Winners and Losers Across MLS in Week 1
It’s official: Week 1 of the 2023 MLS regular season is in the books. Here are our winners and losers from a scintillating opening salvo from coast to coast.
It’s official: Week 1 of the 2023 MLS regular season is in the books. Here are our winners and losers from a scintillating opening salvo from coast to coast.
Winner: Late-game drama
Late goals decided five matches this weekend — including three in stoppage time.
The wildest comeback probably belongs to Atlanta United, who trailed 1-0 at home to the San Jose Earthquakes until Thiago Almada stepped in with a pair of Golazos — the first being a long-range cannon from outside the box following a corner kick (90+3’), and the second a sweetly-struck direct freekick on the last play of the game (90+9’).
Watch both of Almada’s goals:
Further north, Christian Benteke’s 90th-minute equalizer and Theodore Ku-DiPietro’s winner in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time stunned Bob Bradley’s retooled Toronto FC.
Other dramatic results include:
New England 1, Charlotte 0: Henry Kessler’s 89th-minute dagger gave the Revolution their first win in a season opener since 2013.
St. Louis 3, Austin 2: Jared Stroud and Joao Klauss each scored in the final 12 minutes to secure a memorable result for the expansion side (more down below!)
Salt Lake 2, Vancouver 1: Justen Glad and Damir Kreilach each scored within three minutes of each other — in the 70th and 73rd minute, respectively — to overcome the Whitecaps on the road.
Winner: Defenders who like to venture forward
Several MLS center backs can run a clinic on attacking positioning and finishing — at least that’s the impression given by the five who found the back of the net this weekend.
Walker Zimmerman converted the first goal of the MLS season following the remnants of a first half Nashville SC corner kick, while Henry Kessler and Serhiy Kryvtsov bagged the game winners for the New England Revolution and Inter Miami FC, respectively.
Justen Glad opened Real Salt Lake’s scoring account as well, while Tim Parker made history by scoring St. Louis CITY SC’s first franchise goal (more on that in a bit).
Full backs had a solid opening week too: Javain Brown of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Tate Schmitt of the Houston Dynamo each scored, though both their teams lost. FC Cincinnati right back Alvaro Barreal also had an assist on Sergio Santos’ goal in his team’s win over Houston.
Loser: Draws
There weren’t any.
This was a good week for sports fans who decry soccer because some games end without a winner.
The opening slate of matches featured 34 goals — that’s an average of 2.83 goals per game.
Winner: MLS Season Pass on-air talents
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV is the latest in a recent influx of platforms now streaming soccer, joining Peacock, Paramount+, and others.
This opening weekend of coverage showed the service is serious about production quality and user experience, and rarely — if ever — committed a novice blunder or broadcasting lull often common when new things come online.
The most important element of a soccer broadcast is a plurality of proper camera angles — and MLS Season Pass delivered on this across several matches this weekend. And even though it’s only the first week of the season, many on-air talents seem to have already built a nice rapport.
The Charlotte-New England game featured the talents of Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam, who provided quality, neutral match analysis — and even provided The Blazing Musket with a cool shoutout in the second half.
Loser: Kipp Keller
You hate to see it, but this wouldn’t be a proper winners and losers commentary without mention of the weekend’s top howler, furnished by Austin FC defender Kipp Keller.
Let the footage do the talking:
Keller’s evening got worse, as his botched marking later allowed St. Louis striker Joao Klauss to cut inside and put away the game-winning goal in the 86th minute.
Winner: St. Louis CITY SC
Austin FC reached the Western Conference final last year and entered this season among the favorites to win MLS Cup.
None of that seemed to phase St. Louis CITY SC, who served up Week 1’s finest upset with a stunning, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Austin at Q2 Stadium.
St. Louis became the sixth expansion team in MLS history to win its first-ever game, navigating a rowdy away environment and one of the league’s most dynamic attacking teams.
Tim Parker got the festivities started with his headed goal off a first half corner, then the team regrouped after Austin equalized and took a second half lead.
Kip Keller’s howler aside, St. Louis did two things that often elude expansion teams when they start in MLS: Play with an identity and finish chances.
St. Louis remain at the bottom of FiveThirtyEight’s MLS predictions for both making the playoffs and reaching MLS Cup, but that doesn’t matter this week, as the club is in a four-way tie for first place in the Western Conference.
Loser: Casual MLS fans in Italy
Toronto FC ran into the Wayne Rooney buzzsaw as the Reds fell, 3-2, at Audi Field.
Italian midfielder Federico Bernardeschi scored for Toronto from the penalty spot, but his compatriot, Lorenzo Insigne, left the match in the 34th minute due to an undisclosed back injury. Insigne was reportedly visibly upset on the bench after coming off, and head coach Bob Bradley has not provided injury details or a timetable for the player’s return.
The ex-Napoli playmaker is the highest-paid player in MLS and was expected to be the centerpiece of Toronto’s attack this year.
Loser: El Tráfico
The game to settle arguably the greatest rivalry in MLS is postponed until July 4.
Inclement weather and thunderstorms in the Los Angeles area forced the league to make the scheduling change. As such, both teams will open their seasons on March 4, with the Galaxy on the road against FC Dallas and LAFC at home against Portland.
El Tráfico would have been the premiere match of MLS Season Pass’ opening weekend. On the plus side, a Fourth of July tilt featuring Carlos Vela and Javier Chicharito Hernandez dueling on opposite sides of the same field really will bring the fireworks.
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Glad to see you writing on the platform again Julian.