Who impressed and who disappointed during Week 1 of the MLS season? With Week 1 in the books, several teams came off to brilliant starts, while others slipped through the cracks. Here is who impressed and who disappointed during Week 1 of the MLS season:
Impressed: Nashville SC
Nashville kicked off the 2023 season with a bang, completely dominating the match over New York City during their home opener. Center back Walker Zimmerman returned to the team following his trip to Qatar with the USMNT and scored the teams’ first goal of the campaign. Shaq Moore, who was also on the World Cup roster, had a stellar game, winning four of the five tackles made. They are looking like one of the stronger teams in the East in hopes for another playoff season
Disappointed: New York City F.C
New York City did not look like themselves, falling two goals short against Nashville Saturday. They lacked chemistry in the midfield, looking very sluggish with poor defending. The team was also very careless with their fouls, drawing four yellow cards compared to Nashville’s one. After losing a few big named played, the boys in blue will have to figure out how to make things work heading into the new season.
Impressed- Inter Miami
Miami ran the show on Saturday, shutting down Montreal in a very impressive win. Newly acquired defender Serhiy Kryvtsov from Ukraine got things going, scoring Miami’s first goal of the year. Goalkeeper Drake Callender was superb in the net, making six saves to secure the shutout while landing him on the team of the week. Miami also got utility up top, acquiring former MVP Josef Martinez from Atlanta United. This may be the start of Miami’s breakout season under to compete for a top spot in the East.
Disappointed- C.F Montreal
After finishing in second place in 2022, Montreal did not have the opening day they would have liked. They struggled to get a goal passed Callender, with eight failed attempts to get a shot on goal. The forward duo of Romell Quiolo and Ibrahim failed to find the back of the net, with the back line of Kamal Miller, Rudy Camacho and Aaron Herrera all looking out of shape. Montreal have time to learn from their mistakes but will need to learn soon with heavy competition ahead of them.
Impressed-Atlanta United
Atlanta should be happy for one reason: Thiago Almada. The World Cup winner returned to the MLS season with a bang, scoring twice to give them the win. The team never gave up and continued apply pressure to San Jose, ultimately breaking off their defense during the last minutes of the match. Without Josef Martinez anymore, the team will rely on the young Argentinian to deliver goals for the club while looking to improve after a poor 2022 season.
Disappointed- New York Red Bulls
The Red Bulls just couldn’t find the back of the net against Orlando, in a match where they could’ve won. Newly acquired Elias Manoel did not have a good first game, recording just one shot the whole match. Midfielder Lewis Morgan failed to find the net with six shots, who was their only great chance of getting a goal. The Red Bulls did add on to their team, however they will need to step it up in the next upcoming days to prevent them from falling too far down the table this season.
Impressed- St Louis City F.C
St Louis became the first team since 2018 to win their inaugural match after a surprising victory against Austin F.C. After going up early, St Louis saw themselves tied, until Klauss secured the game-winner to lift the team past Austin. Despite just their first ever game, the team looked sharp, keeping up with the opposition and their counter attacks. This will go down as one of the best debuts in MLS season history, with a long season ahead.
Disappointed- Austin F.C
Austin was shocked by the loss to St. Louis after coming off their best season in history in 2022. They allowed three goals at home for the first time since Aug of 2022. Sloppy defending and poor motivation led to the loss, delivering a disappointing home opener in front of over 20,000 fans. Newly acquired Gyasi Zardes took just two shots, with star player Sebastian Driussi looking better than very with a goal Saturday.
