1:59 AM EDT, Fri March 29, 2024
Mar 22, 2024

MLS power rankings: Phil Neville is finding his groove with Portland

LAFC are off to a muddled start, Houston have a creative dynamo and Atlanta United are back in championship contentionPrepare your rage. Is it prepared? OK, great.Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. Now, as a reminder, these aren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things.
Mar 22, 2024

MLS is treating fans with contempt as the referee strike rumbles on

The league can’t continue to pretend its replacement officials are up to the usual standard as errors and controversies pile upManagers are known to talk about referees. In Major League Soccer, though, the discussion around officiating has entered a new realm. The league’s regular referees are sitting at home amid a lockout that shows no sign of ending anytime soon. Games are being refereed by replacement officials drafted in from the lower levels of US soccer, Turkey, Poland, Jamaica and other leagues, and people are starting to notice.CF Montréal head coach Laurent Courtois had a long...
Mar 8, 2024

MLS power rankings: Toronto’s Italian stars look like they finally care

Minnesota United have made a bright start, FC Cincinnati are chasing an encore and the New York Red Bulls are this season’s must-watch teamIn the first few weeks of every new MLS season, there’s a race to gather as much information as possible. Offseason expectations are reformed. New opinions arise. Hot takes are scrubbed from the digital archives.Welcome to the first edition of the Guardian’s 2024 MLS power rankings, where we’ll be doing plenty of scrubbing ourselves throughout the year.
Mar 8, 2024

Do Apple’s MLS broadcasts merely exist to promote the league’s agenda?

The technology giant has paid billions to show matches on its streaming service, and critical analysis isn’t part of the packageIt is a truism that referees are doing a good job if you don’t notice them. It also appears to be the official policy of MLS.Salient plotlines as the 2024 campaign unfurls are the first full season of Lionel Messi in Miami, the controversial withdrawal of most MLS clubs from the US Open Cup and the use of replacement referees because of a labor dispute.
Mar 6, 2024

Chaotic weather makes MLS unique and the league should embrace it

After Real Salt Lake’s blizzard-battered win over LAFC, there have been calls for the league to change the calendar. That may not be a good ideaIf former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had hoped to segue into a sunny semi-retirement after his move to Los Angeles, his debut for LAFC would have felt especially satisfying. The 36-year-old World Cup winner made a club-record seven saves in a victory over the Seattle Sounders beneath the California sun on the opening weekend of the 2024 MLS season.A week later, however, in his first away match since moving to the US, Lloris experienced a less...
Mar 3, 2024

‘Absolute disgrace’: LAFC coach criticizes MLS for playing in blizzard

Real Salt Lake beat LAFC 3-0 in blizzard-like conditionsReferee forced to carve lines into snow on free-kicksAndrés Gómez had two goals and one assist to lead Real Salt Lake to a 3-0 win over Los Angeles FC in blizzard-like conditions in Sandy, Utah. Cristian Arango also scored as Real Salt Lake found the net three times in the first half.The match was initially delayed two hours due to heavy wind and other weather concerns. Once it began, it was stopped just three minutes into the match due to lightning during a snowstorm. Play was delayed for nearly another hour.
Mar 3, 2024

Genial Luis Suárez shows why he’s Inter Miami’s true path to MLS glory

Two goals and two assists for the Uruguayan striker in Saturday’s Florida derby underline why Inter Miami are more than just MessiIf Inter Miami are to transition from glamour expansion club to true MLS Cup contenders – as the bookmakers suspect – the catalyst was evident within 10 minutes of the Florida derby against Orlando City.It wasn’t Leo Messi magic that gave the home side a rapid two-nil lead, but two instinctual, clinical finishes from his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez.
Feb 29, 2024

‘It’s a luxury to have him’: how Messi is building on Beckham’s legacy

Inter Miami’s trip to LA represented a passing of the torch from the MLS’s old glamor franchise to its new oneThe atmosphere surrounding Lionel Messi’s most recent match at the Dignity Health Sports Park featured the kind of energy, anticipation and hype that permeated the place when an England international called it home.David Beckham, that international, propelled Major League Soccer into global significance during his 5 1/2 seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Messi – who became the first MLS player to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or last year as a member of Inter Miami – now becomes...