{"id":136191,"date":"2025-08-11T05:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T05:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136191\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T05:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T05:48:12","slug":"son-heung-mins-debut-austin-fcs-next-step-more-from-matchday-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136191\/","title":{"rendered":"Son Heung-Min’s debut, Austin FC’s next step & more from Matchday 28"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve got a returning hero in Foxborough, a growing concern for Portland<\/a>, and several Supporters\u2019 Shield chasers dropping points. Plus a moment that made me smile, the deepest team in MLS history and a trio to maybe \u2013 hopefully, potentially \u2013 build around in Montr\u00e9al<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The story writes itself: second half at SeatGeek Stadium, the game 1-1, both teams pressing for space, possession and a winner. Legs are heavy, ideas maybe even a little bit heavier. The game hits the hour mark, and a ripple of murmuring pulses through the crowd, then a cheer, then screaming and applause. Because for the first time in Black & Gold history, Son Heung-Min<\/a> \u2013 the most expensive signing in MLS history, the man who led Tottenham to unimaginable glory (one trophy) \u2013 is about to step between the lines.<\/p>\n

This would be the moment LAFC<\/a> turned into a juggernaut. This would give them a burst of energy that few in the league could hope to match.<\/p>\n

Except\u2026 not really! The Fire<\/a> got that surge of energy when Son came on in the 61st minute, taking control of the game (temporarily, it turned out) and hitting a gear LAFC couldn\u2019t match. It was the DP winger in red, Jonathan Bamba<\/a>, who scored an absolute scorcher of a goal, roofing it past Hugo Lloris<\/a> in the 70th minute. And it looked like the Fire would walk away with a huge, landmark win, spoiling the most eagerly anticipated MLS debut since Lionel Messi<\/a> took his bows in pink two years back.<\/p>\n

Except\u2026 not really that, either! Because the Chicago Fire are still a little bit cursed, Son is still really good, and this was, in fact, a post and a penalty:<\/p>\n

Denis Bouanga<\/a> stepped up and made it 2-2<\/a>. That\u2019s how it would end, as Son presented LAFC fans with a debut that was, if not quite legendary, at least legend-adjacent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an exciting time for a whole week joining LAFC, it was huge,\u201d Son said afterward, as reported by The Athletic<\/a>. \u201cThere was only one thing I wanted to do and today, being on the pitch, I think it was fantastic. With the result it\u2019s a little bit disappointing, because I think we should\u2019ve gotten three points here, but generally I think I\u2019m very, very happy and excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let me give you a few takeaways about his first half-hour in Black & Gold:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Son\u2019s spent most of his career as a left winger who cuts inside, but we saw him, two years ago, have a superb season as a run-the-lines center forward. This isn’t an unusual progression for goalscoring, inverted wingers as they age (think Cristiano Ronaldo).<\/p>\n

It always made sense that LAFC would ask him to do this job, since so much of their game is about playing into space (Son is still very fast, and is obviously world-class about knowing how and when to use that speed), and since they already have probably the best left winger in MLS on the roster in Bouanga. So the question is less about position and more about fit, as both guys will probably spend time in that left channel no matter where their name is on the team sheet.<\/p>\n

The very early returns were\u2026 not great. Son and Bouanga didn\u2019t really play off each other much, and couldn\u2019t figure out their timing or spacing on a potential breakaway in the 98th minute. It\u2019s going to take reps.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Not so with the other winger for the final 30 minutes, Nathan Ordaz<\/a>. He provided the through-ball that led to the PK, but there were other moments of impressive interplay.<\/p>\n

Ordaz is busy, skillful, and kind of positionless \u2013 head coach Steve Cherundolo has talked about how they\u2019ve had to teach him some of the basics of being a center forward, which is where Ordaz has gotten most of his minutes this year. What he clearly needs less schooling on is how to orient his movement around star players; he\u2019s just got a natural knack for being a sidekick (complimentary).<\/p>\n

As such, we saw a few glimpses of Ordaz dropping into the right half-space as a playmaker, which allows Son to make an inside-out run through the lines, and also gives a potential playmaking platform to right back Sergi Palencia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The upshot there? If Son\u2019s getting through the lines like that, flaring out towards the right side of the box, know who\u2019s now charging toward the back post to one-time a pullback across the six? Bouanga. Who, of course, knows a few things about scoring goals in this league.<\/p>\n

My guess is the partnership between those two guys functions better \u2013 in the short term, anyway \u2013 when they\u2019re further apart than when they\u2019re closer together. That\u2019ll happen naturally when Son is pulled out to the right side.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The “Ordaz dropping into the half-space as a creator” piece is super important because if you look at Son\u2019s goals (not just his goals as a center forward, but those that came when he was playing on the wing), he\u2019s very often running in behind for line-breaking passes from deep. LAFC haven\u2019t had much of that this year.<\/p>\n

