Major League Soccer crowned its regular season champion this week, as a new name was added to the trophy, taking over from last year’s winners, Philadelphia Union.
The new winners also have their eye on surpassing Inter Miami’s MLS record of 74 points in a regular season campaign, so there is still plenty for them to play for in the final three games.
There’s plenty to play for elsewhere in the league too, as the final spots in the post-season playoffs will be decided in the coming weeks.
Supporters’ Shield heads to Music City
Nashville SC confirmed what has been on the cards for some time by claiming the MLS Supporters’ Shield on Saturday.
Their 2-0 win in Montréal was enough to secure the title, and also keep them on course for breaking the points record of 74 set by a Messi-inspired Inter Miami in 2024.
Nashville are currently on 70 points with three games remaining, against Philadelphia Union, New York Red Bulls, and FC Cincinnati. It’s not the easiest trio of games, but the way they have been performing throughout the season, you wouldn’t bet against them breaking the record.
As regularly covered in this column, Nashville’s season has been about teamwork, consistency, and impressing at both ends of the pitch.
They have the best defensive record in the league by some distance, having only conceded 23 goals in 31 games (the next best in their conference is New England on 42), while only Inter Miami have scored more than Nashville’s 66 in all of MLS.
It was apt that designated players (DP) Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar scored the goals to secure the title win, but it was just as fitting that they kept a clean sheet, and that goalkeeper Brian Schwake finished the game with the highest FotMob rating.
Head coach BJ Callaghan has built one of the most complete teams MLS has seen, combining DP talent with plenty of quality around them, and good coaching. They’ve built on last year’s US Open Cup win to push for success in the league.
When the margins were fine, they had enough in defence to not lose, but once they got on a roll, it turned out they also had the best attack to go on and win the league convincingly. A blueprint for plenty of teams going forward.
Even if Inter Miami had been on song this season, Callaghan’s side would have still beaten them to the league title.
Nashville will now be focused on the points record, but after that come the playoffs, which decide the overall MLS champions for 2026.
As well as seeing the team lift their first Supporters’ Shield since joining MLS in 2020, topping the league in the regular season also gives Nashville home advantage throughout the playoffs.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this year’s final in Music City, and Nashville’s name on another trophy at the end of it.
Adri Mehmeti shows his class
As is often the case when Inter Miami are on the road, the majority of the crowd turn out to see Lionel Messi as much as, and sometimes more than, the home side.
This was the case at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, where pink Miami shirts filled the stands as Red Bull New York welcomed the Miami roadshow.
With Messi starting the game on the bench, fans had to look elsewhere for their first-half entertainment, and 17-year-old Red Bulls midfielder Adri Mehmeti might have caught the eyes of a few onlookers.
His play for the opening goal was sublime, as he toyed with the Inter Miami midfield, including Messi’s wingman Rodrigo De Paul, as part of a flowing move that resulted in an own goal by Casemiro.
The Red Bulls should have scored far more than the two they eventually managed thanks to Emil Forsberg’s strike in added time.
Mehmeti and co provided a platform for a big win against a poor Miami team, but the forwards just couldn’t finish.
This season has seen the rise of Cavan Sullivan at Philadelphia Union, who has gone from a much-hyped potential star to a genuine high-level contributor for club and country.
Mehmeti looks to be on the same trajectory, having stood out since Matchday 1. The US suddenly have two generational talents on their hands at the same time.
Columbus Crew recover from Open Cup defeat
Despite a disappointing season, Columbus Crew are within touching distance of a postseason spot thanks to a fifth win in six games.
They saw off Toronto FC 4-2 to move ahead of the Canadians in the Eastern Conference, and go just one point behind the Red Bulls, who currently occupy the final postseason spot in the East.
The win came on the back of penalty shootout disappointment in the US Open Cup last week, when they lost out at home to St. Louis City on spot kicks, and was a sign that it won’t affect their improving league form.
The performance of Dylan Chambost was especially notable, and his three assists earned him the highest FotMob player rating for this Matchday 32.
El Tráfico
Ahead of the 2026 season, Los Angeles FC would have expected to be challenging at the top of the table by now, and LA Galaxy would have expected to be more comfortably in a playoff spot, but though neither team has reached their respective goals, the meetings between the two always live up to expectations.
It’s consistently one of the most entertaining derbies in American soccer, and Sunday night’s 2-2 draw was no different.
LA Galaxy took a 2-0 lead through Joseph Paintsil, but LAFC levelled the scores through Denis Bouanga and Leo Walta, though this only tells half the story.
There were disallowed goals, big saves from Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, and goalline clearances amid a 98th-minute scramble that almost saw LAFC steal all three points, only for the flag to go up for offside and rule out Bouanga’s goal.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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