🔬 The Debrief on a swashbuckling Saturday night in MLS | OneFootball

MLS action has returned today with another excellent advert for the North American top flight to follow up an action-packed opening weekend.

Here is how it all went down across all the grounds from Saturday's fixture program.

What happened

Let's kick things off with the early fixture as Charlotte FC hosted Atlanta United, which featured an MLS debut goal for Ivorian star Wilfried Zaha as The Crown posted a 2-0 win. Zaha also posted his first assist just five minutes prior when Liel Abada opened the scoring four minutes after halftime.

Immediately following full-time at Bank of America Stadium, Real Salt Lake welcomed Seattle Sounders to their neck of the woods. An early own goal from Nouhou Tolo would set RSL off to a 2-0 win, with second-half substitute Forster Ajago adding the second in the 79th minute.

The evening fixtures started with a flurry with Philadelphia Union remaining hot in front of goal after a 4-1 win against FC Cincinnati, featuring a hat-trick by Tai Baribo.

Orlando City got off the mark with their first win of the season in a high-scoring 4-2 affair at home against Toronto FC, reversing their loss by the same scoreline last weekend against the Union.

Columbus Crew earned a narrow 1-0 win on the road at New England Revolution during a relatively dull affair, while NY Red Bulls posted a 2-0 win just a few hours south at Red Bull Arena against Nashville SC, with Emil Forsberg scoring a contender for goal of the matchday.

Bruce Arena's guidance continues to be felt at San Jose after the Earthquakes made it two wins in two under the managerial icon, coming away with a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City despite Hernán López being sent off.

📸 Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

A stoppage time stunner from D.C. United youngster Jacob Murrell broke Chicago Fire hearts after his bicycle kick at the death rescued a 2-2 draw in the Windy City to spare Christian Benteke's blushes after his failed late attempt from the penalty spot.

MLS underdog fan-favorite Minnesota United earned a narrow 1-0 win in front of home support against CF Montréal to get off the mark in 2025 after their loss at LAFC last weekend, with Kelvin Yeboah netting in the 69th minute to seal all three points.

Colorado Rapids hosted FC Dallas in what ended up as a shootout across a 3-3 draw at DSG Park. After going 2-0 down, Dallas would storm back to take the lead in the 68th minute before Rafael Navarro completed his brace to restore parity before full-time.

A tightly-contested affair featuring clubs from the nation's two largest cities ended in Los Angeles bragging rights after LAFC relied on a late emphatic strike from Ryan Hollingshead to send NYCFC back to the Bronx empty-handed.

Portland Timbers arrested their demons after their heavy defeat last weekend against Vancouver Whitecaps with a much-needed 1-0 win over Austin FC, with new boy David Da Costa netting his first for the club with a free kick in the 89th minute to seal the deal at Providence Park.

Closing out the night, San Diego FC played their first-ever MLS match at Snapdragon Stadium but were unable to replicate last weekend's heroics, settling for a 0-0 draw against a determined St. Louis City outfit.

To make matters worse, star midfielder Hirving Lozano came off injured during the first half, with SDFC potentially facing a massive hurdle early in their inaugural season.

Player of the day

It is virtually impossible to look past Philadelphia Union goal-getter Tai Baribo this week, with a hat-trick headlining The Union's 4-1 win.

Already sitting on five goals after just two fixtures in the 2025 MLS season, the former Wolfsberger man leads the race for the Golden Boot and puts himself among some esteemed company, joining Javier Hernández, Ayo Akinola, and Brian Ching to hit five goals in the first two games of a season.

Stat of the day

All the talk surrounding star D.C. United striker Christian Benteke will - rightly or wrongly - center around his fluffed effort from the penalty spot that nearly cost the capital club a point on the night.

Despite missing out on a brace, Benteke still added another tally to his goalscoring CV to reach the 40-goal plateau. He now edges closer to catching El Salvadorian legend Raúl Díaz Arce's all-time leading mark of 44, becoming the second fastest to reach 40 goals in the process.

What this means

Philadelphia and Columbus jump out to an early lead in the Eastern Conference race as the only two sides to bank six points from six to start the 2025 campaign, with Charlotte sitting two points off in third as they look to produce their credentials in the race for the top.

On the other side of the country, San Jose and LAFC write a similar story in the early weeks of the new season, sitting level on six points atop the Western Conference. SDFC sits third on four points, level with Dallas.

After two losses to open the season, both Montréal and Sporting KC prop up their respective conferences.

What comes next

A pair of fixtures will bookend the second week of action across MLS, with Vancouver Whitecaps welcoming LA Galaxy to BC Place, and Houston Dynamo playing host to Inter Miami.

📸 Caean Couto-Imagn Images