This is an obvious point, but an important one: You want to give your most expensive player the kind of service that allows him to justify the price. Ordaz might have just become indispensable.<\/p>\n

Anyway: LAFC already good. LAFC now better. LAFC not yet best. LAFC still need center back.<\/p>\n

For Chicago, this was a microcosm of their year against the league\u2019s elite. They reliably dispatch the sides they should, but their only win against a top team this season, in either conference, was 3-1<\/a> over the \u2018Caps<\/a> back in March. And that, mind you, was a severely depleted \u2018Caps team in the middle of the international break.<\/p>\n

Against the rest of the best \u2013 the top five in the Eastern Conference, as well as San Diego<\/a> and now LAFC \u2013 they are 0W-7L-2D, with a -13 goal differential.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, Fire fans: I know I\u2019m updating that stat every week now. But it matters for this team, which is a piece, or maybe two, from beating the big boys.<\/p>\n

The summer transfer window closes on Aug. 21, by the way. Let\u2019s see if the Fire can get a Son of their own.<\/p>\n

Sixty-five minutes into Saturday night\u2019s Copa Tejas clash between Austin FC<\/a> and Houston<\/a> at Q2 Stadium, the Verde & Black were sitting on a comfortable, 2-0 lead. They had scored their first at the half-hour mark, when Ilie S\u00e1nchez<\/a> swept home a loose ball in the box after the visitors hadn\u2019t been able to clear a corner.<\/p>\n

They also had control of the ball, and often the game with it. This wasn\u2019t, say, the Crew<\/a> in full flight \u2013 Austin aren’t hitting those levels just yet \u2013 but they were blunting any cutting edge from the visitors, and occasionally slashing through in the other direction.<\/p>\n

Then, four minutes before halftime, they scored what is simply one of the best team goals you\u2019ll ever see, anywhere:<\/p>\n

This is how it was all supposed to look for Austin this year. The fact that it mostly hasn\u2019t, but they\u2019ve spent the entire season above the red line anyway, is a tribute to the collective buy-in Nico Est\u00e9vez has gotten defensively. While I\u2019ve had my quibbles with Austin this season, and don\u2019t love the game model, they’ve been a decent enough team and the effort has rarely been lacking.<\/p>\n

So on Saturday, 2-0 up against a Dynamo side sliding into the abyss\u2026 game over, right?<\/p>\n

You can see from the momentum chart that it finished 2-2<\/a>. I honestly think Austin were 25 minutes from both ending Houston\u2019s season and juuuust about punching their own Audi MLS Cup Playoffs ticket (to be clear, I still think Austin will get there eventually). Instead, they\u2019re just two points above the red line, and Houston are just four points below, so the door stays open for at least another week.<\/p>\n

“We played extremely well in the first half. We controlled the game, and then as the game went on, they made adjustments, we made adjustments, and we just didn’t keep up with the flow of the game,\u201d goalkeeper Brad Stuver<\/a> said afterward<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“And we have to realize that going into the final stretch of the year, at the end of games, we’re going to get a little bit of chaos, and we need to match that intensity, and we need to match that kind of knowledge that it’s not always going to be pretty. We needed to learn our lesson from the D.C. match<\/a>, when we went into halftime up two, came out a little bit flat, and they scored a goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn’t learn our lesson.”<\/p>\n

So, what happened? I think Stuver\u2019s right about the increased intensity \u2013 I\u2019d actually call it urgency \u2013 the Dynamo started playing with as their season was ticking away. I also think personnel has something to do with it, because around the 65-minute mark, it suddenly stopped being so easy to build right up the gut:<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t all on one guy \u2013 almost nothing in our game ever is. But Ezequiel Ponce<\/a> hasn\u2019t been a 90-minute player for almost a month (sources indicate he was on a minutes restriction on Saturday), and he hasn\u2019t scored in five weeks. He got just 13 touches in this one and didn\u2019t put a single shot on target. He didn\u2019t manage a shot on target in his previous two MLS outings, either.<\/p>\n

Head coach Ben Olsen has said some cryptic things lately about not knowing who his best attackers are, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a stretch to imagine he\u2019s talking about the DP No. 9. Yes, there are mitigating circumstances since Ponce hasn\u2019t been 100% fit. But even when he has been\u2026 meh.<\/p>\n

“We have to take confidence from the way we responded tonight,\u201d Olsen said. \u201cThe substitutes also did a very good job, and that is something we have to recognize as we continue figuring out what the best group is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyway, this ended up being a very good point for the Dynamo, who were rampant over the final 20 minutes and got a brace from Jack McGlynn<\/a>. I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if the attackers that finished the game are the same ones that start next week\u2019s trip to Vancouver.<\/p>\n

