{"id":485500,"date":"2026-02-23T10:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/485500\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:15:07","slug":"lafc-outduel-miami-rbnys-youth-movement-more-from-matchday-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/485500\/","title":{"rendered":"LAFC outduel Miami, RBNY’s youth movement & more from Matchday 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exactly 10 weeks after last year\u2019s championship game<\/a> in Fort Lauderdale, MLS returned with a characteristically breathless 2026 opening weekend, and we’re here to round it all up.<\/p>\n

We got treated to 46 goals this weekend, averaging 3.07 per game and a shade more than the 3.0-per-game average from the 2025 season. Hopefully, that’s a promising sign of the fireworks to come.<\/p>\n

Let’s make sense of Matchday 1, ranging from a clash of titans to a club reset overseen by a U.S. Soccer legend.<\/p>\n

\n A Black & Gold statement<\/p>\n

As you may have noticed, Saturday\u2019s glamor fixture was inevitably reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champions Inter Miami<\/a>\u2019s visit to LAFC<\/a>, who hosted this one at the venerable Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, drawing a festive opening-day record crowd of 75,673<\/a>, the second-largest gate in league history, to witness an emphatic 3-0 home win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It reminded us that Lionel Messi<\/a> and Son Heung-Min<\/a> carry a global reach like few others, and also underlined A) why LAFC are so widely rated as MLS Cup favorites, and B) why Miami have a tougher road to defending their trophy than most realize.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Son and Denis Bouanga<\/a>, LAFC remain deadly in transition \u2013 they needed only 34.5% of possession here to create six big chances, compared to just one for Miami \u2013 and protect their penalty box well when they\u2019re focused and disciplined, as was certainly the case here when Messi tried his trademark pass-and-move brilliance in the final third.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we defended the box was excellent,\u201d said first-year head coach Marc Dos Santos, praising his side\u2019s ability to \u201csuffer together\u201d against the ball. \u201cThe way we followed runners in the box, how we moved our feet around the 18, and how we didn\u2019t allow their one-twos to get through us was exceptional. For me, that was the best part of our team today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messi has a famously photographic memory of any perceived slights, so I can\u2019t help but suspect he made note of Dos Santos\u2019 ready acknowledgment of his off night \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t know if he took a pill before the match or what happened,\u201d said MDS of the GOAT \u2013 for future vengeance purposes.<\/p>\n

Still, Miami\u2019s megastar will have to be prepared for more tactics like LAFC\u2019s, particularly now that he\u2019s without his old friends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba and their tempo-setting, mind-reading genius.<\/p>\n

Only three times in MLS history has a team won back-to-back titles, and it hasn\u2019t happened since the LA Galaxy<\/a> accomplished that feat in 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n

\n Bradley trusts the kids<\/p>\n

Matchday 1\u2019s expected-goals champions were not LAFC but Red Bull New York<\/a>, who flew down to Florida and carved up sleepy Orlando City<\/a> \u2013 to the tune of 4.5 xG \u2013 in a manner the 2-1 final scoreline<\/a> doesn\u2019t remotely do justice to.<\/p>\n

Debutant head coach Michael Bradley did this while fielding a historically young lineup<\/a>: His starting XI was the first in MLS history to feature three players aged 17 or younger. Two of them, Julian Hall<\/a> and Adri Mehmeti<\/a> were the best players on the pitch, particularly in the Red Bulls\u2019 rampant first half, where winger Cade Cowell<\/a> \u2013 at age 22 a veteran of this squad, apparently \u2013 made Orlando left back Adri\u00e1n Marin<\/a> look like a traffic cone with an assist, five chances created, 4\/6 dribbles completed and some agonizing near-misses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really proud of the way they played, really proud of the way they competed,\u201d said a characteristically measured Bradley afterwards, praising his baby Bulls while also acknowledging their imprecise finishing made the second half more stressful than it needed to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to play our football. We try to go after the other team. We try to put the game on our terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not many pundits have been expecting much from RBNY this season; they certainly have our full attention now.<\/p>\n

\n Imitation and retaliation in D.C<\/p>\n

No one got a sweeter dose of revenge this weekend than Tai Baribo<\/a>, and he didn\u2019t even have to wait for it to get cold.<\/p>\n

