Lionel Messi finally made his Major League Soccer debut this weekend having lit up the Leagues Cup and US Open Cup on his introduction to American soccer.
But he had to settle for a place on the bench as Tata Martino rotated his side against New York Red Bulls following a gruelling run of cup games.
It was the right decision, too, as Miami secured a 2-0 win with Messi coming off the bench to score a brilliant goal.
Messi’s fleeting involvement this week sees other players make up the five in our Player Power rankings, in what might be a rare occasion where the new star of the league is not included.
But it was also a reminder there are plenty of other entertaining players in MLS aside from Messi.
One of them being his Argentina World Cup winning teammate…
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Thiago Almada 9.6 (Atlanta United)
The 22-year-old Argentine is attracting interest from Europe and has most recently been linked to Ajax.
His performance in his side’s 4-0 win against Nashville showed exactly why he is being watched by teams across the pond.
He created nine chances throughout the game, assisting two goals and scoring one of his own.
His first assist was not dissimilar to Lionel Messi’s much-lauded second in the US Open Cup against Cincinnati, coming from the right of midfield rather than the left.
Almada picked the ball up in the middle of the park and swung a ball in for Xande Silva, just as Messi had done for Leonardo Campana a few days earlier.
The finish from Silva was more difficult than Campana’s, though, and he deserves plenty of credit for this goal.
Almada’s goal was a nice finish with the outside of the right boot, over the goalkeeper to make it 2-0, Silva repaying the favor with the assist.
Almada rounded off his night with an assist from a corner and also set up the fourth goal, but he didn’t officially get the assist as a Nashville defender intervened before the ball fell to Saba Lobzhanidze.
Almada completed 4/5 dribbles for good measure in a complete attacking performance.
Ryan Gauld 9.3 (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Vancouver’s Scottish attacker continued to impress in 2023, scoring twice and assisting the other in a 3-2 win at Cascadia rivals Portland.
He shows goalscoring instincts as well as creative ability, as demonstrated when he stole in at the back post to turn home a cross to open the scoring.
This has led to him playing a more advanced role alongside Brian White rather than being used from deep as a more traditional MLS playmaker.
Gauld showed good pace and crossing ability to reach the byline and set up White for a header, before converting a penalty to seal the win and mean Portland’s late goal was only a consolation for the home side.
Gauld now has nine goals and seven assists in MLS so far in 2023 as Vancouver looks to solidify their position in the playoff places as the regular season approaches its end.
Nemanja Radoja 9.0 (Sporting Kansas City)
Sporting KC might feel their results haven’t matched the quality of some of their players this season, and that’s often been because they haven’t quite clicked as a team.
But when they do they are able to beat anyone on their day, and put in one of the most convincing performances of Matchday 28 with a 3-0 win against San Jose.
Serbian midfielder Radoja completed 61 of his 65 passes on the night, giving him a pass success of 95%.
He also made three interceptions and seven recoveries and also assisted two of the goals.
Though these goals were more about the individual play of the attackers after receiving the ball from Radoja, it still showed his ability fo find players in space and in advantageous positions, recycling possession and keeping the ball for his team.
Luciano Acosta 8.6 (FC Cincinnati)
FC Cincinnati were back following the disappointing result last week that saw them exit the US Open Cup on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
Cincinnati fans did themselves proud in that game, supporting their team rather than simply being in awe of Messi. There were even some boos for the league’s new star as the fans did everything to get behind their own players.
Acosta had left the field with cramp in his hamstring during the second half of the Open Cup game but was back in full flow in MLS to help his team to a 3-0 win against a struggling New York City side.
He didn’t get an assist for the first goal but it was his play, drawing half the NYCFC team to him before passing to Bret Halsey whose shot was saved. The space Acosta had made gave Aaron Boupendza the chance for a tap-in off the rebound.
For the second goal, Acosta led the counter-attack before checking, losing three defenders, and setting up Junior Moreno to fire home. The third came from his cross from a short corner, headed home by Nick Hagglund.
He’ll have a big shot to be the league’s MVP if his and Cincinnati’s league-leading form continues in this vein.
Ricqui Puig 8.8 (LA Galaxy)
Helped somewhat by a first-half red card to Chicago Fire’s Gastón Giménez, LA Galaxy were in control of this game throughout, at least in terms of possession.
Ricqui Puig played a big role in this dominance of the ball, completing a total of 110 passes for a pass success of 89%.
He also scored the team’s second goal which turned an unconvincing, shaky 1-0 scoreline against 10 men into one that better reflected their possession numbers, which were at 64% by the end of the game.
It was a composed finish from the edge of the area, placed inside the near post having found space.
Chicago still had their chances, which might worry the Galaxy, but they finished off the game with a late penalty scored by new signing Billy Sharp.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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