Soccer Saturday
Back to it. Check the full schedule here.
Concacaf Champions League Final concludes tomorrow
LAFC host Club LeĆ³n needing to overcome a 2-1 deficit. Kickoff is set for 9 pm. ET on FS1 and TUDN.
MLS All-Star Skills Challenge details announced
The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G will return as the best in MLS take on Arsenal FC in the annual skills competition. Hereās what you need to know. And while youāre thinking about the All-Star Game, take a look at the weekās event schedule as well.
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A full slate of MLS as an appetizer before the CCL Final tomorrow. Howād we get so lucky?Ā
You ponder on that and Iāll go ahead and let you know what to keep an eye on this weekend.
The Sounders have lost four straight to Portland. Portland now lead the MLS edition of the rivalry in wins, 19-17. The last game saw Seattle go up 1-0 then capitulate after Dairon Asprillaās bicycle kick in the 71st minute set Portland rolling to a 4-1 win. This rivalry has been all Timbers since Aug. 2021 and some folks are officially fed up with it.
āIt doesn't feel like a rivalry. After the game, some of our staff members, there's everybody talking, laughing. It's like another loss. It's not another loss. It's against the Timbers. We have to get back this ā all of us have to get back to understanding that this is a rivalry,ā Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said.Ā
āAt 1-0, we have to have that killer instinct against a team that's beat us three games in a row, that's had our number at their place,ā Schmetzer said. āStick the knife in, kill the game. I don't give a s---t if it was the second goal or extended possession.ā
Schmetzerās involvement in this rivalry goes all the way back to 1980. Back when both teams played in NASL and a teenaged Schmetzer joined the Sounders for the first time. Itās an especially big deal for him. And itās easy to imagine a week of preparation thatās been downright terrifying for Seattle players. He probably didnāt make them run wind sprints every time they smiled or anything, but itās easy to imagine he did. The looming threat of awakening the most advanced evolution of Angry Schmetzer and turning him into Ultra War Metal Angry Schmetzer had to have put Seattle players on edge this week. But are they going to show up?
That hasnāt been a given at all as of late. Seattle have lost four of their last six and have started to set off some alarm bells for folks who were concerned that last yearās post-CCL struggles might not have been a flash in the pan. Itās not āmiss the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs a second straight yearā bad or anything. Theyāre still technically at the top of the conference. But itās clear Seattle arenāt living up to their potential right now. Does today send them spiraling even further? Do they finally get it together against a Timbers team off to one of their worst starts ever and get back on track? Or do the Timbers use Seattle as a springboard again and make this rivalry even more one-sided?
Add another manager to the pile. Inter Miami are the latest team to try and get the new manager bounce. Phil Neville is out and a brand new era ofā¦ something begins. Itās frankly going to have to be a heckuva new manager bounce to make up for the roster in place. Even more so with Jean Mota and Gregore still out long-term. Like, truly special. I donāt know who can come in and fix this right now. Inter Miamiās chief soccer officer and sporting director, Chris Henderson, seems to think that someone can come in though and make the teamā¦ better atā¦ finishingā¦ or something?
āWe've had some injuries that have affected results, but we have a competitive team, we have a team good enough to be winning these games. There's top players up top that need to be finishing goals,ā Henderson said.
ā ā¦ The staff, the front office, the players, the coaches and players have to give a little bit more and be a little more clinical. If you look at our results, many 1-0 losses. I would say all but two, so we're in these games. But when we get chances we have to finish.ā
Thatās an answer that, to be very frank again, only makes sense if you have a manager lined up that you really, really want in and you needed an excuse to move on from the current guy. No MLS manager is overcoming your two best midfielders and two of your best players by a significant amount going down long term. Theyāre just not.
Anyway, Iāll digress a bit and say today is a day for checking in on all the ānew manager bounces.ā Inter Miami take on a good D.C. United team. New York host Orlando. And Chicago go to, of all places, FC Cincinnati. There are some big, big asks for the interims today. Weāll be a few games in from Chicago and New Yorkās coaching changes and should be at a point where we can start to assess what, if anything has actually changed. Inter Miami get to begin that journey today. And other teams may be looking to begin that journey soon if results continue the way theyāve been. Nick Cushing at NYCFC, Robin Fraser at Colorado and Bob Bradley at Toronto all have a little extra to play for today. Should be fun?
It seems like thereās a chance Bebelo Reynoso plays today for Minnesota. I wonāt dwell on it too much because weāve been talking about it a lot lately. Iāll just say again itās extremely fascinating to see what changes in Minnesota. Does he actually make them better? Does he pull them too far away from a style thatās had them getting quality results? Are they able to stick with that style but integrate him in and suddenly become one of the best teams in the West? It all feels possible. His possible return plus the drama with Toronto right now makes Minnesota-Toronto one of the most intriguing games of the day.
Just a few quick thoughts. Thereās only so much you can say at this point about LAFC-Club LeĆ³n other than āIf I were LAFC, Iād play better.ā
First, remember away goals do not count in the Final. Thatās a reminder for both you and me. LAFCās 2-1 deficit is a little harder to overcome entirely because of that. A one-goal win sends things to extra time.
Second, LAFC have to be sharper on set pieces. Seems pretty obvious, but just a gentle reminder.
Third, being at home can genuinely make all the difference, right? DĆ©nis Bouangaās late goal in the first leg was so, so critical because of that. If LAFC can come out on the front foot and take control of the game, theyāll probably be able to flip this entire thing on its head in a way that didnāt really seem possible for about 94 minutes of soccer in LeĆ³n.
Fourth, if I were LAFC, Iād play better. Itās just worth repeating.
Nashville SC midfielder Mukhtar named MLS Player of the Month: Nashvilleās Hany Mukhtar is the MLS Player of the Month for May 2023. Mukhtar, the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP and Golden Boot presented by Audi winner, led the league with six goals and two assists in May. His red-hot form guided the Coyotes to a 4W-0L-1D record in that span, good for second place in the Eastern Conference and the overall Supporters' Shield standings.
- After firing Phil Neville, Inter Miami believe "We have a team that's good enough."
- The USA U-20s have a rare opportunity in their quarterfinal matchup versus Uruguay.
- LA Galaxy's Memo RodrĆguez won the AT&T 5G Goal of the Matchday.
- Check out Concacaf Champions League Final predictions from the experts.
- Hereās what you need to know for the US U-20s quarterfinal matchup against Uruguay on Sunday.
- And hereās what you need to know for the CCL Final on Sunday.
Good luck out there. If given the choice, choose the position that lets you eat donuts.