramatically eliminated from the post-season picture by Real Salt Lake.

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scored twice for the Galaxy in a 3-3 draw with Minnesota United on Decision Day, but RSL's last-gasp 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City changed the landscape of the Western Conference.

RSL pipped the Galaxy – without post-season football for the second straight campaign – to the seventh and final play-off spot on victories for the season via a 95th-minute winner, having finished level on 48 points at the end of 34 rounds.

Minnesota finished fifth to clinch a post-season berth in the west, along with sixth-placed Vancouver Whitecaps, who drew 1-1 against Seattle Sounders.

Seattle's stalemate and Sporting KC's late loss allowed Colorado Rapids to secure top seed in the Western Conference following a 5-2 rout of Los Angeles FC, who were eliminated as a result.

In the Eastern Conference, Orlando City beat Montreal 2-0 for a spot in the play-offs, along with Atlanta United (2-1 over FC Cincinnati) and New York Red Bulls – the latter using a 1-1 draw against Nashville to extend their post-season streak to 12 years.

Supporters' Shield winners New England Revolution lost 1-0 to already eliminated Inter Miami, Portland Timbers eased past lowly Austin 3-0, DC United defeated Toronto 3-1, 10-man New York City drew 1-1 with Philadelphia Union and reigning champions Columbus Crew – who will not defend their title – beat Chicago Fire 2-0.

Chris Wondolowski scored in the San Jose Earthquakes' 1-1 draw against Dallas before the league's all-time leading scorer announced his retirement.

Supporters' Shield winners New England have made more history with Wednesday's 1-0 win over Colorado Rapids breaking the MLS record for most points in a single season.

Bruce Arena's side, who clinched their first-ever Supporters' Shield on Saturday, won thanks to Tajon Buchanan's 74th-minute strike.

The result took Revolution's season tally to 73 points from 33 games, eclipsing the previous record mark held by LAFC with 72 points in 2019.

New England have one more regular season match to extend their record, playing Inter Miami at home on November 7.

Canada international Buchanan came up with the winner, showing fast feet to make space for a low shot that beat Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who had sensationally kept out Henry Kessler from close range minutes earlier.

New York Red Bulls slipped out of the Eastern Conference play-offs spots after a 1-0 defeat to DC United who moved above them into seventh place.

United snapped a four-game winless skid, while also ending the Red Bulls' four-game running run and eight-game unbeaten streak in the process. Kevin Paredes side-footed home the ninth-minute winner for United.

Sporting KC moved into top spot in the Western Conference and dented LA Galaxy's play-offs aspirations with a 2-0 win.

Johnny Russell extended his scoring run to eight straight games with both goals for KC who clinched a top-four seeding as well.

Randall Leal scored two goals and grabbed an assist as Nashville came from two goals down twice to win 6-3 at Cincinnati.

Portland Timbers moved in the west's top four with a 2-0 home victory over San Jose Earthquakes, while Vancouver Whitecaps climbed up to fifth with a 2-1 triumph over Minnesota United.

New York City boosted their Eastern Conference top-four seed hopes with a 1-0 home win over Chicago Fire, while Josef Martinez's winner helped Atlanta United past Inter Miami 2-1 after Gonzalo Higuain had opened the scoring from the spot.

Columbus Crew upset Orlando City 3-2, Toronto held Philadelphia Union 2-2 as Jozy Altidore netted while Real Salt Lake scored twice in the final 10 minutes to win 2-1 at Dallas.

Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids clinched play-off spots while New England Revolution secured the Supporters' Shield as the top team in the MLS regular season Saturday. 

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. 

LA Galaxy breathed life into their MLS play-off aspirations after securing back-to-back wins for the first time since August with a 3-0 victory at Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.

Galaxy, who had endured a nine-game winless skid, had beaten Portland Timbers 2-1 on the weekend before backing that up in Houston to reinforce their grip on sixth spot in the Western Conference midweek.

Greg Vanney's Galaxy went ahead in the 39th minute from veteran Sacha Kljestan's penalty, after Maynor Figueroa brought down Kevin Cabral inside the box.

Zarek Valentin's own goal on the stroke of half-time from Efrain Alvarez's cutback doubled Galaxy's advantage.

Two minutes into the second half, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez provided a well-weighted pass for Kevin Cabral to add a third, moving Galaxy up to 45 points and above Real Salt Lake into fifth in the west.

New England Revolution moved another step closer to clinching the Supporters' Shield with a come-from-behind 3-2 win at DC United.

