There’s a new best player in MLS, while injuries have taken their toll on one of the league’s biggest clubs. Of course, that beats the hell out of being winless, and then there was the team that got a win eight months in the making.
MLS Week 5: Michael Bradley is the king, while New York and Montreal are in the dumps
All is well in Toronto, but not so much in New York, Montreal and Los Angeles.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sport
MLS Week 5 had storylines!
Michael Bradley has taken his throne
Michael Bradley said part of the reason he moved to MLS was he wanted to take on the challenge of leading a team. Well, it's been a month and not only is he leading Toronto FC, he's leading the league.
It’s taken all of four matches for Bradley to establish himself as the best player in the league. Not coincidentally, TFC also got to nine points in four matches this season after needing 14 to do it a year ago.
Bradley scored the opener for Toronto on Saturday and generally dominated the match, cutting out service to Federico Higuain, transitioning the ball on the counter and taking on the playmaker's role in the final third. It was a spectacular performance for Bradley as he pushed TFC to victory without Jermain Defoe, but it wasn't too different from what we've seen from him in Toronto's first three matches. He's the best player in the league, and it shows.
Montreal and New York are still winless
The two worst teams in the Eastern Conference are ... Montreal and New York.
More from our team sites
More from our team sites
It was only a year ago that the Impact were off to a red-hot start and being touted as the class of the East, a distinction they eventually handed to the Red Bulls when New York won the Supporters’ Shield. And yet here they stand, without a win after five matches each.
Both teams have the same problem -- a leaky defense -- and it doesn't look like either will get markedly better in the season's future. On Saturday, the Red Bulls repeatedly gave Impact attackers far too much space and had it not been for a nice outing by Luis Robles, they could have given up three or more goals, while the Impact only got out with a 2-2 draw because Peguy Luyindula hit the bar with a penalty kick.
The Red Bulls will point to Jamison Olave’s absence as the reason for their unimpressive defensive showing, while the Impact played one of their better matches of the season at the back, but that will ring hollow for fans of both teams, who were hoping for more than a passable team this season. Right now, that looks like the most these defenses are capable of and with both teams having allowed nine goals in five matches, to be even passable would require improvement.
The Galaxy have just one healthy fullback
Bruce Arena played with fire, going into the season with Todd Dunivant, A.J. DeLaGarza, James Riley, Dan Gargan and Oscar Sorto as his fullbacks, but the issue there was quality, not quantity. Now it's quantity.
Riley was ruled out for six months with a knee injury and DeLaGarza hurt his ankle, leaving LA with just three fullbacks going into Sunday’s contest with Chivas. Then Dunivant got hurt, an abdominal injury that may be serious, and Gargan also went down with a shoulder injury, leaving just one healthy fullback on the entire Galaxy roster.
Enter Sorto, a 19-year-old making his first MLS appearance.
At this point, Sorto is all the Galaxy have. They went with Tommy Meyer at left back once Gargan was hurt on Sunday, but he's a left-footed centerback, not a fullback, and can't even get on the field for LA in his natural position.
The lack of fullbacks didn’t hurt LA against the Goats, but that was Chivas. It’s tough to imagine them getting away with that against Vancouver in their next two matches so this might be the time Arena makes a move for a fullback, one that helps them get by in the short term and gives them an upgrade in the long term. Or he’ll cross his fingers on health.
It is just April, after all, so Arena still has a few months before he starts caring.
D.C. United won!
The last time D.C. United won an MLS match, “Blurred Lines” was the No. 1 song in the U.S., “Wrecking Ball” hadn’t even been released yet and 2 Guns was the top movie at the box office.
More from our team sites
More from our team sites
Not anymore!
D.C. finally won a league match on Saturday, beating New England 2-0. The win took a bit of fortune, with Jose Goncalves putting the ball in his own net for the first goal and Teal Bunbury continuing his crusade against scoring, but it's not as if D.C. hadn't endured their fair share of bad luck in the last eight months. So they weren't that good, and so they've played three homes games in four to start the season.
The 16-match winless streak is dead and you can bet D.C. fans are celebrating their one-match win streak.
See More:
