Wilfried Zaha shined for Charlotte, while Miami showed there is life beyond Messi when demanded.
It seems Miami has some great footballers other than Lionel Messi. We always knew that. But this platoon must calculate on their topmost Gray player.
Take him out, and they go from league pets to a below-average platoon. Not that you would have known that on Sunday night. It came a case of” no Messi, no problem” for Inter Miami, which cruised past Houston for its first palm of the MLS crusade.
The season also saw the first appearance of Cavan Sullivan, with the rising star playing a brief part in the Philadelphia Union’s MLS Cup defeat of popular platoon Cincinnati.
All by each, it was another intriguing weekend of MLS action, with a big platoon winning, several others dropping points, and a league megastar arising for the first time.
No Messi in Houston
His legs demanded a rest. That was a big blow to Houston’s marking department, who were clearly counting on Messi strutting his stuff to pack their shoes.
Their response was to give away a free ticket to every addict who had bought one for the game. In effect, those suckers are getting another soccer match for free.
Not that it signified. Turns out there are other enough good footballers in Miami. Luis Suarez is one of them. Without Messi, he played songwriter-in-chief. The stats jump off the runner. Miami scored four. He supported the first three and buried the last one himself.
And indeed, when he was not touching the ball, his smart movement opened spaces for others, not the least Velasco Segovia-who was excellent value for his brace on the night. This ended with a 4–1 palm, but showed, more importantly, that Leo-Depencia might not persecute Miami.
Cavan in the house
Where should Cavan Sullivan be this season? What are the most productive twinkles for a 15-year-old? Is he better off dominating MLS Next Pro, or coming off the bench for the final 10 twinkles of MLS matches, like a beginner training for a high academy varsity team? It turns out that the Philadelphia Union has decided to go for the ultimate-at least for one game- as Sullivan made his 2025 debut Saturday night.
It was not the most mind-blowing of bijoux. Although Cincinnati was still pushing for a thing, the sting had largely been taken out of the game. The conditions were perfect for a 10-nanosecondd run out.
His stats were citable: seven traces, 4/6 passes completed. But there were flashes of quality. A wonderfully weighted pass into the final third, a spontaneous swivel to open up the pitch.
For Sullivan, this is all about conforming to the pace of the game-learning how to acclimate to players that are bigger, stronger and faster than him. And if he can look this composed in a tidy eight twinkles, also there is a plenitude of compass for him to take farther way as the season goes on. Job done.
Wilfried Zaha: New king of Charlotte?
Still, they were done down with in his first caching. If there were any enterprises that Wilfred Zara could perform in MLS. He was not exactly electric in the first half of Charlotte’s 2-0 palm over Atlanta. The callers set up dashingly. Charlotte had the ball for long periods, and Zaha set up himself tightly marked. But this is a signing who can deliver in moments-plutocrat spent on a player who might change a game in a flash.
And so it proved. Zaha took advantage of his first real chance, a tidy touch and deft poke into the nethermost corner after 54 twinkles. He will score more initiative pretensions in MLS. He will clearly have better games. But this was exactly the kind of showing that proved why Charlotte inked him.
Moments you might have missed
Injury enterprises in San Diego as Chucky Lozano had to be removed from the first half of their institution with St. Louis after what sounded like a leg injury.
LAFC made it two in two with a nervy palm over NYCFC. They will need to ameliorate their quality, however, to look like true title contenders.
A suspense between Colorado and Dallas, as Rafael Navarro seized a 72nd nanosecond equalizer in a 3–3 draw. Lucho Acosta got on the scoreboard for the Texas side, however, and is starting to look scary in his new lodgings.
It might be a case of staying round for the LA Galaxy until their big names come back. The reigning titlists conceded in the 87th nanosecond to lose against Vancouver- and never really hovered to win.
