Miguel Berry was the hero last time out for the LA Galaxy, but he hailed veteran defender Martin Caceres.

Berry scored in the dying seconds as the Galaxy salvaged a 2-2 draw with Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake at the weekend.

It was a point that saw Galaxy maintain the two-point gap between themselves and RSL, with Minnesota United – who sit second in the West – next up for Greg Vanney’s team.

Berry’s last-gasp equaliser sparked wild celebrations, and Caceres – the former Juventus defender – was heavily involved, despite being a substitute.

And Berry was quick to point out the 37-year-old’s importance to the Galaxy’s squad.

“[Caceres] is one of those people who makes your day better every single day. He's incredibly funny and unique and he's had a great career, and he's such a big part of the group,” said Berry, in quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune.

“For him to celebrate like that with us shows how much it means. He's played Champions League finals, won Champions League finals and played four World Cups. It's incredible, guys like that, celebrate with the team, means a lot.

“It's obviously a great feeling as a team to have those moments and when you look back on your career and your life, those are the moments that stick with you.”

The Galaxy have drawn their last two games, while Minnesota head into Wednesday’s meeting on the back of three straight wins.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Minnesota United – Teemu Pukki

Pukki has scored five goals in his first two matches against LA Galaxy, the sixth player in league history to score five or more times in his first two matches against a single opponent and the first to do so against the Galaxy.

LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig

Puig recorded the primary assist on both of the Galaxy’s goals on Saturday, setting up strikes for Gabriel Pec and Miguel Berry. Puig’s 10 primary assists for the Galaxy have set up goals for nine different players with Gaston Brugman the only teammate he’s set up more than once.

MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WIN

Minnesota have won three consecutive matches for the first time since August 2022. The Loons’ only winning streak of longer than three games in all competitions was a seven-match run in June-July 2019.

Dating back to last September, the Galaxy have lost only four of the last 10 matches in which they trailed by multiple goals (W2 D4), including losing only one of four this year (W1 D2).

Galaxy have won six of their first eight meetings with Minnesota United (D2, including playoffs), but have won just one of the six meetings (D2 L3) since.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Minnesota United – 53%

LA Galaxy – 21.7%

Draw – 25.3%

Greg Vanney believes the LA Galaxy are in a good spot both physically and mentally ahead of Saturday's clash with fellow Western Conference high-fliers Real Salt Lake.

The Galaxy sit third in the West through 11 matches of the season, though they have failed to win back-to-back road games against Austin FC (0-2) and the Seattle Sounders (0-0).

They are, however, unbeaten in all four of their home league games this term (two wins, two draws), and Vanney is looking forward to returning to Dignity Health Sports Park next time out.

"Physically, first and foremost, we're in a pretty good spot. We have a few guys coming back from issues that were pretty minor," Vanney said.

"It's good. We've been able to stay in that space for a while and now we're going into a busy part of the schedule we can make some choices about how we want to attack the week.

"Where are we mentally? We're good. It's nice to be home, it's a challenge to play a lot of games on the road early doors.

"We like the spot we're in and we want to keep building, but we've got to get through this tough stretch of games."

Real Salt Lake are top of the Western standings with 21 points, only losing twice in 11 league games this year.

However, they were dumped out of the U.S. Open Cup by New Mexico United on Wednesday, Pablo Mastroeni shuffling his pack for a 4-2 road loss.

"We completely tuned out," Mastroeni said after watching his team go 2-0 down within 20 minutes.

"The emotion is like, 'poor me,' and when you operate from that space, you can never think reasonably."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LA Galaxy – Gabriel Pec

The Galaxy (12 shots) and Seattle (19) combined for 31 shots in their scoreless draw last time out.

Pec – who has two goals in 10 league appearances since joining the Galaxy in the offseason – recorded six of his team's attempts, but only hit the target once. He will be targeting an improvement here.

Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango 

Arango is the first Real Salt Lake player to contribute to at least one goal in five straight regular-season away matches, recording four goals and five assists during his streak.

He is just the second player since the start of last season to record a goal contribution in five straight MLS away matches, after the Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez.

MATCH PREDICTION – LA GALAXY WIN

The Galaxy have lost only one of their last 13 home matches against Real Salt Lake (nine wins, three draws) including going unbeaten through the last seven in a row. 

The last two meetings in Carson have both ended level, though, after the Galaxy won nine of the previous 11 (one draw, one defeat).