12. Matt Turner celebrated his return<\/strong> to MLS by helping the Revs<\/a> pitch a shutout, 2-0 at home<\/a> over D.C. United<\/a>. It\u2019s three points that snapped New England\u2019s nine-game winless skid, and is their first win since late May.<\/p>\n

Is it indicative of an upcoming stretch-run push? Well, D.C. at home is as close as this league gets to a gimme right now, and five of the Revs\u2019 next six are against playoff sides. So let\u2019s get more data before we decide whether or not Turner<\/a>\u2019s return (and a reversion to the 4-2-3-1, which the Revs were in for the second straight week) has salvaged an otherwise disappointing season.<\/p>\n

11. I\u2019m giving Prince Owusu our<\/strong> Pass of the Week for his work here in unlocking Atlanta<\/a>\u2019s midfield and defense in what eventually became a 1-1 draw<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just that this is a lovely pass, but the fundamental principles underpinning it: If the defense disengages, then lets you turn and play through the lines, then you absolutely have to. Do not let them off the hook for playing soft. Even if that pass is intercepted or weighted poorly, you can immediately re-press.<\/p>\n

Owusu<\/a> understands that moment (as does Caden Clark<\/a>, who makes a nice run while Tristan Muyumba<\/a> is chasing dandelions) and takes it. He\u2019s been very, very good this year.<\/p>\n

That goal \u2013 which came completely against the run of play, as Atlanta had been dominant to that point \u2013 is indicative of some of the chemistry and quality Montr\u00e9al<\/a>\u2019s front three of Owusu, Clark (primary assist) and Dante Sealy<\/a> (goalscorer) have developed over the past six to eight weeks.<\/p>\n

Atlanta haven\u2019t been able to develop chemistry all year, but at least they\u2019re starting to develop some of their homegrowns, as both Will Reilly<\/a> and Luke Brennan<\/a> have gotten a decent amount of minutes over the past month. Still, that is cold comfort as, even with Alexey Miranchuk<\/a>\u2019s late equalizer, the Five Stripes\u2019 winless skid is now nine, and they are 14 points back of ninth-place Chicago.<\/p>\n

10. Portland\u2019s improved record in 2025<\/strong> was not built so much on improved overall play \u2013 by the advanced numbers, they\u2019re actually a worse team this season than last, and considerably so \u2013 but by limiting mistakes in their own box. James Pantemis<\/a> played out of his mind the first few months of the season, and they regularly won the set-piece battle. In a league of parity, that\u2019s often enough.<\/p>\n

Well, Pantemis has not been the same since a springtime leg injury, and Maxime Cr\u00e9peau<\/a>, mostly restored to the starting role since then, has been up-and-down. In conjunction with that, the set-piece defense has sort of collapsed. Since mid-June, they\u2019ve conceded almost once a week on restarts \u2013 in league play. Leagues Cup<\/a>, where they went unbeaten (no, I don\u2019t count a PK shootout loss as a loss), was obviously a different story.<\/p>\n

So: On Saturday, just eight minutes in, Cr\u00e9peau fumbled a catch right into the stride of FC Dallas<\/a> striker Petar Musa<\/a>. 1-0.<\/p>\n

About an hour later, Lalas Abubakar<\/a> beat the entire defense to an inswinging corner delivery from Sebastian Lletget<\/a>, and that made for the 2-0 final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the question: Are the Timbers<\/a> the team they looked like in Leagues Cup? Or are they the group that\u2019s gone just 2W-4L-2D in regular-season play over the past two months (and just 5W-6L-4D since Pantemis\u2019 injury)?<\/p>\n

The answer will come from Cr\u00e9peau (or maybe a Pantemis return?) and set pieces.<\/p>\n

Dallas looked good \u2013 like they were playing without a 1,000-pound weight on their shoulders \u2013 in their first game post-Lucho<\/a>, and they’re somehow just four points below the red line in the Western Conference. I need to see more from them before I cast judgment, though, because I have my doubts about \u201cLalas Abubakar, overlapping left back\u201d being a path to the promised land.<\/p>\n

Still, they\u2019re now 2W-1L-1D in their past four, with 10 goals scored. Something is happening here.<\/p>\n

9. St. Louis got probably their best result<\/strong> of the year with a 3-1 win<\/a> over visiting \u2013 and suddenly slumping \u2013 Nashville SC<\/a>. And while it wasn\u2019t perfect (CITY<\/a> gave up a ton of chances; this one could\u2019ve ended 3-3), the goals themselves were straight out of the playbook:<\/p>\n