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Sargent and Wright score, Amis quiet in the Champions League, busy day in the MLS

ASN's Brian Sciaretta writes his thoughts on the Americans in the Champions League and Championship, while also taking a look at MLS ahead of a busy midweek.

FROM

Brian Sciaretta


Posted

October 2, 2024

7:05 am

HAPPY WEDNESDAY To all MLS readers, it's a busy day for American soccer. WE have the Champions League, we have a whole bunch of MLS games, we have a USMNT squad coming out and then we have US youth national teams.

In addition, there is always a lot of news to report.

MLS notes and outlook for Wednesday

We took some important points from the MLS on Saturday and we'll have a lot more to say on Thursday after another great result. But here's kind of a quick review and outlook.

New York Red Bull disaster: The worst performance of the weekend was undoubtedly the New York Red Bulls, who lost 5-1 at home to rivals NYCFC. The first two goals were blatant mistakes. After RBNY caught up, they immediately conceded another goal. Then twice more in the second half.

The team is in a complete crisis of their own creation. They sold Frankie Amaya but had no idea for a replacement. They needed a striker but didn't get one. RBNY has to create a lot of opportunities to score a single goal because of their lack of finishing. In addition, they make a lot of mental mistakes.

RBNY also managed to qualify for the postseason and continue its longest streak in the league. I'm not sure that's a good thing for them. You can now promise success and delay the necessary changes. Failure in the playoffs would make it harder to avoid the necessary decisions. The chance of the team going far in the playoffs is slim. They seem like an easy game for Miami, Columbus, Cincinnati, Orlando or Philly (who always get past them in the playoffs).

LAFC back on track: Remember last week when we wondered if LAFC was worn out? They had struggled since the League Cup and looked tired, even taking into account the rotation of their squad for the Open Cup final. Well, they're fine. Steve Cherundolo's team had an outstanding week, winning the Open Cup final against Sporting Kansas City last Wednesday, then traveling to Cincinnati and defeating one of the league's best teams 2-1 in Ohio.

Montreal is booming: Not long ago I didn't think much about Montreal's playoff chances. Caden Clark was the missing ingredient, and he really brought everything together in attack. On the other hand, it's also great to see Josef Martinez playing at such a high level again. Do you know a team that could use him now? Atlanta United.

Philly's step back: I think a lot about Philadelphia this season. I didn't like her, then I liked her, then I didn't like her, then I liked her again, and now I just don't know anymore. Their 1-1 draw against Atlanta could be the catalyst for their failure to make the playoffs. As other experts have mentioned, the rest of her schedule is tough. Then combine that with the fact that it's getting hot in Atlanta. Anyway, I think both teams will look very different next year.

I'm looking forward to tonight

I will follow some of the games.

Atlanta vs. Montreal: This is an important game for both teams. If Montreal wins, they'll likely be in the playoff bubble. If Atlanta wins, they have a chance. However, Atlanta has the most to lose because if they don't win, they're probably finished. Meanwhile, Josef Martinez returns to Atlanta and is playing great football.

Columbus vs. Inter Miami: This is a match between the best and most entertaining teams in the league. Columbus won't reach Miami for the Supporters Shield, but they're still trying to secure second place. The question is how committed are each team to this or how much do teams not want to play their best before the playoffs? This could be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.

NYCFC vs. Cincinnati: New York City lost 5-1 to Philadelphia in their last home game. They then defeated the New York Red Bulls with the final score at the weekend. They're hard to figure out. Cincinnati is probably angry after losing at home to LAFC.

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia: Orlando City had a great run in the second half of the season. Philadelphia has improved but is on the edge of the playoff bubble with a difficult schedule remaining. Philly needs to get a big win in the home stretch against a good team. This would come into question.

Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota: A good midseason signing can change a lot, but Kelvin Yeboah's run since joining Minnesota is on another level. With seven goals from six games, he is putting this team to the test. RSL goes into a skid but they are playing at home.

Colorado vs. LA Galaxy: The Galaxy can solidify first place in the West, but Colorado has improved. The sticking point for the Galaxy, however, is their defense against top teams.

Toronto vs. New York Red Bulls: I didn't think Toronto would make the playoffs, but they have a chance. But they need to get a result at home against a Red Bulls team that is slipping.

Vancouver vs. Seattle: two teams that are fun to watch, but are not among the best teams in the West. But momentum is the key to a playoff run, and if this game produces a winner, it will come.

Americans in the Champions League

There were three games involving American players in the Champions League on Tuesday, but none of the Americans were on the winning side.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan: The result was fair as the reigning Bundesliga champions were the better team at home. Christian Pulisic was good and his best moment came in the second half when he hit a very nice pass to Tijani Reijnders, who couldn't convert it. Pulisic was substituted in the 80th minuteTh minute and his goal streak ended after five games. Yunus Musah was not used as a substitute.

A few notes on Pulisic. He is in great form and doesn't seem to be fading in the late games. Even before his coming out, he was possibly Milan's best player. That made his substitution puzzling. It's a Champions League game and Milan were still within touching distance of a result. This game was very stressful and Pulisic might have learned a lot from his time in England as it didn't affect him.

On the other hand, Musah seems to be there to add depth to Milan's squad. He is almost a luxury player.

PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Sporting CP: This was a tough result for PSV, who will be disappointed not to get all three points. Malik Tillman had a solid 90-minute shift and was 6/7 with his dribbles. He was efficient in passing and in possession. His good season continues. Meanwhile, Ricardo Pepi made a late cameo but didn't even earn a touchdown. What is also significant about this game is that Richard Ledezma came into the game in the 78th minuteTh Minute (PSV led 1-0) and played in the number 10 position and not on the right side of the defense. But PSV got off to a difficult start in the Champions League with one point from two games.

Borussia Dortmund 7:1 Celtic: With Cameron Carter-Vickers injured, Auston Trusty was given the starting XI at Celtic and this was simply a brutal game for everyone involved at Celtic – including Trusty. This game was ugly from the start.

Yanks in the championship

Wright scores in Coventry win: Haji Wright hasn't had a good start to the season, but he got back on track in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Blackburn. The USMNT attacker scored a 48Th Minute goal for a 2-0 lead. Overall, he was dangerous and effective. The win moved Coventry into the middle of the table.

Sargent and Aaronson play well in draw: Norwich and Leeds United played to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, a result that will probably be more encouraging for Leeds United as they were away. Both Americans played full 90s, but it was Sargent who had one of the game's big moments when he converted a penalty in the 14th periodTh minute and then converted the try to give Norwich a 1-0 lead.

As for Aaronson, it was a typically tough outing in which he had three shots and was relentless in his pressing.

Leeds ended the day in fourth place, while Norwich are in 10th placeTh it's going into the weekend.

Morris secures victory for Middlesbrough: Aidan Morris has had the same impact on Middlesbrough as he did on the crew. This is a credit to everyone involved and Boro have indeed identified a player who is a perfect fit. He controls the pace of the game, is efficient in passing, creates chances and plays strong defense. Morris showed all of this when he scored a full 90 points for Boro in a 1-0 away win against West Bromwich Albion.

Finally, Ethan Horvath was on the bench again as Cardiff beat Millwall 1-0 for their first win of the season.

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