However, Vanney's team have only lost one of their last 14 regular-season home matches dating back to last June, winning six and drawing six while averaging 2.2 goals per game throughout this run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

LA Galaxy – 44.8%

Real Salt Lake – 27.8%

Draw – 27.4%

LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has urged his team to start sharply when they take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

The Galaxy went down 2-0 to Austin FC last time out, and will look to get back to winning ways when they head up the West Coast to face the Sounders, who they beat 1-0 in March.

Vanney’s side found themselves 2-0 down after just 19 minutes against Austin, though, and the Galaxy coach is growing increasingly frustrated with his team’s sloppy starts.

In quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune, Vanney said: “We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivises the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal.”

Vanney also pointed out that sluggishness in the final third is proving equally as costly.

He added: “The speed of our final actions when we are in possession and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots.”

For experienced defender Maya Yoshida, there were few excuses after the Austin loss.

“We were not enough. I don't deserve anything for my performance,” he said. “We deserved to lose. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”

The Galaxy went into the weekend second in the Western Conference, 10 places and nine points above the Sounders.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz

Ruidiaz and team-mate Jordan Morris have each scored nine goals against the Galaxy in their MLS careers. Since 2016, the only players with more goals against a single opponent are Carlos Vela (10 vs. Galaxy), Jeremy Ebobisse (10 vs. Galaxy) and Kei Kamara (10 vs. Montreal).

LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig

Puig had a fine campaign last year and the former Barcelona midfielder has picked up where he left off, scoring three goals and creating two more so far this season.

MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Galaxy’s loss to Austin ended a run of 18 straight matches with at least one goal in all competitions, scoring 41 total times during that run (2.3 goals per match). It was the Galaxy’s longest run of games with a goal in all competitions since a 21-match run in 2014.

The Sounders won their second match of the season on Tuesday, a 3-2 victory in Philadelphia. Seattle have scored eight goals in their two wins this year (5-0 vs. CF Montreal in April) and six goals in their other eight matches (D3 L5).

The Galaxy beat Seattle at home on March 30, ending an 11-match MLS winless run against the Sounders (D4 L7). The Galaxy last won consecutive MLS matches against Seattle in April-August 2015.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 53.9%

LA Galaxy – 20.1%

Draw – 26%

LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney is satisfied with where his team are at in their development, with the next step for him being better game management.

The Galaxy beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 last time out, and they are top of the Western Conference with 18 points from nine games.

Next up is a trip to Austin FC, who have won three of their last four MLS fixtures.

“We want to build some momentum and keep looking at things we can keep improving,” said Vanney.

“Austin are a team that are improving, they’ve figured out a few things with their group.

“All these games on the road are difficult, we’ve got to keep taking steps forward, learning from each of these games, things we can carry on into the next game and be a little better. I’m happy with where we’re at, for sure, and the process continues.”

The Galaxy raced into a 3-0 lead against the ‘Quakes, though Vanney was disappointed with how his side failed to maintain control.

He said: “At 3-0 with an opportunity to see it off into half-time, they score a goal that helps them get back into it, so I think game management is an important piece of that.

“Again, I think inside of that, is choosing our moments when we can really force the opposition to defend in numbers in their half of the field, burn their spirit a bit or really force them to work to get the ball back so they don’t really see a great way back into the game. Sometimes we rush attacks and the game starts to open up – we need to make sure the game stays controlled because we have everything to gain from that scenario.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin FC – Emiliano Rigoni

Rigoni scored his first goal of the season last time out, netting in Austin’s 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo. Fourteen different Austin FC players have been involved in at least one goal this year, tied with Sporting Kansas City for most in MLS in 2024.

LA Galaxy – Joseph Paintsil

Paintsil has a goal and an assist in each of the Galaxy’s last two matches. The last player to do so in three straight MLS matches was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also for the Galaxy, in September 2019.

MATCH PREDICTION: AUSTIN FC WIN

The Galaxy have won four of their last five matches, including the last two in a row, following a 4—3 win over San Jose on Sunday. However, they have not won three in a row in all competitions since a four-match run in August-September 2020.

Austin, on the other hand, have won three of its last four matches, including their last two at home. Austin’s only three-match home winning streak since the start of the 2022 season came in June-July 2023.

The Galaxy have lost only one of their six matches against Austin FC (W4 D1 L1), but just one of their four wins over the Verde has come in Austin (W1 D1 L1).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Austin FC – 51.2%

LA Galaxy – 23.3%

Draw – 25.5%

Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami has brought more attention to MLS, with Giorgio Chiellini hailing the impact of the World Cup winner and likening his move to when David Beckham arrived.

Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England star Beckham left the Spanish capital for LA Galaxy in 2007 as the dazzling midfielder's move captured the imaginations of many in the United States.

Beckham has since retired and created his own MLS franchise in the USA, bringing the likes of Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to his newly established Miami side.

Juventus great Chiellini also joined MLS, signing for Los Angeles FC, winning the MLS Cup Final last year before defeat in this season's edition on Saturday to Columbus Crew.

And he vouched for the impact of Messi's move to Miami.

"I think that when Messi joined it was comparable to when Beckham joined," Chiellini told Stats Perform.

"And it's something that the league, but also the players, are very happy about because there is a lot of possibility for the future.

"What Messi did was huge for everyone and now there is much more consideration for the league, much more attention and it helps everyone."

Former Italy centre-back Chiellini announced his retirement on Monday, with reports suggesting the 39-year-old will move back to Juventus to take up a boardroom role.

The European Championship-winning defender will at least be thankful he does not have to face Beckham's Miami again next season.

A Messi-inspired Miami powered to a Leagues Cup triumph, with the Argentina captain scoring 10 goals.

"I don't know how every team could face and beat Miami next year," Chiellini added on Miami, who are reportedly close to signing former Barcelona and Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.

"Fortunately this year I met with Messi when they were at the bottom of the table and then he had one month out.

"They were still a really good team, it was one of the best nights and atmospheres. That's very good for the league, very good for the future of the league."

Orlando City forward Facundo Torres is targeting a turnaround in the Lions’ home fortunes, starting against LA Galaxy on Saturday.

Since beating the New York Red Bulls in the opening game of the season, Orlando have failed to win at home in 2023.

That run of five games has included three straight losses, with road wins over Philadelphia Union and Minnesota United wedged between those defeats.

Torres scored the winner against the Red Bulls back in February, and knows the time is now for Orlando to correct their home form.

"It's been difficult losses. Not just this week, but so far the ones that we've had on the season," he said.

"We know that we have to be a little bit more. It's not what we'd hoped for at this point in the season, but we continue working with the whole team to continue finding those details that we've been missing recently.

"In the final third, we've gotten good plays where we've been in and around the ball, but we haven't been able to finish those chances yet. And on the defensive side, we've given up some easy ones that have cost us as a team. So we work together to try and solidify those areas.

"We all know what [head coach] Oscar [Pareja] has been asking of us in the plan that he's laid out for us, whether it's guys that have been here or guys that just got here this year.

"The plan that Oscar has laid out has been very clear, and we're all integrated into that. I think what we're missing right now is the chemistry in between the new players and the old players and executing that idea. Like I said, the plan is very clear so now we just need to work together to bring that idea to the field in reality."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Orlando City – Duncan McGuire

McGuire has scored three goals in his first six MLS appearances, including scoring Orlando's last two goals. McGuire has hit the target with all seven shots he's attempted in MLS, the only player to attempt more than three shots with a 100 per cent shooting accuracy this season.

LA Galaxy – Javier Hernandez

Hernandez scored his first goal of the season in the Galaxy's 2-0 win over Austin on Saturday, and will be eager to keep up his form. It was his 38th regular season MLS goal, surpassing Erick Torres to become the second-highest-scoring Mexican international in MLS history, behind only Carlos Vela (72).

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Each side have three wins in their six previous MLS meetings. The last two matches ended 1-0 to the visiting team (one win each) after there were a total of 20 goals scored in the first four games between the Lions and Galaxy.

Orlando have lost 11 regular season home matches since the start of 2022 (W10 D1) after losing a total of 12 home matches over the previous three regular seasons combined (W20 D14 from 2019—21).

The Galaxy have just two points from four away matches this season, though they're unbeaten in their last five away matches against Eastern Conference opposition.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Orlando City – 48.2 per cent

LA Galaxy – 25.1 per cent

Draw – 26.7 per cent

Mikael Uhre netted a hat-trick as Philadelphia Union snapped their five-game MLS winless run with a 4-2 victory over Toronto on Saturday.

Union took an early lead after Lukas MacNaughton's 16th-minute own goal before Denmark international Uhre bagged a double before half-time.

Uhre added a third in the 56th minute to round out his hat-trick, tapping in Julian Carranza's low ball across goal and put the contest to bed.

