MLS Matchday 28 Roundup

The excitement of the 2024 MLS season continues, and this past weekend we enjoyed an action-packed matchday 28 from start to finish. While there were a few surprises, the biggest story in North American soccer was the goals that rained down throughout the weekend.

After the last round, Inter Miami continues to extend its lead, now by eight points, over FC Cincinnati at the top of the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, in the West, LA Galaxy beat Atlanta United to maintain their lead over LAFC at the top of the table. However, keep in mind that LAFC has 3 games less and the difference between them is only 5 points, so, everything is in the hands of Steve Cherundolo’s team.

Let’s see what happened in the most interesting matches of the 28th MLS matchday.

MLS Matchday 28 Roundup: Minnesota vs. Seattle Sounders

The Seattle Sounders stepped up in this away match to take an excellent 3-2 win over Minnesota United.

Things started even, but, the Sounders struck first in the 11th minute, when Jordan Morris scored the first goal of the match. However, Minnesota attacked relentlessly until they were fouled inside the opponent’s box and managed to equalize the score 1-1, after a penalty kick converted by Kelvin Yeboah in the 24th minute.

However, the Sounders continued their siege and, just 3 minutes later, managed to take the lead again thanks to a goal by Jackson Ragen.

At the start of the second half, Yeboah scored the 2-2 to give Minnesota some breathing space, but the joy would not last 20 minutes, as Albert Rusnák scored the definitive 3-2 in the 75th minute.

Result: Minnesota (2) – (3) Seattle Sounders

MLS Matchday 28 Roundup: NYC FC vs. Chicago Fire

In an exceptional give-and-take, NYC FC could not win at home against Chicago Fire and ended up sharing the points after a 2-2 draw.

The match was always in the hands of NY, as they started off playing extremely well with goals from Alonso Martinez in the 15′ and 22′ minutes. From that moment on, the team from the Big Apple took possession of the ball, but, little by little, they started to fade, to the point that, in the 78th minute, Hugo Cuypers scored the 1-2 which, at that moment, put a lot of pressure on the local team.

This pressure by the Chicago Fire took effect in the final seconds, as they generated a penalty in the 90+4′ minute, which was converted into a goal by Brian Gutiérrez and thus sentenced the match to a draw (2-2).

Result: NYC FC (2) – (2) Chicago Fire

MLS Matchday 28 Roundup: Real Salt Lake vs. SJ Earthquakes

Real Salt Lake continues to go from bad to worse at this point in the season, as from fighting for the top of the Western Conference, they are now fighting against themselves to get back into the rhythm of the game and get back to winning ways.

While it is true that in this match against the SJ Earthquakes they dominated the ball and the game, they were not effective enough to score goals that would lead them to victory.

After some approaches from both teams in the first minutes of the match, it was the SJ Earthquakes, who took the lead in the 19th minute, with a goal by Cristian Espinoza. This was a hard blow for RSL, who were unable to recover and, in the 33rd minute, managed to put the game to bed with a goal by Amahl Pellegrino.

Result: Real Salt Lake (0) – (2) SJ Earthquakes

MLS Matchday 28 Roundup: LA Galaxy vs. Atlanta United

Finally, we have LA Galaxy continuing to show their high level of play and, above all, their excellent pace after the arrival of Marco Reus, by taking a solid 2-0 win over Atlanta United.

The game was anyone’s despite the Galaxy dominating possession with an overwhelming 71%. However, Atlanta could not capitalize on their scoring chances to be decisive in this match.

After a 0-0 draw in the first half, the teams came out all guns blazing in the second 45 minutes. In the 76th minute, Riqui Puig scored the 1-0 after a spectacular shot from outside the box.

Finally, in another masterful play by Riqui Puig and a double finish by Marco Reus, the German scored the definitive 2-0 in the 84th minute, to lead the Galaxy to a stupendous home victory.

Result: LA Galaxy (2) – (0) Atlanta United