Major League Soccer Weekend Review | OneFootball

MLS matchday 12 was another round of fixtures packed with drama and movement at both ends of the standings. Let's take a look at some of the standout moments.

What happened?

As usual in MLS, a lot happened. The major headlines came from South Florida, where Lionel Messi registered six goal contributions and Luis Suárez bagged a hat-trick en-route to a 6-2 thumping of Eastern Conference contenders New York Red Bulls, getting revenge for the 4-0 loss Miami suffered at Red Bull Arena earlier in the season.

Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake continued their hot start to the season with a win agains Sporting KC thanks to a late Chicho Arango winner, who is an early frontrunner along with Lionel Messi for MLS MVP.

LA Galaxy had the chance to reclaim their supremacy in the west, but a stale 0-0 draw in Seattle saw them drop points for the second straight week and lose momentum after racing out of the blocks in the opening few rounds of the campaign.

The Chicago Fire perhaps had an opportunity to find some rhythm after a rocky start to the season as they took on basement-dwellers New England, but a 1-0 home loss further enflamed their early-season woes.

Player of the matchday

Well, you can only look in one direction when it comes to the standout player from across the league this past weekend, and that's Leo Messi himself. The Argentine set a new MLS record with six goal contributions in one game, showing just how easily his Inter Miami side can put you to the sword when they feel like it.

Goal of the matchday

Federico Bernardeschi's strike against FC Dallas easily ranked in our Top-five goals of the weekend earlier today, and it's simple to see why.

Winners of the matchday

Toronto FC are our winners of the matchday this week. The Canadian club were Wooden Spoon recipients (worst team in MLS) in the 2023 campaign despite boasting the likes of Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne in their front-line.

But after bringing in former Canada coach John Herdman in the summer, TFC have seemingly reversed their fortunes, winning six of their opening 11 games of the 2024 campaign and can pull to within two points of Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami should they win their game in hand over the Herons.

A combined 15 goal contributions from Matty Longstaff, Lorenzo Isigne, Federico Bernardeschi, and standout scorer Prince Owusu have turned Toronto into an attacking juggernaut. And while it is still early, the recent signs have pointed towards Toronto rediscovering their position among the true contenders in the east.

Losers of the matchday

Look away Chicago fans, because the Fire are our losers of the matchday.

The Fire came into the weekend with a chance to snatch just their third win of the campaign as they hosted bottom-side New England. However, Frank Klopas' side could only manage three shots on target across the 90 minutes and fell 1-0 to a New England team that has conceded 18 goals in 10 games to start the season.

The skid may not end any time soon either, as the Fire's next three games come against teams in playoff positions, including a showdown with defending MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew.