Good morning! Messi and Friends continue to break attendance records around MLS. The latest: 65,612 fans at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, for Saturday’s New England-Inter Miami game. The match was a thrill for soccer fans who had never seen Lionel Messi play. He scored two goals and was involved in Miami’s other two goals in its 4-1 win. For longtime Revs’ followers, it was another long evening in what is shaping up to be a brutal season. The defeat dropped New England into last place in the overall MLS standings.
Soccer America Daily is edited by Paul Kennedy and Mike Woitalla.
MLS
Messi and Miami are on a roll
Inter Miami took over the lead in the Supporters’ Shield race with a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution before 65,612 fans, a record soccer crowd at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Lionel Messi scored twice and added an assist as the Herons won their third straight game since being eliminated from Monterrey in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
“The team showed their character,” said Miami coach Tata Martino. “Now we have three wins in a row and it is getting more solid every time.”
• Messi’s new MLS records:
• 5 consecutive games with multiple goal contributions.
• 16 goal contributions in his first 7 games of the season.
RSL takes over Western Conference lead
Real Salt Lake took over the lead in the Western Conference with a 2-1 win at Philadelphia, handing the Union its first defeat of the season.
Much of the attention has been on Chicho Arango (who is second behind Messi in MLS with 15 goal contributions), but a big reason for RSL’s success has been 21-year-old Colombian Andrés Gómez, whose goal against Union was his fourth of the 2024 season to go along with three assists.
• What They’re Saying: RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni credited the second-year winger for his unusually quick adaptation to MLS: “Andres finished the [2023] season in great form, went off with the [Colombian] Olympic team and picked up where he left off.”
Austin FC continues turnaround
Inter Miami claimed sole possession of first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings when the LA Galaxy lost at Austin FC 2-0.
Off-season acquisitions Diego Rubio (free agent) and Jáder Obrian (Re-Entry Draft) scored for Austin FC, which has the best record in MLS over the last five weeks after starting out the season without a win in its first five games.
• Crowd Count: The match drew 20,738 fans at Q2 Stadium, marking the 59th consecutive MLS home sellout, the league’s longest active streak.
Top 5: Best record (Last 5 games):
1. Austin FC (4-1-0), 12 points
2. Inter Miami (3-0-2), 11 points
2. NYCFC (3-0-2), 11 points
2. Real Salt Lake (3-0-2), 11 points
5. Vancouver (3-1-1), 10 points
5. Colorado (3-1-1), 10 points
5. Philadelphia (3-1-1), 10 points
AMERICANS ABROAD
Brandon Vázquez scores 10th Monterrey goal
Brandon Vázquez scored his 10th goal since joining Monterrey in January.
The Mexican-American came off the bench to complete the scoring in Los Rayados’ 5-2 victory at Necaxa. He has scored six goals in Liga MX and four in the Concacaf Champions Cup, where Monterrey hosts Columbus Crew in the second leg of the semifinals on Wednesday.
Alejandro Zendejas’ Club América finished the first phase of the Torneo Clausura in first place. Cade Cowell’s Guadalajara was sixth.
• Juventus 0 AC Milan 0. The Serie A battle of USMNT stars ended in a scoreless draw. Tim Weah started for Juventus and Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah (at right back) started for AC Milan. Weston McKennie (6.5 player rating) came on as a sub for Juve.
• Gazzetta dello Sport player ratings (1=low; 10=high):
• Busio sets up Venezia winner: Gianluca Busio assisted on Bjarki Steinn Bjarkason’s winning goal for third-place Venezia, which beat Cremonese 2-1 to move within one point of Como for the second automatic promotion spot in Italy’s Serie B. Busio and U-23 teammate Tanner Tessmann have combined for 13 goals and seven assists in their third season with Venezia.
Top 5: 2023-24 scorers (American men in Europe):
1. Haji Wright (Coventry City, England D2), 18 goals
2. Josh Sargent (Norwich City, England D2) 16 goals (+1)
3. Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), 13 goals
4. Malik Tillman (PSV, Netherlands), 9 goals
4. Ricardo Pepi (PSV, Netherlands), 9 goals
Note: Goals in all competitions for teams in top two tiers of 2023-24 fall-spring leagues.