Adam Buksa, Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou all scored within 18 minutes as the Revolution responded to Nigel Robertha's 51st-minute opener for DC United.

The result moved Eastern Conference pacesetters New England to 69 points from 31 games, with Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders closest behind them on 58 points after 30 games after they lost ground following a 1-1 draw with third-placed Colorado Rapids.

Elsewhere, Nashville – second behind New England in the east – drew for the fifth straight game in a 1-1 stalemate against defending MLS champions Columbus Crew and Cristian Arango's hat-trick guided Los Angeles FC past Dallas 3-2.

Inter Miami snapped their six-game losing skid and kept alive their faint play-off aspirations with a 3-0 home victory over Toronto.

Gudmundur Thorarinsson equalised late for New York City but their winless run extended to six games after a 1-1 draw at Atlanta United, Minnesota United were 3-2 winners against Philadelphia Union, Orlando City and Montreal played out a 1-1 draw.

Chicago Fire prevailed 4-3 over struggling FC Cincinnati, Vancouver Whitecaps came from two goals down to win 3-2 away to Portland Timbers, while San Jose Earthquakes eased past lowly Austin 4-0.

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez got on the scoresheet as LA Galaxy breathed life in their MLS playoffs aspirations with a 2-1 home win over Portland Timbers on Saturday.

Sacha Kljestan netted a stoppage-time penalty to clinch all three points for Galaxy, who had been in a freefall with a winless nine-game span.

Chicharito poked in at the back post for the opening goal in the 62nd minute, pouncing on Larrys Mabiala's defensive error from Victor Vazquez's ball into the box.

The Timbers equalized 10 minutes later when Sebastian Blanco's cross-cum-shot drifted over Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond and in off the post.

Blanco hit the upright from a long-range effort, before LA won a penalty when substitute Efrain Alvarez was brought down inside the box by Josecarlos Van Rankin.

Kljestan fired low to Timbers keeper Steve Clark's right for the winner which moves Galaxy up to 42 points, retaining their grip on sixth spot in the Western Conference.

Supporters Shield-leading New England Revolution conceded late as they drew 2-2 at home with Chicago Fire.

The sides traded four goals in the second half, with Wilfred Kaptoum drilling in a low opener in the 47th minute before Alvaro Medran equalized instantly with a classy volley.

Gustavo Bou netted his 13th goal of the season to restore Revolution's lead with a deft lob from Carles Gil's lofted pass in behind the defence in the 76th minute.

Bou was denied by Chicago keeper Gabriel Slonina before Brian Gutierrez danced forward for the visitors, finding Ignacio Aliseda who fired home an angled 88th minute leveller.

Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders missed the chance to close on New England after going down 2-1 at Houston Dynamo.

Maxi Urruti scored a spectacular volley to put Houston ahead on the quarter hour, with Darwin Quintero doubling their lead with a fine solo left-foot strike in the 20th minute.

Jimmy Medranda halved the deficit with a rifled 41st minute shot after recycling an over-hit corner, although Houston came closest to a second-half goal, hitting the woodwork four times, before Seattle's Joao Paulo had a stoppage-time free-kick cannon into the crossbar.

Real Salt Lake solidified their grip on a playoffs spot with a 3-1 home victory over Colorado Rapids, who are third in the Western Conference.

Minnesota United remained ahead of RSL by two points with a 1-0 triumph at lowly Austin thanks to Franco Frangapane's 16th-minute strike.

US international Gyasi Zardes netted a double as Columbus Crew thrashed Inter Miami 4-0, condemning them to their sixth straight defeat, during which they have scored one goal and conceded 16 times.

Luiz Araujo and Marcelino Moreno both netted late in each half as 10-man Atlanta United triumphed 2-0 at Toronto.

Junior Urso netted early as Orlando City eased past struggling Cincinnati 1-0, while DC United and Nashville drew 0-0 with the visitors recorded a draw for the fourth successive game.

Seattle Sounders returned to the top of the Western Conference after ending the Colorado Rapids' 12-match unbeaten streak in a comprehensive 3-0 win in MLS action on Sunday.

Cristian Roldan, Jimmy Medranda and Joao Paolo scored in a three-goal first half to inspire the Sounders against the Rapids in Seattle.

The Rapids were enjoying their second-best unbeaten run in club history, only behind the 15-game undefeated streak from April 2016 to July 2016.

