In the first fixture of the weekend, Toronto earned their first win of the season in a statement 3-1 victory over RSL. Orlando came out on top in a high-scoring victory over the Red Bulls, NYCFC continued their winning ways with a solid victory over the Quakes, and SKC defeated DC to remain top of the Western Conference. The highlight of the weekend certainly came from the Galaxy’s victory over LAFC, with new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring both the equalizer and the winner for a debut brace.
Toronto FC 3-1 Real Salt Lake
A brace from Jozy Altidore helped Toronto ease past RSL for their victory of the season. Jozy Altidore opened scoring for Toronto in the 23rd minute with a well-converted penalty he earned himself, conceded by Justen Glad. Altidore earned his brace in the 45th minute of the first half with a good finish into the far corner from the left-side of the box, assisted by Ashtone Morgan.
Corey Baird finally put RSL on the board in the 82nd minute with a shot from the left side of the box into the far corner, assisted by Jefferson Savarino. Tosaint Ricketts scored in the closing moments of the game to put Toronto up 3-1 with a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
Orlando City SC 4-3 New York Red Bulls
Orlando came out on top of this goal-bonanza thanks in part to a brace from US International Dom Dwyer. The Red Bulls got on the board first, with a goal coming from Florian Valot at close range in the seventh minute, assisted by Kaku. Orlando hit back quickly, with Will Johnson scoring from a close-range effort in the 15th minute, assisted by Justin Meram. Not to be out-done, the Red Bulls scored in the 24th minute by way of a Derrick Etienne shot from the centre of the box, assisted by Florian Valot’s through pass. Dom Dwyer brought it back level two minutes later with a strong header from close-range, assisted via cross by Yoshimar Yotun.
Dom Dwyer earned his brace to give Orlando their first lead of the game in the 48th minute with a goal from the left-side of the box, assisted by Mohammed El-Munir. Aaron Long brought the Red Bulls level in the 83rd minute with a headed effort from close, assisted by Marc Rzatkowski. Josue Colman netted the winner in the 86th minute with a shot from the centre of the box, assisted by Scott Sutter.
Columbus Crew SC 1-2 Vancouver Whitecaps
A win in Columbus set the Whitecaps second in the West, tied on points with the leaders SKC. Galaxy-reject Gyasi Zardes opened scoring for the Crew in the 29th minute with a close-range effort. Brek Shea brought the Whitecaps level with a shot from the left side of the box. The Whitecaps went ahead in the 78th minute thanks to a Kei Kamara header from the centre of the box, assisted via a cross from Felipe.
LA Galaxy 4-3 Los Angeles FC
Despite being down in the first half, the Galaxy recovered and came away with the win against a fiery LAFC with no small thanks to MLS-newcomer Zlatan Ibrahimovich’s debut-brace from off the bench. Carlos Vela found the net in the fifth minute with a curled effort from outside the box, assisted by Steven Beitashour. Vela netted his brace in the 26th minute to make it 0-2 for LAFC from the centre of the box, assisted by Diego Rossi. An own-goal from the Galaxy’s Daniel Steres in the 48th minute saw LAFC go-ahead 0-3. Sebastian Lletget scored the first goal of the game for the Galaxy in the 61st minute, assisted by Servando Carrasco.
A strong header from Chris Pontius from the centre of the box in the 73rd minute assisted by Emmanuel Boateng to bring the Galaxy within a shout of LAFC. In the 77th minute, after having been on the field for a mere six minutes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted the equalising goal for the Galaxy with a volleyed strike from more than 35-yards out, assisted via a headed pass by Daniel Steres. In the first minute of added time, Ibrahimovich sent a strong header past LAFC keeper Tyler Miller to set the Galaxy ahead and ultimately win the game.
Chicago Fire 2-2 Portland Timbers
A goal in the closing periods of the game earned the Fire their first point of the season against a struggling Timbers team. The Timbers got off the mark first, with Diego Valeri finding the net from the center of the box in the sixth minute, assisted by Sebastian Blanco following a break. Nemanja Nikolic brought the fire level in the 50th minute from close range, assisted by Brandon Vincent’s cross.
Sebastian Blanco put the Timbers back in the lead in the 55th minute with a strong headed finish, assisted via a cross from Andres Flores. Brandon Vincent brought the Fire level in the 84th minute with a header assisted by Bastian Schweinsteiger to save the point.
Minnesota United FC 0-1 Atlanta United FC
An own-goal at the start of the game allowed a ten-man Atlanta to escape with the win against a Minnesota side that was allowed to dominate because of the advantage. Francisco Calvo suffered the ignominy of scoring an own goal in the third minute to put Atlanta ahead. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez was sent off in the 38th minute after receiving a second yellow for an unnecessary foul.
San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 New York City FC
NYCFC had to come from behind in the second half to continue their winning ways and remain undefeated in San Jose.
The Quakes took an early lead thanks to a third-minute header from Jefferson Quintina from close-range, assisted via a cross from Magnus Eriksson. Anton Tinnerholm brought NYCFC level in the 49th minute with a solid finish of Maximiliano Moralez cross. Moralez himself scored the winner in the 60th minute with a shot from the right side of the box into the far corner, assisted by Ismael Tajouri.
Houston Dynamo 0-2 New England Revolution
With their solid win in Houston, the Revs remain undefeated since opening day. The Revs opened the scoring in the 15th minute thanks to a close-range strike from Teal Bunbury following a break, assisted by Cristian Penilla.
The Dynamo’s Demarcus Beasley was shown a red card in the 38th minute for fouling Penilla as the last man to deny a clear goal-scoring opportunity just outside the box. Penilla then scored the Revs second in the 71st minute with a high shot from the left side of the box, assisted by Gabriel Somi.
Sporting Kansas City 1-0 DC United
SKC earned a good victory over DC to stay top of the West on goal-differential. A strike by Felipe Gutierrez in the third minute was the only goal scored by SKC, but their dominant play is certainly what won them the game, maintaining a majority of possession and outshooting DC.
Colorado Rapids 3-0 Philadelphia Union
A second-half hat-trick from Dominique Badji earned the Rapids a complete victory over the Union for their first win of the season.
Dominique Badji opened scoring for the Rapids in the 53rd minute with a strike into the top-left corner from close-range, assisted by Tommy Smith. Badji made it a brace in the 61st minute with a difficult shot from an odd angle. In the 87th minute, Badji got his hat-trick with a strike from the left side of the box into the far corner following a break, assisted by Johan Bloomberg.
Seattle Sounders 0-1 Montreal Impact
The Impact earned their second win on the bounce to hand Seattle their third defeat of the season. Sounders player Kevin Leerdam was shown a red card in the 40th after VAR determined that he had performed violent conduct after a rough challenge on Daniel Lovitz. Jeisson Vargas found the net for the Impact in the 60th minute with a shot into the bottom-left corner from the centre of the box, assisted by Ignacio Piatti.
