You know a situation is dire when it casts Luis Su\u00e1rez as its level-headed participant.<\/p>\n
Such were the scenes after Inter Miami opened their MLS Cup defense with a pitiful 3-0 defeat at Los Angeles FC<\/a>. Through 90 minutes, with LAFC coming off a midweek continental match, both team\u2019s stars stuck it out to try starting the 2026 season on the right foot. Son Heung-min made it 89 minutes, subbed out when the result was beyond doubt. Lionel Messi played every minute but was held without a goal contribution, failing to place either of his shot attempts on target and seeing all three created chances go uncashed by his teammates.<\/p>\n After the game, a journalist caught Messi confronting referees<\/a> as they walked through the tunnels. He may have kept up this walk-and-talk had Su\u00e1rez not pulled his close friend away. An MLS spokesperson clarified this was not the door to the referee\u2019s locker room, and a league review found that Messi had not violated any policies.<\/p>\n Miami and LAFC are two of MLS\u2019s glamor sides these days, both able to recruit global superstars and promising young players. Both expect to be in contention for every trophy, and LAFC\u2019s hopes of winning their third Supporters\u2019 Shield gained a significant boost by taking three points off the presumptive favorites.<\/p>\n The bygone offseason saw both teams retool. LAFC opted to replace outgoing head coach Steve Cherundolo with his assistant, Marc Dos Santos. Miami overturned nearly half of the lineup that won last year\u2019s title game \u2013 often with players who, on paper, looked like upgrades.<\/p>\n In practice, their lack of chemistry was clearest to see on LAFC\u2019s second goal of the night. The bedrock of any good defense is the relationship between a goalkeeper and his center-backs. Playing an aggressive high-line after conceding first, Micael and Maxi Falc\u00f3n stayed in the attacking half even after LAFC regained possession deep within their own half.<\/p>\n Most teams in MLS would know this is the exact scenario which Denis Bouanga looks to exploit. And yet, Miami\u2019s defense stood flat-footed and afforded the dynamic winger an entire half of terrain to run into, with new goalkeeper Dayne St Clair stuck in no man\u2019s land outside the box.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Miami\u2019s disjointed state stood in stark contrast against LAFC\u2019s well-rehearsed side. Ten of LAFC\u2019s starters for Saturday\u2019s season opener were part of the squad which fell to Vancouver in last year\u2019s Western Conference final. In his second MLS head coaching position, Dos Santos has tried to increase LAFC\u2019s share of touches without straying too far from the principles of play that made Cherundolo\u2019s tenure successful. And, thanks to the intangibles forged only from continuity, it\u2019s set the team up for the loudest statement possible in this league: a blowout of Messi\u2019s Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cI never mentioned the past to the players,\u201d Dos Santos said on Saturday night. \u201cI talked about what we can really become and the future. I have a good group of guys who are good people and have strong mentalities. \u2026 When you have a group that likes being together, they know what they have to do on the field. It\u2019s amazing for a coach.<\/p>\n \u201cMLS is not a walk in the park, and it\u2019s not like everything is Alice in Wonderland. It is hard sometimes, and we have to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Jo\u00e3o Klauss is throwback GalaxyJo\u00e3o Klauss could be the striker solution the Galaxy need. Photograph: Shaun Clark\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Historically, the LA Galaxy\u2019s starting striker has been a notable name among MLS ranks. They\u2019ve signed many Guys You\u2019d Heard Of Already: Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan (some years), Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107, and Javier \u201cChicharito\u201d Hernandez. They\u2019ve signed the league\u2019s most decisive scorers in their time, like Carlos Ru\u00edz, Gyasi Zardes, or Dejan Jovelji\u0107. Even Billy Sharp had a half season runout to close out 2023.<\/p>\n With star midfielder Riqui Puig missing a second season due to knee injury, the Galaxy used their newly opened DP slot on a striker who, while boasting some cachet around league circles, hasn\u2019t exactly been considered a Gal\u00e1ctico in making. In truth, though, Jo\u00e3o Klauss may be exactly what they needed after a very disappointing 2025.<\/p>\n In the second minute of MLS\u2019s Sunday matinee, the LA Galaxy pinned New York City FC deep in their own half, earning a throw-in near the corner flag. Some nifty close-quarters passing got the ball to Marco Reus, eight yards from goal to the goalkeeper\u2019s right. The 36-year-old tried and trusted instincts kicked in, and he coolly squared the ball to prime striker territory. There was Klauss, who ushered the ball to the far post with his left foot. Just over a minute played, one shot, one goal. First impressions can\u2019t get more efficient.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Klauss is a throwback center-forward. Listed at 6ft 3in, the 28-year-old was a dangerous aerial presence across St Louis City\u2019s first three seasons before joining the Galaxy via trade for the final year of his contract. He\u2019s a dangerous pressing forward and good in buildup, playing back to goal and muscling defenders off while his wingers advance. His new running mates, Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec, are arguably the league\u2019s best wing tandem and help ensure the Galaxy can threaten even during Puig\u2019s lengthy absence.<\/p>\n Klauss may not have a lengthy catalogue of golazos like Ibrahimovic or Keane; some of his most memorable goals in St Louis came when he pounced on awful backpasses<\/a> from opposing defenders<\/a>. His ability to maximize a relatively low touch volume is vital considering how involved Paintsil and Pec get in transition, aided by Reus\u2019 ability to unpick a defense when he\u2019s available.<\/p>\n There are still issues facing the six-time champions, especially in goal and a lack of depth across several position groups. They ultimately failed to turn Klauss\u2019 opening salvo into three points, as a controversial red card provided NYC FC with an equalizer from the penalty spot. Nonetheless, it was a quick contribution which already cast more optimism than the Galaxy enjoyed for the first few months of 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friend to foe<\/p>\n There\u2019s the old custom that you shouldn\u2019t celebrate when scoring against your former club \u2026 and then there\u2019s Tai Baribo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Israel international was dealt by the Union to DC in the offseason, and immediately scored what would be the winning goal in one of the more eyebrow-raising results of the opening weekend. A fun sidenote to this goal that you may have missed: Baribo did this twice! He scored what he thought was the opener just eight minutes in and peeled away in celebration only to be stopped by an offside call that ruled the goal out. About 14 minutes later, the real payoff arrived.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You know a situation is dire when it casts Luis Su\u00e1rez as its level-headed participant. Such were the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-486089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486089","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=486089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}