The Israeli striker led the Philadelphia Union<\/a> in goals as they won the 2025 MLS Supporters\u2019 Shield. But with the two sides unable to agree on a new and bigger contract, and D.C. United<\/a> eager to make him the capstone of their rebuild under head coach Ren\u00e9 Weiler, he moved south down I-95 in a $4 million-plus transfer<\/a> over the winter.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was kismet that the two clubs would face off on opening day. Baribo was certainly ready, stroking home the game\u2019s only goal, clanging a shot off the post and seeing another strike waved off by a tight offside decision.<\/p>\n

Was it really surprising that he\u2019d celebrate against his old team? Not from where I\u2019m standing.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s\u00a01-0 victory<\/a> was fully deserved, and pretty stunning given how badly the Union have dominated them in recent years: This was D.C\u2019s first win over Philly since 2021, a stretch that\u2019s featured some lopsided scorelines like 4-0, 7-0 and a couple of 6-0s. The biggest shock of all: With their tenacity, physicality and constant menace on the counterattack, United comprehensively out-Unioned the Union.<\/p>\n

One note of caution. Even with a straight red card to DOOP newcomer Ezekiel Alladoh<\/a> on the hour mark, the Black-and-Red had to hang on until the very end, because they struggled to manage the match\u2019s tempo, allowing 10-man Philly to take seven shots and earn four corner kicks after Alladoh\u2019s exit. I\u2019m curious to see Weiler\u2019s approach in March, when his team visits Austin<\/a>, Chicago<\/a> and Atlanta<\/a>, and host Miami in Baltimore, a special occasion at NFL venue M&T Bank Stadium.<\/p>\n

\n On the World Cup radar<\/p>\n

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> looming this summer, a long list of MLSers aim to impress their national-team coaches with strong starts to the new season.\u00a0A few prominent winners in that department…<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played at a very, very high level tonight, getting so many plays right,\u201d said Cincy boss Pat Noonan. \u201cYou’re talking about one of the fastest attackers in the league with Latte Lath, he’s a handful \u2026 some of those were just controlled moments that you have to anticipate plays and get your footwork and your timing right, because you can’t miss a step against an attacker like that. He was outstanding, a couple of his blocks, the way he defended in front of goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also of note in that one: FCC lost star playmaker Evander<\/a> to a hamstring injury just 13 minutes in, yet the drop-off was less than expected due to a solid outing from homegrown attacker Dado Valenzuela<\/a>. That said, the kid would have to ball out of his mind if Cincy are to keep pace with Tigres UANL next month, if and when they advance (as is expected) to meet the LIGA MX giants in the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> Round of 16.<\/p>\n

Jack McGlynn<\/a> was key in Houston Dynamo FC<\/a>\u2019s 2-1 comeback win<\/a> over the\u00a0Chicago Fire<\/a>, pinging a gorgeous through ball into Guilherme<\/a>\u2019s path for the first of the new Brazilian Designated Player\u2019s two goals.<\/p>\n

It was just the kind of visionary distribution that makes the kid from Queens special, and more of that will give him a chance to sweep into Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s USMNT squad come summer. With more talent around him this season, it also makes the Dynamo an intriguing proposition.<\/p>\n

With Croatia\u2019s stacked player pool, Petar Musa<\/a> faces a tough task to distinguish himself.<\/p>\n

Yet the\u00a0FC Dallas<\/a> spearhead did all he could<\/a> in the North Texans\u2019 roller-coaster 3-2 victory<\/a>\u00a0over\u00a0Toronto FC<\/a>, bagging a brace and doing all the little things that make him MLS\u2019s top No. 9 in the eyes of many: winning aerial duels, combining with his strike partner Logan Farrington<\/a> and turning in an honest defensive shift.<\/p>\n

Most menacing of all is the way Musa loitered with malicious intent before becoming the fox in the box FCD needed for his clutch late winner.<\/p>\n

\n Damet\u2019s debut in STL<\/p>\n

St. Louis\u2019s Marcel Hartel<\/a> earned the distinction of scoring MLS 2026\u2019s first goal<\/a>, and a pretty one it was, lit up by a clever angled pass from Simon Becher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Charlotte FC<\/a>\u2019s equalizer in the 1-1 draw<\/a> may leave CITY fans feeling sour, new coach Yoann Damet\u2019s first game offered ample reason for optimism.<\/p>\n