Toronto pulled one back through Italy international Lorenzo Insigne in the 66th minute, before Richie Laryea's stoppage-time consolation.

New England reinforced their grip on top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 home win over Sporting KC, who are last overall.

Giacomo Vrioni netted a first-half brace for the Revs, but Sporting pulled one back in the 50th minute from Johnny Russell, only to be reduced to 10 men when Andreu Fontas was sent off 10 minutes later.

The Revs are ahead of second-placed Cincinnati on goal difference, with Cincy winning 2-1 over Portland Timbers after strikes from Sergio Santos and Brandon Vasquez.

New York City moved up to fourth in the East with a 3-1 home win over Dallas sparked by Santiago Rodriguez's double.

Western Conference leaders St Louis City were denied victory after Michael Barrios' 90th-minute equaliser as they drew 1-1 at Colorado Rapids.

St Louis remain top in the West but only on goal difference from Seattle Sounders who condemned Minnesota United to three straight losses with a 1-0 victory.

Denis Bouanga netted his seventh goal of the MLS season as LAFC drew 1-1 at Nashville, while LA Galaxy snapped their winless start to the campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Austin.

Inter Miami's losing run extended to six in a row, compounding the pressure on boss Phil Neville, as they went down 1-0 at Houston Dynamo.

Real Salt Lake beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-1, Charlotte defeated Columbus Crew 1-0, struggling Montreal edged New York Red Bulls 2-0 and Christian Benteke scored as DC United won 3-1 at Orlando City.

Carlos Vela stepped up like he always does in El Trafico with a double and an assist in LAFC's 3-2 victory over a fast-finishing LA Galaxy on Sunday.

The former Mexico international, who scored a brace in LAFC's midweek 3-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps in the Concacaf Champions League, was the difference as his side climbed up to second in the Western Conference.

Vela's double meant he has scored 12 times against Galaxy, while it led LAFC to their first-ever road win at Dignity Health Sports Park in nine attempts.

Vela curled in the opener in trademark style in the 22nd minute, but Galaxy responded with Tyler Boyd's long-range 39th-minute strike.

But LAFC fired in two goals in three minutes to open up a 3-1 lead, firstly from some shaky Galaxy defending with Sega Coulibaly bringing down Denis Bouanga inside the box for a penalty.

Vela stepped up and sent Galaxy keeper Jonathan Klinsmann the wrong way, before the ex-Arsenal man's corner found Ryan Hollingshead to nod home in the 70th minute. Kwadwo Opoku missed the chance to make it 4-1 when he poked wide on a swift counter too.

Riqui Puig, who had been quiet in the second half, struck the post in the 81st minute with a long-range effort, before his brilliant pass set up Javier Hernandez, but he was denied by McCarthy.

In the 84th minute Hernandez, making his first start of the season, got a touch on Dejan Joveljic's low cross, allowing a simple tap-in for Marco Delgado. Galaxy almost grabbed a point when Calegari's speculative shot forced McCarthy to tip it over the bar.

Galaxy remain winless this MLS season, with three points from seven games.

LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney acknowledges his side are no longer the powerhouse they once were in MLS, as his out-of-form team prepare for a derby clash with Los Angeles FC this weekend.

The LA rivals will play out the latest edition of El Trafico at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday, with Galaxy looking to arrest a dismal start to the 2023 season.

Galaxy are winless in their first six MLS matches, with three draws and three defeats leaving them just above the foot of the Western Conference.

It almost a decade since Galaxy were the dominant force in the competition, and with LAFC's own MLS Cup success last term, they have been supplanted as the dominant force in southern California since the latter's arrival in 2018.

Vanney said: "We understand where we're at, and we understand where we're going, and we also understand the context of the situation.

"There are now 29 teams in the league that are also trying to do the same thing. This is no longer a league of 12 teams or 19 teams of which the Galaxy is the spender.

"We're in a league with a lot of very ambitious clubs and teams and, some that have [spent] are ahead of us in terms of making roster decisions who have settled their groups in."

Steve Cherundolo, meanwhile, is paying no attention to the difference in ladder position between the two sides ahead of their encounter.

Instead, the LAFC boss is expecting the usual feisty derby and hard-fought battle for points.

"It's always competitive," he said. "We will always see the best of the Galaxy. We expect much of the same on Sunday."

The pair split the win share equally in four games last term, though it was LAFC who claimed El Trafico's most crucial game in the play-offs last year.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig

Former Barcelona midfielder Puig has been busy in attack, even if he has lacked the reward, having made 37 attempts to take on defenders this season.

Puig has been successful on 24 occasions. No player with 25 or more attempts this season has a higher success rate than Puig, with 64.8 per cent.

LAFC – Carlos Vela

Vela has scored 10 goals in 11 career MLS appearances against the Galaxy, the joint-best for any player against a single opponent since LAFC joined the league in 2018.

That said, he has not found the back of the net in any of his last four meetings in El Trafico, marking something of a barren run for him.

MATCH PREDICTION – LAFC WIN

Galaxy and LAFC each claimed victory in their two home matches against the other in 2022, including the latter's 3-2 win during the play-offs. Eight of the 16 MLS meetings between the sides have featured at least five goals, including each of the last two.

Galaxy have earned just three points in their first six matches this season (W0 D3 L3), matching their worst-ever record for fewest points at this stage of a season, set during the 1997 campaign.

LAFC have won their first four home matches this MLS season but have played out scoreless draws in both of their away games. Prior to those last two encounters, none of their first 77 away trips in MLS had finished without at least one goal.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

LA Galaxy - 34.5 per cent

LAFC - 38.1 per cent

Draw - 27.4 per cent

Denis Bouanga netted a hat-trick as reigning MLS champions LAFC claimed a statement win with a 3-0 rout of Austin on Saturday.

Bouanga opened the scoring with a low strike with five minutes left in the first half, before adding further goals in the 57th and 68th minutes.

The Gabonese winger fired in a powerful right-foot volley from a corner for 2-0, before side-footing home at the back post for the third.

The result meant LAFC kept in touch with the top two in the Western Conference, with Seattle Sounders moving above St Louis City into top spot with a 3-0 win in the late game.

The Sounders netted three second-half goals to condemn the expansion side to their second straight loss after winning their opening five MLS games.

Phil Neville's Inter Miami slumped to their fifth straight loss, going down 1-0 at home to Dallas. US international Jesus Ferreira scored the only goal in the 27th minute. Dallas moved up to fourth in the West with the victory.

Cincinnati remained top of the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 home win over Philadelphia Union, who are winless in four. New England are second in the East behind Cincy, thrashing Montreal 4-0.

Tom Barlow scored deep into stoppage time to rescue a 1-1 draw for New York Red Bulls against San Jose Earthquakes, while Colorado Rapids edged Sporting KC 1-0 on the road.

New York City and Atlanta United drew 1-1, Nashville and Toronto drew 0-0, while Columbus Crew secured their third straight win with a 2-0 victory at D United.

Kei Kamara scored a double as Chicago Fire won 2-1 over Minnesota United, while Amine Bassi also netted a brace as 10-man Houston Dynamo beat nine-man LA Galaxy 3-0.

Real Salt Lake came from behind to win 3-1 over Charlotte, while Vancouver Whitecaps beat Portland Timbers 1-0.

Expansion franchise St Louis City's perfect start to their inaugural MLS season was ended by Minnesota United who triumphed 1-0 after Luis Amarilla's 78th-minute penalty on Saturday.

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.

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.

St Louis City extended their dream start to life in the MLS with a 3-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday making league history as the first expansion team to win its first four games.

The Missouri club powered past the Earthquakes with first-half goals from Nicholas Gioacchini and Joao Klauss, before Tomas Ostrak sealed the win in the 68th minute.

St Louis' fourth straight win surpassed the Seattle Sounders' three-win start in their debut MLS season in 2009.

The new franchise have scored 11 goals in four games, with Saturday's win marking their first clean sheet, having been forced to come from behind in all three other victories.

Argentinian midfielder Thiago Almada continued his stellar start to the new campaign with a  double in Atlanta United's 5-1 win over Portland Timbers.

The 21-year-old, who was called into Argentina's squad for the upcoming international window, netted a stunning free-kick in first-half stoppage time to make it 2-0.

Montreal upset 10-man Philadelphia Union with a comeback 3-2 win aided by a game-changing video review for Chinonso Offor's 90th-minute equaliser which split opinions.

The goal had initially been disallowed upon video review, only for that to be overturned when it was realised Union left back Kai Wagner, who was off screen from the initial angle, had actually played Offor onside.

Reigning MLS Cup winners LAFC were held to a goalless draw at Seattle, while last year's beaten conference finalists New York City got past DC United 3-2.

New England made it three wins from four games with Gustavo Bou netting the winner in a 1-0 triumph over Nashville, while New York Red Bulls came from behind to win 2-1 over Columbus Crew.

