Major League Soccer
31 August 2026
By Charles Boehm
Was the number four the theme across MLS this weekend?
There were four-goal spectacles in Seattle, New Jersey and San Diego. The runaway league leaders struck four unanswered goals against a strong side at GEODIS Park. And a certain Leo produced four by himself in Miami to deliver the classic ‘new coach bounce’ and move into top spot in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race.
Here is a quick look back at Matchday 23.
Cavan keeps rising
Sports Illustrated Stadium staged a heavily anticipated meeting of elite teenage prodigies on Saturday, and perhaps future US men’s national team stars as well, as New York Red Bulls hosted the in-form Philadelphia Union. For most of the evening, though, only one side really imposed itself, with Philly dominating their cross-New Jersey rivals in a 3-1 win.
And they were led by a teenager.
It was 16-year-old sensation Cavan Sullivan who scored the winner in style, his second goal in as many matches and his fifth goal contribution in Philadelphia’s last four games. That strike took him to 10 goal contributions in league action, drawing level with Freddy Adu for the most ever in an MLS season by a player of his age or younger.
“He has gained the respect of his teammates,” interim head coach Ryan Richter said. “They also give him the freedom that he can go into these moments, because he can create something out of nothing.”
The Union are flying at the moment, still unbeaten in MLS play since the FIFA World Cup break at 5W-0L-2D, and the table now shows them only one point shy of the Eastern Conference Audi MLS Cup Playoffs places after spending much of the first half of the season near the bottom.
With Cavan and fellow teenage homegrown Neil Pierre, who also found the net again, playing such a central role in that revival despite their young age, it is fair to ask whether USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino can really leave either of them out for the upcoming September/October international window.
Messi doing Messi things yet again
With only one win from their first seven matches in a packed August schedule, Inter Miami CF have endured one of their more difficult months of the Lionel Messi era. In hindsight, last week’s surprise 2-1 home defeat to struggling Toronto FC proved to be the breaking point, as it led to the appointment of new head coach Cristian “Kily” González, formerly of Rosario Central, to replace Guillermo Hoyos.
Neither man was on the touchline at Nu Stadium for Saturday’s meeting with CF Montréal, with Kily still waiting for his paperwork to be completed and Hoyos serving a disciplinary suspension because of the Herons’ repeated breach of the league’s Late Kickoff Policy. It made absolutely no difference.
At times, Lionel Messi looks as though he is simply playing a video game while nobody on the opposition has a controller. This was one of those evenings for Montréal, who were only trailing 3-1 entering the 80th minute but still ended up on the receiving end of a 7-1 hammering in the South Florida humidity, with the GOAT scoring four times in a vintage performance.
“For 15 years, many teams and players have been trying to stop him. It’s not easy,” Montréal interim coach Philippe Eullaffroy said after the match. “We could have solved this problem collectively, but today, the last 30 minutes were nonexistent. That doesn’t help against a player of this quality, who is also surrounded by very high-level players.”
The result ended Miami’s five-match winless run and pushed Messi ahead of Petar Musa in the Golden Boot standings.
Coyotes keep rolling
As impressive as Miami were, they still remain 10 points behind Supporters’ Shield and Eastern Conference leaders Nashville SC. That is because the Coyotes dismantled an inconsistent yet still highly capable FC Cincinnati side in a result framed as a fitting tribute following the passing of Tennessee icon Dolly Parton.
Much like Miami versus Montréal, the 4-0 scoreline became a little inflated thanks to two stoppage-time goals from relentless Nashville. But there should be no misunderstanding: they were in charge throughout, led by their prolific Designated Player trio of Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge and Cristian Espinoza. All three got on the scoresheet, and together they now have 53 goal contributions this season.
Nashville are a formidable 11W-0L-1D at home in league play. If they maintain this blistering pace, both the Supporters’ Shield and a new single-season points record should be theirs by late October. And perhaps MLS Cup presented by Audi a few weeks later as well.
Deki does it twice
In the midst of a 10-match winless streak, hit hard by injuries and badly lacking confidence, Seattle Sounders desperately needed a spark as Robert Lewandowski and an in-form Chicago Fire side arrived at Lumen Field for Saturday’s matinee. They found it through the immediate impact of their brand-new $6 million signing.
Making his first start for the Sounders just four days after a major cash-for-player trade from Sporting Kansas City, Dejan Joveljić rose to the occasion and then some, scoring twice and generally lifting the level of those around him. The same could be said for the long-awaited return of club icon Cristian Roldan, who came off the bench for his first appearance since suffering an injury while on World Cup duty with the USMNT.
“You saw glimpses of not just what Dejan can do,” head coach Brian Schmetzer said after the game. “He's going to make everybody around us better... That locker room feels like they have something.”