They directed 11 shots on target to Charlotte’s three and more than doubled their visitors\u2019 xG total, flashing some of the same beguiling concepts as the Columbus Crew<\/a> did so successfully under Wilfried Nancy, whom Damet worked with in Montr\u00e9al and Columbus, just with a bit more directness.<\/p>\n

\n Portland pyrotechnics<\/p>\n

Speaking of the Crew, they got sucked into a wild one out in the Rose City, and only have themselves to blame for letting points slip away. Most egregious, I think, was the ill-advised Dylan Chambost<\/a> turnover in midfield that led directly to Portland<\/a>‘s tide-turning second goal, the type of error recently-retired Crew icon Darlington Nagbe almost never committed.<\/p>\n

Timbers head coach Phil Neville asserted that \u201cwe\u2019ve been a chaotic team all preseason, and that\u2019s when we\u2019re at our best\u201d after their wild\u00a03-2 triumph<\/a>, a quote I suspect we’ll return to later in the year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, new Crew boss Henrik Rydstr\u00f6m pronounced himself \u201creally disappointed\u2026 because I think we hid. When we had the ball, players were like, \u2018I don’t show myself.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Music City scenes<\/p>\n

Down in Tennessee, another team in gold did just the opposite.<\/p>\n

Nashville SC<\/a>\u2019s fluid 4-1 rout<\/a> of the New England Revolution<\/a>\u00a0affirmed what an explosive effect Cristian Espinoza<\/a>\u2019s service could have on their Sam Surridge<\/a>–Hany Mukhtar<\/a> front line, while also pumping the brakes on the gathering hype around New England\u2019s offseason overhaul (though their defense was missing several key pieces, we should note).\u00a0<\/p>\n

As it stands, Surridge\u2019s two goals in 82 minutes make him a very early Golden Boot presented by Audi leader.<\/p>\n

\n Beware Los Ni\u00f1os<\/p>\n

San Diego<\/a>\u2019s dazzling 5-0 victory<\/a> over CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> adds to the nagging suspicion that we\u2019re all still sleeping on just how effective the 2025 expansion side\u2019s game model really is. And with five more road games before Montr\u00e9al can return to Stade Saputo due to winter weather (April 11, to be specific), there\u2019s work to do for Marco Donadel & Co.<\/p>\n

Also, Miami loanee Tom\u00e1s Avil\u00e9s<\/a>\u2019 sending-off in his Montr\u00e9al debut marked his fifth red card in just 64 career MLS regular-season appearances. At 0.078 red cards per game, the 22-year-old is on pace to smash the all-time MLS record for ejections, held by Sporting Kansas City<\/a> alum Roger Espinoza, who saw red 16 times in 338 matches for an average of 0.047 per game.<\/p>\n

Seattle<\/a> wrapped Matchday 1 with a methodical 2-0 win<\/a> over Colorado<\/a>, a bruising, disjointed affair thanks to myriad stoppages, including injuries to Jordan Morris<\/a> (just eight minutes in) and Hassani Dotson<\/a> in first-half stoppage time.<\/p>\n

Though it sounds like Morris\u2019 latest frustrating setback isn\u2019t as serious as feared, that\u2019s a costly result for the Rave Green, who wade into Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> action next month.<\/p>\n

Then again, it\u2019s also a vivid reminder of why they\u2019ve prioritized depth over star power in recent seasons. The Sounders retain the highest floor in the league thanks to guys like Cristian Roldan<\/a>, Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> and the effervescent local kid Paul Rothrock<\/a>, the star of the night with 1g\/1a.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exactly 10 weeks after last year\u2019s championship game in Fort Lauderdale, MLS returned with a characteristically breathless 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[219876,219877,219878,219879,219880,221941,21219,219881,219882,219883,219885,6868,99,219887],"class_list":{"0":"post-485500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-cinvsatl-02-21-2026","9":"tag-dalvstor-02-21-2026","10":"tag-dcvsphi-02-21-2026","11":"tag-houvschi-02-21-2026","12":"tag-lafcvsmia-02-21-2026","13":"tag-mls-is-back","14":"tag-national-writer-charles-boehm","15":"tag-nshvsne-02-21-2026","16":"tag-orlvsrbny-02-21-2026","17":"tag-porvsclb-02-21-2026","18":"tag-sdvsmtl-02-21-2026","19":"tag-sendtonews","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-stlvsclt-02-21-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}