Chicago Fire remain winless after blowing a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Cincinnati, while LA Galaxy are also without a win after a 1-1 home draw with Vancouver Whitecaps.

Charlotte bounced back from their losing start to the season with a 2-1 home win over Orlando City, while Toronto beat Inter Miami 2-0, Dallas won 2-1 over Sporting KC, Houston Dynamo downed Austin 2-0 and Miguel Tapias scored late to earn Minnesota United a 2-1 win at Colorado Rapids.

Expansion team St Louis City made it three wins from three games to open their debut MLS campaign triumphing 2-1 away to Portland Timbers on Saturday.

The Missouri outfit became only the second expansion team in MLS history to start 3-0-0, with goals from Jared Stroud and Kyle Hiebert completing another comeback win.

Towering centre-back Zac McGraw had put Portland ahead in the third minute with a header from Eryk Williamson's set piece.

Stroud netted his second goal of the season on the stroke of half-time for 1-1, lashing in after Rasmum Alm's cross from the right side.

Canadian defender Hiebert came up with the winner in the 75th minute with his header finding its way into the back of the net from Eduard Lowen's free-kick.

St Louis have come from behind to win in all three MLS games to date and are the only team with nine points from three games.

Cincinnati produced a statement win, despite being reduced to 10 men, with a 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders.

Brenner netted the winner in the 63rd minute, before Nick Hagglund's 80th-minute red card forced Cincy to hang on against the Sounders, who had won their opening two games.

Joaquin Torres came up with a 90th-minute winner with a long-range left-foot strike for last season's MLS Cup runners-up Philadelphia Union as they edged nine-man Chicago Fire 1-0.

New York City secured their first win of the new season after Christopher McVey's 36th-minute own goal in their 1-0 triumph over Inter Miami.

New York Red Bulls' winless start to the new season continued with a 1-1 draw in snowy conditions at Minnesota United, where Andres Reyes headed a 49th-minute leveller for the visitors.

Teenager Caleb Wiley scored a double with an assist as Atlanta United piled on three first-half goals in their 3-0 road victory over Charlotte who have lost three straight to open the new campaign.

Montreal were also left without a point after three games, going down 2-0 at Nashville, while Chris Durkin equalised in the 80th minute as DC United drew 1-1 with Orlando City.

Toronto drew 1-1 at home with Columbus Crew, while Vancouver Whitecaps and Dallas finished with the same scoreline.

Sporting KC and LA Galaxy drew 0-0, Austin won 2-1 at Real Salt Lake and 10-man SJ Earthquakes held on for a 1-0 win over Colorado Rapids after a stunning Cristian Espinoza strike.

LA Galaxy defender Julian Araujo sealed a permanent move from the MLS team to Spanish giants Barcelona on Friday.

Paperwork for the transfer reportedly arrived 18 seconds after the deadline for LaLiga signings in January, causing a delay.

Araujo has now been able to make the move and is initially joining up with Barcelona's B team, Barca Atletic.

The Mexico international has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal, Barcelona said.

Barcelona have reportedly asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule on whether Araujo should be allowed to play competitive games this season.

In the United States, reports said Barcelona would pay €3.7million ($4m) for the 21-year-old, with the Galaxy confirming they negotiated a sell-on clause in the deal.

Announcing his departure in an Instagram post, Araujo penned a goodbye letter to the Galaxy, saying he and team-mates "fought together, side by side, for four amazing seasons that I'll never forget".

"A big thanks to the incredible fans who cheered me on from my debut to my final game," he added. "To all of my team-mates, coaches and staff, it was a pleasure to represent the badge alongside all of you. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to develop from an academy member to a first team player, with the biggest club in MLS.

"LA Galaxy will always be a part of my story and it was an honour to share these experiences with all of you. See you soon."

Galaxy head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney said two-time All-Star Araujo deserved the chance to go to Camp Nou.

Vanney said: "It's a wonderful story of a young Southern California native who came to the LA Galaxy academy with a dream of playing for the LA Galaxy.

"He's played now three years inside of the first team and he's been recognised for his growth and the effort he's put in and how we've been able to support him over that time.

"To have clubs like Barcelona come and have interest in Jules shows, a) his effort, and b) how the process can work as you work through the LA Galaxy.

"Now he's going to be moving to one of the biggest clubs in the world, which is exciting in many ways for him and his story. This is by no means the end of Julian's story, this is just the next chapter."