Unbeaten Runs on the Line Heading into Matchday 4 Action
The Big Apple will take center stage this weekend as the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC each host their 2024 home openers against Western Conference opposition. NYCFC opens the day’s slate against the Portland Timbers (2 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) in a repeat of the 2021 MLS Cup while FC Dallas travels to face the Red Bulls (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV), who are unbeaten in their last eight games against Dallas (5-0-3).
The Philadelphia Union are unbeaten in their last three against Seattle Sounders FC and have won three of the last five meetings between the two clubs heading into Saturday’s game (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). With both sides still looking for their first win of the season, the Union will look to extend their unbeaten run with a victory while the Sounders aim to buck the trend and steal what would be an impressive three points at Subaru Park.
Things get rocky between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids as this bitter rivalry match takes the spotlight as the standalone 9:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). RSL is unbeaten in their last seven against the Rapids (5-0-2) and will look to begin their march toward a fourth straight Rocky Mountain Cup triumph with another win over the Rapids this weekend.
Head coach Dean Smith and Charlotte FC remain unbeaten through the first two games of an MLS regular season (1-0-1) for the first time in club history, and the club’s early-season success has been largely driven by young players rising to the occasion.
Adilson Malanda sent a crowd of over 60,000 fans into a frenzy during opening week as the 22-year-old scored against NYCFC to secure the club’s first-ever home-opening win, and Iuri Tavares scored his first-career MLS goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC this past weekend to become the first Crown Legacy FC alumnus to score for Charlotte.
Tavares’ rise to prominence from MLS NEXT Pro to MLS has come during a tough personal time for the 22-year-old ,as he spent time in the offseason with a close cousin in Portugal prior to his passing, though, Tavares has continued to deliver inspired performances on the field to start his MLS career.
MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas selection Andrew Privett has partnered Malanda in defense after earning a starting role at the end of last season, and U22 Initiative player Kerwin Vargas has grown into a focal point of the team’s front line. Additionally, 16-year-old Homegrown **Nimfasa Berchimas** became the ninth-youngest debutant in MLS history against NYCFC and came off the bench in Vancouver to start what could be the teenager’s breakout season.
“My job is to develop players,” Smith said in a press conference in December. “If I develop the players, then the team develops, and if the team develops, then we start winning football games, soccer games, and we get into the upper echelons of the regular-season league.”
Half of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 is made up of MLS teams, including the much anticipated 2023 Leagues Cup Final rematch between Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC. Since the memorable final that saw Miami lift the trophy, the clubs met once in MLS play, but the gloves come off in this rematch as Nashville seeks revenge after falling in heart-breaking fashion in the culminating Leagues Cup match. To do so, Nashville will have to slow down Lionel Messi and a high-flying Inter Miami squad that thrashed Orlando City SC, 5-0, on Saturday.
The Round of 16 will also feature captivating storylines like CF Monterrey’s Brandon Vázquez returning to face FC Cincinnati for the first time since joining Los Rayados in January. Meanwhile, Orlando City SC take on Tigres UANL in a rematch from the 2023 Round of 16, but this time Orlando will have added firepower in Luis Muriel and Nico Lodeiro. Finally, the reigning MLS Cup champions, the Columbus Crew, will enter into the competition as they face off against Houston Dynamo FC, who knocked off St. Louis CITY SC in the previous round.
- The Colorado Rapids surprised defender Lalas Abubakar with a congratulatory cheer after he was officially sworn in as a US Citizen. (Twitter Clip)
- In honor of Women’s History Month, we highlight five influential females shaping the essence of our league today. (Instagram Post)
- Matthew McConaughey playfully recruits Lionel Messi in an extract from his latest interview with Men in Blazers (Twitter Clip)
Fifty-three players have made their MLS debut across the first three matchdays this season. Many of those players have entered in striking fashion – adding an immediate impact to their teams and putting the league on early notice.
Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suárez has notched a pair of goals and added three assists in Miami’s first three regular-season games (2-0-1). The striker, who joined the South Florida club in late 2023 from Brazil’s Série A side Grêmio, has earned dozens of personal achievements throughout his career and is looking to add more from MLS to the trophy case.
Petar Musa joined FC Dallas from Portugal’s Benfica in a club-record deal and scored in his MLS debut last weekend before a sellout crowd at Toyota Stadium. Prior to arriving to MLS, Musa became the Czech first division’s top scorer as a 21-year-old with 14 goals and notched a goal every 96 minutes for the club in Liga Portugal.
On the west coast, the Galaxy duo of Joseph Paintsil (featured below) and Gabriel Pec have been early contributors to a revamped attack and, along with Riqui Puig, have formed a “Killer Ps” front that has jumped out to an early four points and a plus-two goal differential – good for second place in the Western Conference.
All of these standouts chose Major League Soccer as their preferred destinations and with the action displayed thus far, they look to be in prime position to make their impacts throughout the 2024 MLS season.
A leading figure on the LA Galaxy’s new-look attack in 2024 has been forward Joseph Paintsil, who arrived in Los Angeles as a Designated Player just days before the club’s season opener. In that short span, Paintsil has quickly endeared himself to his home supporters with a tenacious style – one built around hustle and speed – and helped the Galaxy to a 1-0-1 start to the season, with the club scoring four goals in two matches.
The 26-year-old winger recorded both his first goal and assist in the club’s 3-1 Cali Clásico win over the San Jose Earthquakes and earned strong praise from head coach Greg Vanney, who stated, “He gives us a whole new threat or danger that we haven’t seen or had.” Alongside striker Dejan Joveljić (two goals in two matches), fellow newcomer Gabriel Pec, and ever-present string-puller Riqui Puig, the Ghana native has emerged as a cru piece of a revitalized attack, one that can be expected to improve over time.
“I look forward because I see what this team is capable of even on a night like tonight, and knowing the guys are still coming together and getting healthy and all that kind of stuff, I really am excited about the group we have,” Vanney said.
The Galaxy look to continue their offensive fireworks as they travel to GEODIS Park to face Nashville SC on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). For more on Paintsil’s immediate impact on the Galaxy, click here.
To assist in your coverage of the 2024 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSsoccer.com/Media-Resources.
