What We Learned: Minnesota's contender status, Evander's game-changing vision | OneFootball

By Joseph Lowery

Things are about to get busy around here, people.

We’ve got the first batch of midweek matches coming up across the league on Wednesday and we’ve got an entire set of teams, trends and moments from this past weekend’s Matchday 12 to break down.

Let's look back at the latest slate of MLS matches to examine some of the most interesting things we’ve learned. And if you want to read up on the rest of Matchday 12 in detail, check out Matt Doyle’s column.

Onwards.

1. Minnesota United established themselves as a contender

Even judging by their narrow opening-day loss to LAFC, it sure seemed like Minnesota United had the bones to be a legitimate trophy threat in 2025. Way back on Matchday 1, Eric Ramsay’s team did an excellent job of taking away LAFC’s biggest strength – transition attacking – and finding a few transition and set-piece looks of their own.

Now, more than two months later and in the afterglow of a 4-1 victory over Inter Miami, it seems crystal clear that Minnesota have established themselves as a contender.

Up against Minnesota’s deep block that flexed between a 5-3-2 and a 5-4-1, Miami registered a season-low 0.5 xG, per FBRef. Yes, I know Miami played without Luis Suárez. But the Loons didn’t have Kelvin Yeboah in their starting lineup, either, so I’m calling that a wash. Ramsay & Co. are completely content to force every opponent to keep the ball, trading possession for field position in a move that allows their best-in-class defensive buy-in to take center stage.

Toss in a…

…and you’ve got a team that exactly nobody wants to face come Audi MLS Cup Playoffs time. That holds doubly true for any and every possession-based outfit in MLS, an umbrella that hovers over most of the best teams in the league.

Minnesota United made a very simple statement on Saturday: They’re ready for the big time.

WATCH: Minnesota roll over Messi & Miami in dominant win

2. Let Evander get on the ball at your own peril

There were some elite goal sequences across the league this week, ranging from ones that featured bikes to others that featured outside-the-box bangers. Evander even bagged one of those long-range strikes to put FC Cincinnati on the board in their eventual 2-1 win over Austin FC.

And yet? My favorite goal sequence wasn’t capped off by a wildly spectacular finish. Rather, it was finished by a solid, powerful shot from the edge of the six-yard box from Cincinnati attacker Gerardo Valenzuela. The 20-year-old did well to send the game-winner into the back of Brad Stuver’s net, but boy-oh-boy was it Evander’s pinpoint assist that made this whole sequence possible.

See for yourself:

I mean, this is devastating stuff from the Brazilian.

Bouncing back from their disappointing 1-0 loss to New York City FC last time out, FC Cincinnati did a better job of finding Evander in positions to cause problems for the opposition than they had all season. He had a season-high nine touches inside the penalty box, according to FBref, and clearly made good use of those high-value looks.

Let this guy get on the ball at your own peril.

3. Times have changed since MLS Cup

A lot can change in six months. Just ask the LA Galaxy.

They went from lifting MLS Cup after a win over the New York Red Bulls to losing 7-0 (no, that’s not a typo) to the very same Red Bulls in almost exactly half a year. By besting the Galaxy 7-0 on Saturday, the Red Bulls tied the largest margin of victory in an MLS Cup rematch the following season, equalling the Chicago Fire’s massive win over Kansas City in 2001.

Truthfully, things have changed more for the Galaxy than they have for the Red Bulls, who are in the exact same seventh-place spot in the East as they were after last year’s Decision Day. Sure, they’ve added Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to the equation up top. But I’m not ready to let his third and fourth non-penalty goals of the season sway me all the way towards calling his signing a transformational one. Instead, the Red Bulls will still go as far as Sandro Schwarz’s fairly patient tactical system and DP attacking talent will take them.

But for LA? They’re struggling to string the basics together these days. You don’t lose 7-0 without that being the case. With their attacking stars incredibly injured, even the should-be reliable veterans are folding.

No team in MLS history has gone without a win in their first 12 games of a season. That is, until this year’s LA Galaxy. More change can’t come quickly enough for Greg Vanney’s team.

4. Ryan Kent looks dominant

When Paul Arriola went down with an ACL injury early in the year (and Jordan Morris and Pedro de la Vega both suffered shorter-term leg injuries), it looked as if all the work the Sounders did to fixture-congestion-proof their roster had been done for nothing. Or, at the very least, it looked like their depth was going to be tested far earlier and far more thoroughly than expected.

What followed was a tough start to the season for Seattle. They were bounced from the Concacaf Champions Cup in the Round of 16 and won just one MLS game out of their first seven. But ever since the middle of April, the Seattle Sounders have looked downright dominant. A big part of that dominance? The in-season addition of Ryan Kent following Arriola’s move to the season-ending injury list.

The 28-year-old Englishman has brought an immediate boost to Brian Schmetzer’s attacking setup. He worked his way into the starting lineup after just two substitute appearances, pushing Paul Rothrock to the right wing and de la Vega to the bench. Along the way, he’s bagged three assists, including this delightful hot-knife-through-butter effort in a 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo:

Kent, a former standout at Rangers, has already elevated Seattle, giving the Sounders yet another starting-level player in a position of need. Watch out, MLS.

5. The top of the West is ready to challenge Vancouver

The ‘Caps are still top of the Supporters’ Shield standings, but Matchday 12 proved that the best of the rest in the Western Conference aren’t likely to fade anytime soon.

We’ve already touched on Minnesota United (second in the West) and the Seattle Sounders (fifth in the West with the second-best xG differential in MLS, only behind the Whitecaps).

Elsewhere, the Portland Timbers earned a quiet 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City. I’m not buying them as a true contender, but they’re sitting third in their conference and picked up all three points while missing four starters to injury. San Diego FC, for their part, problem-solved their way past St. Louis CITY’s aggressive man-oriented pressure to earn a 2-1 road win. Few in MLS are better at climbing over hurdles than Mikey Varas’ fourth-place squad.

Then, of course, it was LAFC who went out and punched Vancouver in the mouth to earn a 2-0 lead away from home… before conceding two unanswered to leave with a single point. Still, LAFC showed their left-sided attacking threat and some set-piece evolution in a game that should remind us all to take them seriously as they sit sixth in the West.

There’s still a very real gap in the table between Vancouver and the pack, but make no mistake: there are threats to the Whitecaps’ crown, which makes the games to come oh-so-interesting.

Vancouver Whitecaps want more from LAFC comeback