Around the MLS: April 10

The MLS season is underway, and already six games in, there is some small shake-up with the standings. Messi’s Inter Miami club is right now third in the Eastern Conference.

Here is what’s going on around the MLS before another weekend of matches.

Messi returned to the pitch this past week after being out with an injury that kept him out of several games to start the season.

Miami is looking to just stay healthy as they go down the stretch with easily one of the more loaded rosters in the MLS.

In seven total MLS games this season, Lewis Morgan of the New York Red Bulls has put six goals on the board already.

The Scottish winger for New York has been stellar this season, adding his first hat trick of the year against Inter Miami on March 23rd.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are leading the race in the Western Conference early on this season.

In six games this season there is no explosive superstar on the squad, but as a team, they have complimented each other well this season leading to immense success.

Another team that is good this season, along with being successful for the past several years has been the Philadelphia Union.

The Union remain undefeated on the season and are right at the top still in terms of power rankings week in and week out.

The defending champs over in Columbus have had a consistent start to the season sitting in the fourth spot early on in the year.

Cucho Hernandez, one of the leaders on the team, has three goals so far this season and will be looking to continue to grow the goal category this season.

Head coach Wilfried Nancy will be looking to go back-to-back with his squad, which has only been done three times in the league’s 28-year-plus history.

Another thing to note early on is two of the top five teams in the MLS have already allowed 10-plus goals this season.

The LA Galaxy and Inter Miami have had to rely on goal-scoring to carry them through the first few weeks of the season.

It should also be noted that Inter Miami is one of the highest teams in penalties this season as well.

The feisty play of players like Suarez and Messi has contributed to this, along with an aggressive mindset from Miami’s head coach Gerardo Martino.

A bit of a shocker early on is the fall off from a champion in this decade the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders have only been able to net nine goals in almost the same amount of games, which is astounding for a team that was near the top of that category in 2020 and 2021.

Seattle has also struggled in the win column this season, placing them near the bottom of the MLS after a resounding 7th-place finish last season.

After finishing all the way in 17th place last season, the Red Bulls have catapulted back up to the No.1 spot so far this season.

Miami also was a team near the bottom last season, that has seen its talent produce, which sees them in 4th place early on this season.

Nevertheless, this should be an exciting MLS season, with a new defending champ in the Columbus Crew, and a slew of other teams looking to dethrone them.

Giustino Racchini is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email him at gar5448@psu.edu.