But Colorado came unstuck away to the Sounders at Lumen Field, where Roldan broke the deadlock in the second minute before Medranda and Paolo's moment of individual brilliance made it 3-0 prior to half-time.

The Sounders are top of the west, two points clear of Sporting Kansas City, who beat Houston Dynamo 4-2 behind Daniel Salloi's magical performance (one goal and an assist) and Johnny Russell's brace.

Entering the contest, Salloi and Russell had been directly involved, either together or individually, in Sporting KC's previous seven goals (Salloi three goals, Russell three goals and two assists). At least one of those two players had scored or assisted on 19 of the 23 goals Kansas City scored since late July.

David Beckham's Inter Miami and their hopes of featuring in the play-offs were dealt a blow following a 1-0 defeat to Portland Timbers.

Jaroslaw Niezgoda struck to extend Portland's unbeaten run to eight matches, including seven wins, and condemn Inter Miami to a fourth consecutive loss.

Inter Miami are eight points adrift of the post-season places in the Eastern Conference with seven fixtures remaining, while the fourth-placed Timbers are seven points clear of Real Salt Lake in the battle for home-field advantage.

Elsewhere, 10-man Philadelphia Union were 3-0 winners over defending champions Columbus Crew, Toronto defeated Chicago Fire 3-1 and New York City drew 0-0 with Nashville, while the El Trafico derby between LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC ended 1-1.

LA Galaxy's play-offs took a hit after they suffered their third consecutive defeat, going down 2-1 to Real Salt Lake in MLS on Wednesday.

The defeat means the Galaxy are winless in their past eight matches and while they dropped down to sixth in the Western Conference, their form means they could find themselves only a point ahead of the post-season chasing pack.

Former Manchester United forward Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez stung RSL goalkeeper David Ochoa's palms early, before Damir Kreilach scored his 11th goal of the season to put the hosts 1-0 on the stroke of half-time.

Ochoa denied Chicharito again in a 57th-minute fast break, before the latter equalised with 14 minutes remaining midweek.

But in the fifth of six stoppage-time minutes, Anderson Julio lashed in a wonderful volley from outside the box to claim the win for fifth-placed RSL and boost their play-off chances.

United States teenager Ricardo Pepi netted his 12th goal of the campaign as 10-man Dallas went down 3-1 to Western Conference contenders and second-placed Sporting Kansas City.

Daniel Salloi scored a double for Sporting KC, taking his season tally to 14, while Dallas had Bryan Acosta sent off.

Seattle Sounders stayed top of the Western Conference, ahead of Sporting KC, as Raul Ruidiaz scored a brace in a 3-1 win away to San Jose Earthquakes.

Ruidiaz opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before firing home from the spot three minutes prior to the break. The Peruvian has 16 MLS goals this season, behind only DC United's Ola Kamara with 17.

Dairon Asprilla scored the winner as Portland Timbers claimed a 2-1 victory at Los Angeles FC to remain fourth in the west.

Supporters' Shield leaders New England Revolution maintained their 14-point advantage atop the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 triumph away to Montreal, extending their unbeaten run to six games.

Nashville, second in the east, blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Orlando City, while DC United got past Minnesota United 3-1.

Atlanta United boosted their play-offs hopes with a 1-0 win over Inter Miami, who have lost three in a row, while Toronto beat FC Cincinnati 3-2.

New York City suffered a second straight loss, going down 2-0 to Chicago Fire, and Philadelphia Union could only manage a 1-1 draw at New York Red Bulls.

Colorado Rapids eased past Austin 3-0 and Houston Dynamo played out a goalless draw with Vancouver Whitecaps.

Seattle Sounders beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 to reclaim top spot in the Western Conference in MLS on Sunday.

Cristian Roldan and Will Bruin scored to lift the Sounders to the summit in the west, leapfrogging hosts Sporting KC.

Sporting KC were on a three-game winning streak against Seattle – the longest active winning run against the Sounders as no team had won four in a row versus the franchise since San Jose Earthquakes in 2012-13.

But Seattle ended that skid against Sporting KC – Roldan opened the scoring in the 31st minute at Children's Mercy Park, where the Sounders star got on the end of Brad Smith's cross.

Bruin doubled the lead against the run of play 10 minutes into the second half after heading home at the far post.

Entering the fixture, the Sounders conceded an MLS-low 20 goals this season, with opponents scoring with just 7.2 per cent of their shots, also lowest in the league. Seattle had also outperformed their expected goals against by 8.1 this season (20 conceded, 28.1 expected).

The Sounders were breached by Johnny Russell on the hour mark, but Seattle held on for victory to sit two points clear of Sporting KC in the west.

Elsewhere, Austin – bottom of the Western Conference – stunned fifth-placed LA Galaxy 2-0, while Chicago Fire held second-placed Nashville to a 0-0 draw in the east.

New England Revolution became the first team to qualify for the MLS Cup play-offs thanks to a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Chicago Fire.

Supporters' Shield leaders the Revolution booked their play-off spot courtesy of a 90th-minute winner from MVP candidate Carles Gil on Wednesday.

New England – 15 points clear atop the Eastern Conference and 10 points ahead in the Supporters' Shield race – entered the midweek clash amid a four-match unbeaten streak against Chicago – the Revolution's longest undefeated run versus the Fire.

They extended that streak in an entertaining showdown with hosts the Fire at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Henry Kessler opened the scoring for the Revs in the 11th minute before Chicago's Carlos Teran restored parity entering the interval.

The Revs and Fire traded goals via Teal Bunbury and Gaston Gimenez before substitute Gil struck at the death.

Nashville, who are second to New England in the east, crushed David Beckham's Inter Miami 5-1.

Inter Miami's club-record six-match unbeaten streak (W5 D1) ended with a 4-0 rout at the hands of New York Red Bulls last time out – it was only the club's second defeat in 12 matches following a six-game losing run.

But Inter Miami crashed to consecutive humiliating defeats in a match that saw Gregore sent off with four minutes of regulation remaining.

Hany Mukhtar's brace fuelled visiting Nashville, with Inter Miami ninth in the Eastern Conference and three points adrift of the play-off positions.

Meanwhile, the derby honours were shared between the Red Bulls and 10-man New York City following a dramatic 1-1 draw.

Patryk Klimala converted a 102nd-minute penalty to salvage a point for the Red Bulls.

Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten streak to five games in MLS after topping Los Angeles FC 2-1 on Sunday.

The resurgent Timbers continued their run thanks to goals from Dairon Asprilla and George Fochive at Providence Park.

Asprilla opened the scoring at home to LAFC – the Timbers forward headed home in the 21st minute, though the visitors responded six minutes later via Cristian Arango's penalty.

But the Timbers emerged triumphant courtesy of Fochive's game-winning header 22 minutes from the end in Portland.

The Timbers are fifth in the Western Conference – nine points behind leaders Sporting Kansas City, while LAFC are eighth and a point outside the play-off spots.

Elsewhere, Philadelphia Union returned to winning ways by defeating Orlando City 3-1 to surge back into the play-off positions.

The Union were three games without a win in MLS heading into the contest, however, Kacper Przybylko's brace ensured Philadelphia – eliminated in the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals – snapped their skid.

After Philadelphia's Kai Wagner and Orlando's Ruan traded goals, Przybylko lifted the Union with a second-half brace.

Orlando ended the match with 10 men after Antonio Carlos was sent off in the 88th minute.

Montreal – fifth in the Eastern Conference – accounted for Chicago Fire 2-0 and Vancouver Whitecaps drew 1-1 at Colorado Rapids.

Meanwhile, Dallas and head coach Luchi Gonzalez parted ways amid their four-match winless streak which has left the team 11th in the west and seven points off the pace.

Sporting Kansas City crushed Minnesota United 4-0 in MLS to go top of the Western Conference standings, while Real Salt Lake prevailed in a seven-goal shoot-out.

Johnny Russell scored a goal and assisted two others as Sporting KC routed Minnesota at Children's Mercy Park on Wednesday.

Russell converted a penalty as part of a three-goal first half, with Khiry Shelton and Daniel Salloi also on target against the visitors.

Cameron Duke added a fourth goal seven minutes into the second half as Sporting KC found the back of the net in their 28th consecutive regular-season home game dating back to August 2019 – the longest active streak in MLS.

Sporting KC are a point clear in the west, though second-placed Seattle Sounders have played two games less, while Minnesota are two points outside the play-off positions.

San Jose Earthquakes star Javier Lopez scored a hat-trick, but Real Salt Lake still prevailed 4-3 in a wild clash.

Lopez opened the scoring in the 26th minute and completed his treble in the second half, however, RSL emerged victorious thanks to Rubio Rubin's brace.

The result snapped a five-match away losing streak for RSL, who ended San Jose's run of three consecutive wins over their rivals in MLS – a run that had equalled the longest streak by either team in history.

Elsewhere, former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez salvaged a 1-1 draw for LA Galaxy against Houston Dynamo.

Another ex-United star, Nani, was sent off in the first half as Orlando City were beaten 4-2 by Montreal, Ola Kamara's opening-half hat-trick lifted DC United past Chicago Fire 3-0, Atlanta United were 4-0 winners against FC Cincinnati courtesy of a Josef Martinez double, Los Angeles FC edged Austin 2-1 and 10-man Portland Timbers drew 2-2 with Colorado Rapids.

Gonzalo Higuain scored the winner as resurgent Inter Miami continued their excellent run of form with a fifth straight home win beating Columbus Crew 1-0 in the MLS on Saturday.

Higuain struck the winner in the 16th minute for Inter who have claimed 13 points from their past five matches to surge up to ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Inter had endured a six-game losing span in May and June but Phil Neville's side have bounced back, losing only once in their past 10.

The former Real Madrid forward swooped on a wayward back pass from Josh Williams, taking a touch inside the box and dinking a shot over Crew keeper Eloy Room, with Vito Wormgoor unable to clear it on the line.

New England maintained their stronghold on the lead at the top of the table with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over 10-man New York City.

Santiago Rodriguez had put City ahead with an 11th-minute volley before Revolution midfielder Emmanuel Boateng drive in a low leveller 10 minutes later. Tom McNamara may have put New England ahead when he hit the post late in the half.

Alfredo Morales was sent off for a second bookable offence, an heavy tackle on McNamara, early in the second half.

New England capitalized with in-form Tajon Buchanan coming up with a 65th minute winner from Carles Gil's assist.

Nashville maintained their strong season with a 1-0 victory on the road over Montreal after Walker Zimmerman's glancing 66th-minute header, keeping them second in the Eastern Conference behind New England.

Sporting KC struck twice inside the first 10 minutes from Jose Mauri and Johnny Russell as they won 2-0 over Chicago Fire to stay in touch with Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders.

Colorado Rapids squandered an opportunity to temporarily go top in the west after Samuel Grandsir's late equalizer for LA Galaxy in a 1-1 draw. The Rapids instead slip to third below KC.

Seattle Sounders remained first in the west with a 1-0 home win over Minnesota United thanks to Joao Paulo's 22nd-minute strike.

Teenage sensation Ricardo Pepi scored his 12th goal of the season as Dallas drew 1-1 with San Jose Earthquakes, while lowly Houston Dynamo won 3-0 over fellow Texas outfit Austin.

New York Red Bulls continue to struggle for wins, only managing a 1-1 home draw with DC United after a controversial penalty award for a Sean Nealis handball.

Cincinnati snapped their three-game losing run with a 2-0 home win over struggling Toronto, who have lost five in a row.

Dejan Joveljic scored twice and Kevin Cabral netted a last-gasp equaliser as LA Galaxy salvaged a dramatic 3-3 draw against rivals Los Angeles FC in El Trafico.

LAFC led 2-1 and then 3-2 heading into the 86th minute but Cabral's late heroics earned a share of the points for the Galaxy in an MLS thriller on Saturday.

Signed from Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt this month, Serbia international Joveljic – experiencing his first El Trafico derby – broke the deadlock in the 20th minute.

LAFC – who had lost a club record four consecutive matches as part of their record seven-match winless run heading into the fixture – were back on level terms courtesy of Cristian Arango's penalty on the stroke of half-time.

A moment of brilliance from Brian Rodriguez in the 58th minute gave LAFC a 2-1 lead, his stunning individual run evaded several Galaxy defenders before lashing home.

LAFC and the Galaxy traded goals as Jovejlic struck again in the 64th minute before Rodriguez restored the former's lead just two minutes later.

However, there was to be late drama – Cabral pounced on Araujo's cross and scored in front of a stunned home crowd.

The Galaxy are fourth in the Western Conference, six points behind leaders Seattle Sounders and 12 points clear of ninth-placed LAFC.

Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders New England Revolution were beaten 2-0 by New York City, who were fuelled by Valentin Castellanos' brace.

New York City equalled the longest home winning streak in club history, having also enjoyed a seven-game run from November 2017 to June 2018.

Nashville celebrated their first away victory of the season after taking down Atlanta United 2-0, DC United came from behind to defeat Philadelphia Union 3-1, Chicago Fire edged New York Red Bulls 1-0, Minnesota United topped Houston Dynamo 2-1 and Sporting Kansas City drew 1-1 with Colorado Rapids.