Pretty crazy to get so many top performers in MLS just from Americans from two teams.

Also wild that Tsakiris is Fotmobs top rated AM in the whole league right now!

Call it Stars v Stripes

Team Stripes (Fotmob MLS position rank)

GK: Thomas, SEA (#1)
RB: Rienzi, SEA (#5)
CB: Lopez, SEA (#2)
CB: Munie, SJ (#9)
LB: Ricketts, SJ (#7)
CM: Leroux, SJ (#2)
CM: Roldan, SEA (#5)
AM: Tsakiris, SJ (#1)
LW: Rothrock, SEA (#4)
RW: Ferreira, SEA (#16)
ST: Judd, SJ (#15)

MLS Week 8 Power Ranking by xG difference (rank change vs wk 6)

1) Vancouver: +17.5
2) San Jose: +10.1
3) RSL: +5.9 (🔺2)
4) Nashville: +5.2
5) LAFC: +4.4 (🔻2)
6) FCD: +4.1 (🔺4)
7) COL: +3.6 (🔺2)
8) LAG: +3.0
6) CIN: +2.9 (new)
10) CHI: +2.4 (🔻3)

Dropped out: NYCFC

VAN & SJ well out in front

MLS Top 9, Wk 8 in xG+A/90, 400+ min:

1) Messi, 🇦🇷 1.07 (MIA, 38)
2) Solans, 🇪🇸 1.05 (RSL, 23)
3) White, 🇺🇸 1.04 (VAN, 30)
4) Bouanga, 🇬🇦 0.97 (LAFC, 31)
5) Guilavogui, 🇬🇳 0.91 (RSL, 28)
6) Musa, 🇭🇷 0.86 (FCD, 27)
7) Evander, 🇧🇷 0.87 (CIN, 27)
8) Dreyer, 🇩🇰 0.85 (SD, 27)
9) Cuypers, 🇧🇪 0.83 (CHI, 29)

Quakes now four-for-four in away games.

Tier 5: Cameo

Norris, FCD, 21 (9)
Borso, CHI, 19 (7)
Baker-Whiting, RB, NSH, 21 (6)
Klein, NE, 19 (1)
Harris, COL, 19 (1)
Abadia-Reda, MIA, 20 (1)

Ellis, AM, ORL, 18 (6.0, 20)
Turner, LM, DC, 19 (6.0, 15)

Tier 4: Rough Day

Hall, ST, RBNY, 18 (5.9, 90)
Reynolds, RB, SKC, 21 (5.4, 51)
Ferree, GK, SD, 19 (5.1, 90)
Verhoeven, LB, SD, 19 (4.7, 90)

Soma, CM, SD, 19 (6.3, 45)
Vasquez, CM, SD, 20 (6.3, 24)
Taifi, RWB, ORL, 20 (6.3, 80)
Hezarkhani, LM, 20 (6.3, 20)
James, RB, SKC, 17 (6.2, 39)
Sanchez, CM, ATL, 18 (6.1, 68)
Mehmeti, CM, RBNY, 17 (6.1, 65)
Pinter, RM, MIA, 18 (6.0, 20)
Dos Santos, LB, RBNY, 17 (6.0, 90)

Valenzuela, RM, CIN, 21 (7.0, 20, 0.41xG+xA)

Miller, LW, LAG, 18 (7.0, 17, 2/3 dribbles)

Tier 3: Good Minutes

Raines, CM, NE, 21 (6.7, 90)
Hopkins, ST, DC, 21 (6.6, 90)
Cavan, AM, PHI, 16 (6.5, 26)
Miller, AM, NE, 18 (6.5, 73)
Sarajin, LW, ORL, 21 (6.5, 10)
Bartlett, CM, SKC, 20 (6.4, 90)

Corcoran, CM, NSH, 20 (7.5, 90, 7 passes into final 3rd)

Brunell, RM, SEA, 19 (7.5, 90, 2/2 dribbles, 6 recoveries)

Yapi, RW, COL, 21 (Goal, 7.4, 29, 0.69 xG)

