Inter Miami managed to shake off their poor preseason form, as they are currently at the top of the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer after going unbeaten in the first three games of the 2024 regular season. However, it remains to be seen whether they can sustain their good form since they’ll play three games in the next nine days.
Two spots below them are the defending champions, the Columbus Crew, who have racked up four points after their first two games, but their recent results are far from convincing, so they still have work to do.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the standings, the Portland Timbers are currently at the top of the Western Conference with four points, and they can make a strong case to win it all if they manage to sign their top transfer target soon.
Messi back at his best for Inter Miami
Inter Miami opened their 2024 campaign with style, with wins over Real Salt Lake and Orlando City and a hard-earned draw against the LA Galaxy. During that stretch, they’ve scored eight goals while conceding only once, with Lionel Messi at the forefront of their attack.
Against Real Salt Lake in the opener, Messi had a hand in the two goals that Inter Miami scored, even if he didn’t score one himself.
The 2022 World Cup champion played in Robert Taylor for the first, with the attacking midfielder managing to squeeze the ball past Zac MacMath. And in the second, Messi linked up with Luis Suarez, who completed the assist on Diego Gomez on his Major League Soccer debut.
Against the LA Galaxy, Inter Miami almost lost the game when Dejan Joveljic gave Los Angeles the lead in the 75th minute. However, Messi scored in stoppage time to salvage a point, as he linked up with Jordi Alba with an excellent one-two sequence to strike past John McCarthy.
And against Orlando City on Saturday, Inter Miami lowered the boom on them by tallying five goals.
Luis Suarez opened his Inter Miami account with a brace. He was teed up by Julian Gressel twice, and the former Gremio striker recorded two more assists for Robert Taylor and Lionel Messi, who managed to find the back of the net twice in a span of five minutes.
Up next for Inter Miami are Montreal and Nashville twice in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16. The SBOTOP Major League Soccer 2024 odds favour the Herons’ chances to win against Montreal, but they will have a harder time against Nashville in what will be a rematch of last season’s Leagues Cup final.
Hernandez commences title defence for Columbus Crew
In stark contrast, the Columbus Crew only scored twice in their first two games against Atlanta United and Minnesota, with Cucho Hernandez scoring those two goals.
Hernandez scored his first goal of the season off a rebound after Brad Guzan couldn’t fully save Jacen Russell-Rowe’s attempt in the 27th minute, which was enough for the 1-0 victory.
Against Minnesota, Hernandez scored near the hour mark, but the Columbus Crew couldn’t hang on to get the full three points, as Tani Oluwaseyi scored the equaliser in stoppage time.
Cucho Hernandez finished as their top scorer last season with 21 goals, so seeing him back on the scoresheet is a good sign for the Crew.
Like Inter Miami, they will also compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, where they’ll face Houston Dynamo twice in six days while hosting Chicago in a Major League Soccer match in between that period.
Timbers on the verge of marquee signing
The Portland Timbers are off to an auspicious start after beating Colorado 4-1 before being held to a 2-2 draw by D.C. United last weekend.
Eryk Williamson and Antony (brace) found the back of the net for the Timbers, who also benefited from an own goal by Sam Vines to go up by 4-0 during the first half against Colorado.
Meanwhile, against D.C. United, the Timbers were up 2-0, courtesy of Dairon Asprilla and Santiago Moreno, but Mateusz Klich and Kristian Fletcher scored one goal each to make it a draw.
The Portland Timbers are reportedly aiming to sign a prolific goal scorer to avoid games like these, and according to the latest Major League Soccer 2024 news, they are close to using their DP slot to acquire German Berterame from CF Monterrey for a club record fee of $15 million.
Berterame had 23 goals and nine assists for Los Rayados last season, which is the type of production that Phil Neville and co. need.
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