Unfortunately for Schmetzer and the Rave Green supporters, Seattle’s defensive weakness remains. Their entire back line was far too static as Lewandowski drifted in at the far post to head home a perfectly delivered cross from Leonardo Barroso in the 82nd minute, earning the Men in Red a point in a 2-2 draw. Even so, with so many important players finally getting fit again, Joveljić and the Sounders look capable of becoming a difficult side to face down the stretch.
Allianz Field madness
Regular readers will remember previous references to MLS as a league of chaos. And once again, that identity was on full display. All you had to do was settle in and watch the highlights from the weekend’s pair of 3-3 Heartland thrillers.
First, Allianz Field in St. Paul, where Minnesota United and Orlando City produced a genuinely wild contest. Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann gave the Lions an early 2-0 advantage. Then the Loons came roaring back with three goals in five second-half minutes, with Kelvin Yeboah’s superb bicycle kick the standout moment.
Then, with the game seemingly slipping away, Tyrese Spicer, played in by an excellent lofted pass from Griezmann, struck a dramatic late equaliser for 3-3 to ensure the points were shared.
Sunday Night slugfest
Roughly 24 hours later, it was St. Louis CITY’s turn to take centre stage, hosting FC Dallas in a gripping Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental battle that ultimately left the home side feeling hard done by.
Leading 3-1 as the match moved into the final 10 minutes of normal time, St. Louis looked set for a seventh home league win, with new DP Carlo Holse opening his account and keeping Energizer Park buzzing. But Eric Quill’s Dallas remain an extremely stubborn side to put away, and they showed it again with a remarkable late comeback, levelling deep into stoppage time through supersub Logan Farrington.
Although CITY’s unbeaten run continues, they will be devastated by the 3-3 draw, which keeps Dallas just ahead of STL in the Western Conference standings as they finally prepare to return to the still-under-renovation Toyota Stadium after a long spell of away fixtures.
Carles dismantles Columbus
With Sunday’s polished 3-1 away win against a struggling Columbus Crew, the New England Revolution have quietly climbed to fourth in the East and sixth in the overall table. Dor Turgeman is contributing, Matt Turner is once again looking like Matt Turner in goal, and summer DP arrival Jack Harrison has proved an outstanding addition, fitting neatly into the attack with six assists in his first five appearances.
Yet, as has been true for many years, Carles Gil remains the player who makes the Revolution tick. With a brilliant goal of his own and assists on the other two, the elegant Spanish playmaker now leads his side in both goals and assists in league play at 8/8 and, at 33, still produces moments of extraordinary quality at any time.
That included the exclamation mark on Sunday’s win, an audacious chip over Patrick Schulte with his magical left foot. It was a stunning finish to an afternoon in which he produced six key passes, covered 6.6 miles and touched the ball 106 times on his way to joining the exclusive 150-plus goal contribution club.
“The team trusts him so much in all those moments where there is adversity on the field, where we need someone to put a foot on the ball,” Revs head coach Marko Mitrović said afterwards. “We can just see that players organically play the ball to Carles and he gives us that calmness, he gives us that confidence, he gives us that belief.”
After scoring 10 goals in their first three matches following the World Cup break, all of them comfortable victories, things have gone “dry”, in head coach Marc Dos Santos’ words, for LAFC in front of goal.
The Black & Gold were blanked for the third time in their last four matches during their trip to D.C. United, playing out a 0-0 draw in front of a lively sellout crowd at Audi Field, where goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Sean Johnson were the standout performers. LAFC remain third in the West, but with Son Heung-Min, Denis Bouanga and all their other attacking weapons, Dos Santos has to find a solution to get the goals flowing again.
Even if he is on his way out, he can still be called “Rocky Mountain Rafa”.
That would be Rafael Navarro, who helped Colorado Rapids secure this year’s Rocky Mountain Cup with a tense 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The gifted Brazilian striker is reportedly closing in on a blockbuster $12 million move to St. Louis, but with the transfer not yet completed, Rapids head coach Matt Wells kept him in the starting XI. Navarro then made sure to say his goodbyes after the final whistle, bidding an emotional farewell to teammates and supporters.
There were powerful emotions at Snapdragon Stadium as well, though of a very different kind.
LA Galaxy’s trip to San Diego FC marked Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s first return since leaving for Los Angeles on loan after falling out with head coach Mikey Varas and the rest of the SDFC leadership group, and the home fans loudly booed his every touch.
Predictably, the Mexican star still managed to score.
But it proved to be only a consolation, as San Diego overcame a red card to Jeppe Tverskov and surged to a dramatic 3-1 win. It is also worth noting that a foul by Chucky, spotted on Video Review, ruled out what would have been a huge 2-2 equaliser from Galaxy striker Kyōgo Furuhashi.
With this win, SDFC move above the playoff line, while the Galaxy slip to third from bottom in the Western Conference.