Johnson, LB, VAN, 20 (7.4, 90, 6 passes into final 3rd)

Kohler, CM, NE, 20 (7.2, 90, 90/94 passes)

MLS US u22 Report Week 8

Tier 1: Match Winners

Gozo, RWB, RSL, 19 (8.5 FotMob, 90 min, 0.40xG+xA, 10/12 duels, 7 touches in the box)

Tier 2: Excellent Outing

Westfield, LB, PHI, 20 (7.9, 90, 21 passes into final 3rd, 12/15 duels won)

Tsakiris, AM, SJ, 20 (Assist, 7.9, 90, 2 big chances created)

Honestly add Munie & Roberts as well.

Holy moly the Quakes.

They're this year's Vancouver. Very very very real.

Bouda!!!!

Also what a first goal for Lloris to give up to break the streak

Matarazzo - Fair Lawn, NJ
Bob Bradley - West Essex, NJ
BJ Callaghan - Ventnor City, NJ
Gregg Berhalter - Tenafly, NJ

New Jersey Soccer Heritage

(Michael Bradley is next)

This SJ vs LAFC is a match up of top teams at full strength and by itself on Sunday night.

Genuinely how it should be.

Vamos Quakes!

In my piece with @backheeled.com , I argued that MLS should model itself after the NBA (instead of the NFL)

One of the things the NBA does well is embrace advanced stats on their NBA.com page & embracing the creator economy to unlock a media machine.

The stuff below, simply should not happen.

If mlssoccer dot com -- THE OFFICIAL LEAGUE SITE -- doesn't care enough to get the all-time leading scorer stats right, why should anywhere else?

trying to double check official stats on MLSsoccer dot com is no longer reliable. Diego Luna scored last night. His profile page on the league site says he didn't.

It's such mind numbingly basic stuff. These mistakes are so small time.

When we ran the big games at Levi's vs LAFC with the Quakes, we'd see tens of thousands of people who'd never came to an MLS game before.

The key was if they had a good time & found the soccer entertaining, you can make a concerted effort to get them to a second game at PayPal.

It works, for sure.

How I feel every time Berchimas doesn't make Charlotte's bench (although I'm glad they have Aloko starting)

That's 18 yr old CB Herrington with a dime to 21 yr old RW Yappi

Montreal has 6 shots, 4 on target and 4 goals.

Each shot they've taken has an average of 0.45xG. That's how much the RBNY has given in chances.

He's not come out when he should've about 2-3 times before this as well.

He's also played a pass into traffic leading into the first goal.

And he's a negative shot stopper, currently ranked 27th out of 30th in the league.

Which raises the question

Let me know if you get the reference. It means you're my people.

Zenitsu, a blonde boy from the anime Demon Slayer looking scared and crying. He's quivering with fear

Zenitsu from Demon Slayer stepping forward with his head down. He's holding the sheath of his sword with his left hand, his right hand ready to strike with his sword.

Montreal against any MLS Team

versus

Montreal against Red Bull New York

MLS Clubs in US Open Cup by how they rotated their squad:

Mostly A-Team:
ATX (1-2 L)
SKC (0-3 L)

Half Rotated:
DC (3-3, PK L)
STL (4-0)
HOU (4-1)
RBNY (3-1)
CHI (2-1)
COL (1-0)

Mostly Rotated:
NE (1-1, PK W)
MIN (0-0, PK W)
CHA (6-0)
NYC (5-2)
CLB (3-0)
ATL (3-1)
ORL (1-0)
SJ (2-0)

Galaxy could play 2000 minutes with this approach vs Toluca and not score 3 goals.

Genuinely should make changes before half, unless the goal is to not to lose this leg badly.

I don't get why Haak is in the midfield. Galaxy midfield is too slow and negative to bother Toluca at all.

Place Haak at CB, put in Sanabria for either Garces or Yoshida, and be the protagonists here.

The only time Pochettino tries new MLS guys is when they do well against Inter Miami.

So unfortunately for Mehmeti & Hall that means ... (checks the last time they showed up on the scoresheet) ...