MLS Week 1: Federico Higuain’s mastery, RSL’s midfield woes and more

The important takeaways from MLS Week 1, including whether Houston or LAFC (or both) are legit, and a look at an underlying issue in Salt Lake.

MLS is back! Week 1 is in the books, and here’s what happened:

Higuain: Through-ball master

The Crew lost Justin Meram and Ola Kamara this offseason to trade requests, but they didn’t seem to miss a beat in their first game, a 2-0 win at Toronto FC. It was an impressive revenge display for Columbus, who fell to Toronto in last year’s postseason.

Federico Higuain continued his red-hot end to last season, scoring a goal and acting as the hub for Columbus’ attack. He finished with three key passes and was effective all day at slipping the ball in behind to running attackers; the Crew found success by constantly running hard through the inside channels. Higuain is still so, so good at springing those runners:

Gyasi Zardes was one of the most consistent of those attacking probe artists, and he managed goal in his club debut. He’ll be consistently on the receiving end of those balls.

The Crew also saw Pedro Santos pick up a beautiful assist on the second goal, and Artur deliver a fantastic pass that led to Higuain’s goal. This team is filled with players who can pass and create. They may have had a couple of guys leave in the offseason, but after that kind of display against an iconic team, they’ve proven they’ll stick around.

Houston? Houston!

Did we underestimate the Houston Dynamo before this season? It may be a premature assumption, and the Dynamo have a two-year history of sizzling attacking starts, but when you rip apart a legitimate trophy contender without a number of starters, you have to be looked at more closely.

The Dynamo raced past a midfield-less Atlanta United at home, scoring all four of their goals in the first half. They were dominant, and, well:

Alberth Elis was a star, assisting on two goals and creating a host of other chances that probably should have been converted. He sped by a slow and unprepared Atlanta backline, dominating my Supporters’ Shield pick despite the absence of attackers Romell Quioto (he came on as a sub late in the game) and Tomas Martinez, who was suspended.

They used their regular formula: Buzz around high in midfield to try and get out in transition, and then sit deep and punt it long if the opponent gets around the initial line. As ever, they need to improve in other areas of their game, but this was perfect against a team like Atlanta, and the attacking ruthlessness they showed will apply against any other club. Maybe we should stop being so surprised by it.

RSL’s midfield

Real Salt Lake almost walked out of Frisco, Texas with a quality road win to start the year. They were just about through, but center-back Marcelo Silva roofed a Maxi Urruti cross for an unfortunate 86th-minute own goal. In response, Silva angrily launched the ball into orbit, lamenting the goal that robbed RSL of two points.

Mike Petke’s side did what you have to do to win on the road in MLS. They played in a tight defensive shape and invited pressure, relying on transition plays and set-pieces to create goals. When Joao Plata coolly finished a well-run counter-attack in the 25th minute, the blueprint was set: Slow the pace of the game, don’t give up space in behind and make sure not to devote too many numbers forward.

It was smart and practical from Petke, who has done a good job instituting situational tactics into his young team. They gave up too many opportunities, but they held strong until the unlucky Silva own goal. The problem they ran into, though, was their inability to develop possession in Zones 10, 11 and 12. Too often, they relied on lower percentage balls, whether through the air or on the ground.

Albert Rusnak still finished with a sufficient amount of touches in the right areas, but there was potential for more, and wingers Joao Plata and Jefferson Savarino wouldn’t have had to go at so many defenders by themselves if RSL had been able to move the ball more coherently up the field. Too many possessions looked like this:

It worked a few times, as will be expected of route one soccer. To achieve maximum effect of their talented core of attackers, though, they have to get more creative about establishing possession patterns, which means more players up the field and better spacing, allowing for increased modes of attack in the final third. That would be a positive for a front four that has shown it can pass and move in tight spaces.

Same old deal for SKC

Sporting KC, a year removed from one of the best defensive seasons in MLS history, fell at home 2-0 to NYCFC, falling victim to a familiar problem: A lack of finishing and a lack of final third incisiveness. They managed to get just three of their 18 shots on target, and constantly made the wrong move around the goal. Case in point:

That’s Yohan Croizet, the attacker they signed to replace Benny Feilhaber, piking one 20 feet over the goal on a quality transition opportunity. He had the space to do something better than this. He could have found the runner in the box, or made a move to the touchline, or feigned a shot to create a better look for himself. Instead, Croizet hits a low-quality, weak foot strike that never had a chance.

That failure encapsulates well why Sporting struggled. They don’t possess attackers who can make the right decisions near the goal, and there’s no one on the field capable of being a difference-maker in those positions. Croizet, Johnny Russell and Felipe Gutierrez are fine players, but they don’t solve these problems.

It’s fair to question the offseason decisions of the front office, given that all three of the above players were prominent signings.