Other weekend scorers:
*Rokas Pukštas (Hajduk Split, Croatia) 7 goals (+2)
Paxten Aaronson (Vitesse, Netherlands), 4 goals (+2)
*Also scored an own goal, all in the first 28 minutes of 5-1 win over Rudes.
NWSL
Current and Pride remain unbeaten
The KC Current (5-0-1) stayed on top in the NWSL standings with a 3-1 performance at Angel City FC, perhaps its most impressive win of the season.
• Barbra Banda stars in first Orlando start: In her first NWSL start, Zambian Barbra Banda contributed to all three goals as the Orlando Pride (4-0-2) beat the Washington Spirit, 3-2, to remain unbeaten.
• Lavelle scores in Gotham debut: In her first match with Gotham FC, Rose Lavelle scored seven minutes into stoppage time to give the defending champions a 1-1 tie with Racing Louisville.
USL CHAMPIONSHIP
Eastern Conference leaders both win 6-0
• Four goals for Markanich: Nick Markanich scored four goals, including a hat trick in the first half, and added an assist as Charleston extinguished Las Vegas to remain on top in the Eastern Conference.
• LouCity’s best start ever: Louisville City fashioned its 6-0 win over Hartford in a different manner, getting goals from six different players. It has scored at least five goals in a game three times en route to a 6-1-0 start, its best ever.
• More: Kieran Phillips rescues Sacramento, Noah Delgado out in Oakland.
UEFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Emma Hayes: ‘We were robbed’
Emma Hayes’ bid to finish her tenure at Chelsea with a UEFA Women’s Champions League title ended with a 2-0 loss to defending champion Barcelona at sold-out Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, who will take over as USWNT head coach in late May, claimed Barcelona benefited from the “worst decision in Women’s Champions League history” to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, referring to the sending off of Canadian Kadeisha Buchanan in the second half for a contentious second booking.
• What They’re Saying: “It’s hard when you’ve got 11,” Hayes said of playing Barcelona, whose loss in the first leg was its first in 11 months. “When you’ve got 10 it’s virtually impossible. Even the Barca players said they knew the referee was helpful for them.”
• Final: Barcelona will meet Lyon in a rematch of the 2022 final on May 25 in Bilbao. OL beat Paris St. Germain 2-1 before 29,400 fans in Paris to advance 5-3 on aggregate.
American watch (UEFA Champions League semifinals):
• Korbin Albert, Paris SG, sub-7 minutes
• Eva Gaetino, Paris SG, 90 minutes
• Lindsey Horan, Lyon, 90 minutes
• Catarina Macario, Chelsea, 62 minutes
ENGLAND
Relentless Man City keeps pressure on Arsenal
Manchester City kept the heat on Premier League leader Arsenal on Sunday, seeing off a feisty challenge from Nottingham Forest after Mikel Arteta’s Gunners held their nerve to beat Tottenham.
A captivating three-way title race has become a duel between Pep Guardiola’s City and Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who are determined to make amends for last season’s late collapse.
Top 3 race (Premier League):
1. Arsenal (80 points): May 4 Bournemouth, May 12 at Man. United, May 19 Everton.
2. Man. City (79 points): May 4 Wolves, May 11 at Fulham, May 14 at Tottenham, May 19 West Ham United.
3. Liverpool (75 points): May 5 Tottenham, May 13 at Aston Villa, May 19 Wolves.
MONDAY MORNING: WHAT WE’RE READING
1. Status report: What defines your team through Matchday 11? By Matthew Doyle (MLSSoccer.com)
2. ‘There’s going to be fire if I speak’: Salah adds fuel to touchline row with Klopp By Jacob Steinberg (Guardian)
3. Portland men’s pro soccer team unveils name: Hearts of Pine By Drew Bonifant (Portland Press Herald)