What We Learned: Sporting KC show progress, Atlanta United find solutions | OneFootball

By Joseph Lowery

Matchday 4 is in the books.

What did we learn? Did the games confirm what we already knew or change the complexion of the league?

Let’s dive into some key takeaways from another weekend of MLS action.

WATCH: Every goal from Matchday 4!

1. Petar Musa’s legend grows

It’s been quite the week for Petar Musa. 

The 28-year-old earned a call-up to Croatia’s March camp and bagged a hat trick for FC Dallas in their 3-3 draw with San Diego FC on Saturday night.

“Petar is the best nine I’ve ever coached, by far,” head coach Eric Quill said postgame after recounting Musa’s game-tying goal that came at the death against San Diego.

For a coach in Quill, who helped develop US men’s national team and PSV striker Ricardo Pepi, that’s no small claim. But it is a reasonable one.

With five goals already this year, Musa is tied atop the Golden Boot presented by Audi race alongside Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Brian White. Musa is, quite simply, a complete striker. His movement off the ball is top-tier, as is his ability to anticipate plays one beat faster than opposing center backs.

Both of those skills were on full display for Saturday’s equalizer:

On the ball, Musa is an underrated distributor, the kind that can help a defense-first FC Dallas team unlock opposing defenses in their relatively brief spells of possession. 

With a versatile skillset and consistent production in front of goal (only Lionel Messi, Denis Bouanga, and Sam Surridge have scored more regular-season goals since the Croatian arrived in MLS), Musa is soaring right now. Don’t be surprised to see him soar even higher at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.

2. Sporting KC take a step forward

With their 2-1 victory at the LA Galaxy on Saturday, Sporting Kansas City secured the first win of the Raphael Wicky era. The roster rebuild still rages on – and will continue to do so for another few transfer windows – but some of the club’s building blocks stood out in Carson over the weekend.

Most notable, perhaps, was the performance of new midfielder Lasse Berg Johnsen. The 26-year-old, who appeared twice for Norway in World Cup qualifying last year, made his Sporting KC debut after joining from Swedish giants Malmö.

Playing as the deepest midfielder in Wicky’s quite fluid 4-3-3 setup, Berg Johnsen helped Kansas City control spells of the game with possession and was composed defensively. Along the way, the newcomer scored what would turn out to be the game-winning goal via a precise strike from just outside the box:

With Berg Johnsen and Manu García, now in his second season with Sporting KC, there’s a quality midfield developing. With the Norwegian’s steady hand in front of the center backs and the Spaniard’s incisive ball progression slightly higher upfield, it’s easy to see new president of soccer operations and general manager David Lee and Wicky building the team around those two and striker Dejan Joveljić. 

Slowly but surely, progress is visible for SKC.

3. Atlanta United are finding themselves

Coming into the weekend, Atlanta United hadn’t won a home game in MLS play since August 2025. 

Thanks to Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union, that streak is now broken. Along with it, record-breaking signing Emmanuel Latte Lath’s goal drought came to an end against the Union.

The Ivorian striker showed off some of his patented quickness to sneak in behind Philadelphia’s backline and beat Andre Blake:

It wasn’t just Latte Lath who stepped up for Atlanta, though. It was Miguel Almirón, who was consistently dangerous from the left wing. It was the third member of the team’s Designated Player trio, Alexey Miranchuk, too. After scoring against the Union, Miranchuk now has three goals in the team’s last two games.

There’s still work for Tata Martino and his players to do, of course. It’s fair to have some questions about this team’s goalkeeping, as Lucas Hoyos regularly comes off his line. The defensive aggression shown by the center backs and Tristan Muyumba as the No. 6 still leaves something to be desired. And there are concerns about a lack of depth and variety in the attack. 

Regardless, Atlanta United’s key pillars are starting to play like they’re exactly that. That’s huge for the Five Stripes.

4. NYCFC can cause problems, even without a No. 9

When Alonso Martínez went down with a knee injury late last year, a clear priority in the transfer market emerged for New York City FC: find a striker for 2026. Even after a deal to sign Moussa Sylla from Schalke fell through, maybe things are less urgent for NYCFC up top than many would have thought.

Through the first four games of the season, the Cityzens are one of only five teams still undefeated. More than that, they saw their pair of makeshift strikers – Nicolás Fernández Mercau, who started the match as the No. 9, and Talles Magno, who came off the bench – score all three goals in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. 

Fernández Mercau managed the opener after NYCFC's high press forced a turnover close to the goal and bagged his brace-clinching strike on a clever free kick. Magno, for his part, didn’t waste time scoring off the bench after making a slipped run into the box that Maxi Moralez met with a perfect through ball:

With an organized press, no real drop-off from Justin Haak to Kai Trewin in the middle of the backline, and a group of clever, fluid attackers, NYCFC look like a team that needs to be taken very seriously.

5. Seattle's depth is real

Let’s get something straight: the Sounders were fortunate to escape San Jose with a win on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. After Paul Rothrock scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Seattle, the visitors endured a ton of pressure from the Earthquakes’ attack en route to being outshot 25-7.

But with Andrew Thomas standing on his head in between the posts to prevent a heavily rotated lineup from losing on the road, it’s right to give credit to Seattle’s impressive depth. Thomas himself is a good example of that depth: the 27-year-old is in the midst of his first season as Brian Schmetzer’s starting goalkeeper after spending years as a backup. Center back Antino Lopez, with the first team on a short-term contract from MLS NEXT Pro side Tacoma Defiance, made a heroic clearance to preserve the narrow victory.

That Schmetzer could rotate so comfortably in the midst of a two-legged Concacaf Champions Cup battle with Vancouver Whitecaps FC is a testament to Seattle’s best-in-class player development pipeline, one that ranges from the academy to the second team in MLS NEXT Pro to the first team. 

With a win over the weekend and a three-goal lead heading into the second leg against the ‘Caps, life is good for the Sounders.

WATCH: Seattle Sounders hand San Jose Earthquakes first loss