Another double matchweek awaits, but first it was another great weekend of entertainment as we saw the hot teams keep rolling.
Last week I wrote about FC Cincinnati, New York City FC, Columbus Crew and Charlotte FC in the Stock Up section, and they all followed up with another positive performance.
We'll cover them more soon, but I must mention Sporting Kansas City as losers of five straight and Atlanta United being winless in nine. The points keep slipping away.
Let's dive into the rest!
The Black & Gold went cross-country and brought home all three points from Atlanta. LAFC have now won five straight in all competitions and three straight in league play.
This was a grind-it-out victory (1-0) against an Atlanta team with their backs against the wall, especially as Mati Bogusz stepped up to score the winner via a free kick from atop the box.
Those are the types of wins you need when you want to compete for trophies: one-goal wins on the road in a close game. LAFC are starting to heat up.
Real Salt Lake kept their heater alive with a dramatic comeback at FC Dallas, clawing back a 3-3 draw.
Almost unbelievably, RSL looked dead in the water at the 60th minute when Dallas scored twice in two minutes to make it 3-0 for the home side. But we all know the Claret-and-Cobalt never say die, something they clearly embody from their head coach Pablo Mastroeni. They showed championship mettle and mentality to fight and get the game-tying goal in the dying moments of the match from Nelson Palacio.
Most importantly, the supporting cast around Chicho Arango stepped up and delivered after goalkeeper Zac MacMath had a night to forget. It's now 11 straight in MLS play without a loss for the West leaders (7W-0L-4D).
No Messi, no Busquets, no Suárez... no problem for Supporters' Shield-leading Inter Miami.
The supporting cast took control at Vancouver and got three points (2-1 win) in exactly the type of game championship teams need when they're hunting trophies. Robert Taylor and Leo Campana got the job done this time; perhaps this is the deepest MLS roster we have ever seen.
Messi and Co. will be back this week as they host Atlanta and St. Louis with a chance to extend their lead atop the league.
It's now 10 losses on the season, including three straight. Plus it's six defeats in their last seven. It's as bleak as it has ever been in New England after a 1-0 defeat to NYCFC.
With an attack featuring Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil and Tomás Chancalay, I expected the Revs to be able to create a whole lot more. But they've scored just nine times this year, easily the league-low.
It really is hard to believe as this is pretty much the same roster as last season that was in the hunt for a top seed in the Eastern Conference. What is going on??
Make it three straight Ls for St. Louis and only three wins on the season. It's been a stark contrast from 2023, when everything went their way as an expansion team.
They didn't play poorly at home in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Seattle, allowing an unlucky own goal that took a huge deflection on a cross. They also created plenty of chances, but the margins are so slim in MLS. You have to be ready to capitalize and STL haven't been as sharp as they were last season.
There's no midweek game for St. Louis, so they will have a full week to prepare for a visit to Inter Miami.