Next: The best under-20 player on every MLS team

Awards

The best team in the league

Despite their loss on Saturday, it’s still Toronto FC. They didn’t look too bad in defeat, spending considerable time in Columbus’s end and hitting the post twice. On short rest due to the CONCACAF Champions League and playing in subpar conditions at BMO Field, this is no time to panic for Reds fans.

Greg Vanney put out a 4-4-2 diamond again, and like always, they relied on central chance creation through Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco and received most of their flank production from left-back Justin Morrow, who was a major threat on the overlap.

Later in the game, Victor Vazquez picked up a knock and they subbed on the Brazilian right-back Auro for his first MLS match in TFC colors. He looked capable, spending time high up the field and showing an ability to keep pace with the combo-heavy Toronto attack. He did have this sequence, though:

He receives the ball on the right side with Milton Valenzuela bearing down on him, and with players in the box, this is an opportunity to create space and send it in. Auro bears down himself, ready to take Valenzuela on one-on-one. He waits, and waits, and waits, and, Pedro Santos barges in and takes the ball away. Chance gone.

That’s the kind of indecisiveness that kills goalscoring opportunities. He needs to get better at picking his head up and making quicker decisions.

The worst team in the league

The week one title goes to Minnesota United, who were thoroughly beaten in San Jose by the somewhat innocuous score of 3-2. The Earthquakes peppered 18 shots on Matt Lampson’s goal and rode a two-goal in outburst in a one-minute span to a clinical victory. The result never looked in doubt, despite Kevin Molino’s late-game outburst.

Minnesota, without Sam Cronin due to ongoing concussion issues, played without a real defensive midfielder, a bold (read: dumb) strategy that resembled Tata Martino’s mistake for Atlanta. Adding to their struggles was the lack of central midfielders capable of moving the ball and a mostly-incompetent backline. Guess which of these center-back pairs they chose?

Yeah, they went with Francisco Calvo and Michael Boxall, the least effective pairing last season, benching a perfectly-healthy Brent Kallman. Kallman’s no Mascherano, but he’s shown to be much more effective than Boxall. The Loons have a lot of work to do.

Random result of the week

Not since the 2009 Sounders has an MLS expansion achieved a clean sheet in their first ever game. That is what LAFC did in Seattle on Sunday, beating the defending conference champs 1-0 thanks to a beautiful Diego Rossi strike and a ton of Tyler Miller saves.

They enjoyed a fiery start, attacking ruthlessly with their skillful front four and possessing the ball in the fashion Bob Bradley has emphasized. That kind of intensity tailed off as the game went on as the Nicolas Lodeiro and the Sounders (who played with one eye on the CCL on Wednesday) assumed control, pinning LAFC in their own end and forcing into a number of big saves.

But they hung on. Carlos Vela was electric on the ball and rookie No. 1 pick Joao Moutinho was exquisite at left-back. While clear flaws exist (they need a better No. 6 than Mark-Anthony Kaye, for one), Will Ferrell and co. can enjoy the moment.

Predictable result of the week

The Earthquakes’ victory takes this honor. It wasn’t hard to foresee a Minnesota team sans Cronin going into San Jose and giving up some goals, although credit to Molino for making it kind of interesting late on.

Quakes coach Mikhael Stahre had a positive debut. But he inexplicably decided to leave both Jackson Yueill and Tommy Thompson on the bench, a mystifying rejection of two promising young talents. Yueill, 20, sat for a midfield pairing of Anibal Godoy and Florian Jungwirth — both of those players are defensive midfielders, so San Jose had trouble setting a tempo and distributing from deep; that should have been Yueill’s role.

Foregoing the 22-year-old Thompson is made less egregious by Vako Qazashvili’s one-goal, two-assist performance, but combined with Yueill’s absence, it’s concerning. Both players need to be integrated heavily this season, and if Stahre does not accomplish that, it will be one of the most disappointing developments of the year.

Unheralded performance of the week

Shoutout to Lalas Abubakar for his shutdown performance against Sebastian Giovinco in Toronto. But this coveted award, going to a player who won’t get a ton of plaudits otherwise but deserves recognition, goes to Handwalla Bwana, the 18-year-old Kenyan of the Sounders. Bwana made his professional debut as an attacking substitute for Seattle in an attempt to equalize with LAFC.

The Homegrown, out of the University of Washington, was a jolt of life, firing a shot off the crossbar in his second touch of the ball and aggressively using his speed to open lanes for the Sounders’ attack. It didn’t result in a goal, but he should be expecting some future run-outs.

Goalkeeper howler of the week

In a mostly-mistake-free week for MLS goalkeepers, Brad Guzan’s misjudgement of a Dynamo set piece gets the nod. He didn’t seem to have a grasp of where he was on the field here, leading him to regrettably reach his hand out and knock it down for Darwin Ceren, who scored on his Dynamo debut:

Guzan was flawless otherwise, despite his team’s dreadful performance. He’s a favorite for Goalkeeper of the Year, but the above play did not go his way.