He Inter Miamiwithout Lionel Messi due to injury, regained the lead in the East on Wednesday MLS by easily defeating the Toronto by 3-1 and at the same time take advantage of Cincinnati’s stumble, which lost 0-1 against the Chicago Fire. Paraguayan Diego Gomez and Argentine Federico Redondo with a double scored the goals for Inter Miami, which now has 50 points compared to Cincinnati’s 48.
Inter Miami came into this match without Messi (injured in the Copa América and in the stands tonight), with Luis Suárez as a substitute (he ended up playing 30 minutes) and with Sergio Busquets suspended for his expulsion in the humiliating 6-1 defeat they suffered in their last match in Cincinnati.
For its part, Cincinnati has suffered two consecutive defeats, both at home, since destroying Inter Miami: on Saturday it lost 1-3 against Charlotte and on Wednesday it also fell to its knees after Brian Gutiérrez’s goal. Argentine Luciano Acosta, MLS MVP in 2023, did not play against the Chicago Fire due to a foot injury.
The Philadelphia Union beat the New England Revolution 5-1. The night was complete for the Philadelphia team as American Cavan Sullivan, at 14 years and 293 days, became the youngest debutant in a major league in the United States (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, WNBA and NWSL). The previous record for precocity in the MLS was held by Freddy Adu at 14 years and 306 days. Most major leagues in the US have age restrictions, but that is not the case in soccer with the MLS and the NWSL.
Atlanta United, which took the lead with a first-minute goal from Mexican Daniel Ríos, squandered a two-goal lead and ended up drawing 2-2 at home against New York City.
Two matches, suspended due to bad weather, resumed
Two matches had to be suspended due to bad weather and were resumed later. On the one hand, Columbus Crew, with a goal from Colombian Juan Camilo ‘Cucho’ Hernandez, tied 1-1 against Charlotte. Current MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew came off a magnificent 1-5 victory against Los Angeles FC (LAFC) and now have 43 points in the East with two games less than Inter Miami.
The other match affected by the weather ended 2-2: the New York Red Bulls struck first with a goal from Venezuelan Wiki Carmona and Montreal rescued a point with a double from fellow Venezuelan Josef Martinez. At Minnesota United Stadium, the home team was leading 2-1 at the end but DC United staged a splendid comeback with goals in the 90th and 91st minutes to win the match 2-3.
Orlando City also won 3-0 in Nashville, with goals from Uruguayan César Araújo and Argentinean Ramiro Enrique, and has now won four games in a row.
In the West, the LA Galaxy, with a goal from Spaniard Riqui Puig and another from Uruguayan Diego Fagúndez, beat the Colorado Rapids 3-2 and moved into the lead of the conference. The Californian team benefited from the tie between its two rivals at the top of the West: Los Angeles FC (LAFC) and Real Salt Lake, who tied 1-1.
Uruguayan Cristian Olivera scored for LAFC and Colombian Brayan Vera scored for a Real Salt Lake that was without fellow Colombian Cristian Arango, the MLS’ top scorer this season and who is serving a four-game suspension. The Galaxy has 46 points but has played two games more than LAFC (44 points) and one more than Real Salt Lake (also 44).
Finally, the Seattle Sounders defeated St. Louis City 2-0, the Houston Dynamo defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 0-1, Dallas defeated Austin 3-1 in a Texas derby and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1.
