Your Sunday Kickoff: Messi returns, Vancouver & RBNY make big statements in their conferences 

Sporting KC, Portland close out the weekend

Sunday soccer for you today. Sporting KC host Portland today at 1:45 pm ET free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and FOX.

LA Galaxy, Philadelphia Union to meet in U-17 final

The Philadelphia Union are one game away from a Generation adidas Cup U-17 repeat. A 2-0 win against Flamengo in Saturday’s Championship Bracket semifinal secured a spot in the final, with two goals from Diego Rocio supplying the difference.

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Lionel Messi returned! The Red Bulls are top of the standings! Vancouver made a statement in Canada! and El Trafico… El Trafico was shockingly normal. Let’s talk it out.

The Red Bulls are on top of the Supporters’ Shield standings. Frankie Amaya scored a stunning goal from distance to silence a hostile Cincy crowd and cancel out Yuya Kubo’s early opener. Dante Vanzeir put New York up in the second half with his first goal of the year (to go along with his six assists) and the Red Bulls held on the rest of the way to hand FC Cincinnati their third home loss in the league since the start of 2023. It’s feeling a bit like 2018 in Harrison.

All looked lost for the Crew after Christian Benteke put D.C. United up 1-0 with his fifth goal of the season and Cucho Hernandez, fresh off a two-game in-house suspension, earned a red card for kicking out at a D.C. player. But Aidan Morris found the space to take a shot from distance and lasered it into the right side of the net to save a point for the Crew. It’s a result you take and run after a midweek matchup with Tigres. 

In a vacuum, a road point against the defending champs is a great result for D.C. United. In context, it’s yet another game where it’s felt like D.C. have let a good team off the hook. They have one win in their last six games despite playing quality soccer.

Lionel Messi came into the game at halftime, scored a stunner, contributed to Leo Afonso’s first MLS goal seconds later annnnddddddd it still didn’t matter because Cole Bassett found the net just before stoppage time. It’s an outstanding road point for the revitalized Rapids. They only have nine points in seven games, but the eye test and underlying numbers already suggest there’s been a clear step forward to start the season. More consistent results are on the way.  

More consistent results should, of course, be on the way for Inter Miami if Messi stays healthy. But the concerns about injuries elsewhere and their ability to hold up defensively don’t seem to be going anywhere. They’ve taken eight points from their first five games at home. That’s not bad, but it’s also not a Shield-winning pace.

Caleb Porter guaranteed a win earlier this week and the Revs made sure he didn’t get memed into oblivion. They weren’t incredible, but Carles Gil’s quality won out and handed the Revs their first MLS win of the season. It doesn’t feel like a turning point, however, it’s a much-needed first step in the right direction. Who knows if they can build off it now?

The only Charlotte notes here are that road games are hard and new DP Liel Abada got a start in this one.

This one had a strange feel to it the entire night. Both teams created a ton of chances, but neither made the opposing goalkeeper work too hard. Of the 42 shots, only eight ended up on target and one of those came via a NYCFC penalty.

In the end though, Atlanta United earned a road point at Citi Field despite missing DP striker Giorgos Giakoumakis and winger Xande Silva. You take that and run with it. But for Atlanta United to take the next step to becoming a true contender, they will have to figure out how to earn three points on the road at some point.

NYCFC have five points through their first seven games.

Phew. A mollywhopping, eh? Vancouver made a statement in this one, pummeling Toronto from the jump. The Whitecaps have cemented themselves as one of the clear favorites in the West and currently own the best points-per-game rate in MLS (2.17). There’s not much more to add. Good team is good.

Toronto on the other hand…it seems we’re seeing a return to Earth after a solid start. They aren’t last year’s Spoon-winning side, but they’re a long, long way away from competing with the best teams in the league. Since Lorenzo Insigne’s injury, they’ve lost two in a row by a combined score of 7-1.

Well, this was shockingly normal. It didn’t have the same drama as your typical Tráfico, but it did have an unsurprising outcome. The team higher in the standings is always in trouble in this matchup. We told you that yesterday morning and it stayed true in this one. 

Either way though, it’s a great win for LAFC. They get a major boost from a rivalry win and avoid a small spiral from a rivalry loss. Both of these teams should be near the top of the West the rest of the way.

Is Austin-San Jose the new El Tráfico? Many are asking. A wild, wild game that felt like both teams were hellbent on trading self-inflicted wounds ended when Sebastian Driussi sent home a volley in the 101st minute of the game. Austin left the wreckage with nine points on the season, San Jose stayed at the bottom of the league standings with three on the year. The Quakes have immediately seemed Spoon-bound this year. Austin have found a way to stay above water.

Brian Gutiérrez’s lofted chip hung in the air for roughly 40 seconds before finally touching down inside the goal to give Chicago a 2-1 lead and their second win of the season. Houston’s three-game winning streak is over and Chicago have quietly pulled themselves up to 10th in the East. It’s not going as terribly as it could be. That’s great news for a team where that’s not always a given.

Tani Oluwaseyi did it again. The second goal of his career saved a point for Minnesota late in a home game for the second time this season. It’s an exciting point for the Loons, but it does bring up (yet again) one of the weirdest trends in MLS. Minnesota have one win in three home games this year and just five home wins in their last 20 home games. It’s bizarre. Just like… win at home, Minnesota, it can’t be this hard. You can’t all hate Oasis this much.

Anyway, good road point for RSL all considered. They probably should have gotten more though.

Well, after a brief bump in the road, the Union are back to firing on all cylinders. After crashing out of CCC and drawing with Austin, they’ve won three straight and are the only undefeated team left in MLS. Nothing’s really changed, even if they had a brief lapse in character a few weeks ago. 

Meanwhile, there’s not much more to say for Nashville. It’s been bad since the Leagues Cup final. They have one more win than you and I do this year.

Both teams got some exercise. So that’s nice.

Well, that’s more like it. Seattle released some repressed emotions in this one and took all of their early-season frustration out on poor Montréal. It’s the Sounders’ first win of the year and it feels like a huge weight off their back. Now they can start regressing to the mean a bit. Their underlying numbers have been solid so far, even if the results have been far from it. If they can start piling up a few points until they get Pedro de la Vega back in the lineup, they can get back in the thick of things in the West. They’re still working their way uphill, but that’s not necessarily new territory for Seattle. 

Montréal finally get to go home. It’s been a tough few weeks. And, in the end, a kind of disappointing start to the year after an impressive first few games.

• Sebastián Driussi's golazo sealed a stoppage-time win for Austin.
• New York Red Bulls found "extra motivation" to claim the Supporters' Shield lead.
• LAFC found the "required level" to end LA Galaxy's unbeaten start.
• The Whitecaps took a lead atop the Western Conference.
• Lionel Messi scored a golazo on his Inter Miami return.

Good luck out there. Better late than never.