The opening week of the 2025 MLS season did not disappoint, delivering high-stakes drama, breakout performances, and a fair share of surprises.
Expansion side San Diego FC made a statement with a stunning upset over the defending champions LA Galaxy, while a wave of high-profile debutants wasted no time proving their worth.
And, of course, Lionel Messi once again stole the headlines, rescuing Inter Miami in a chaotic draw against NYCFC.
From record signings hitting the ground running to early questions surrounding title contenders, Week 1 set the stage for what promises to be an electrifying season.
San Diego FC Down the Defending MLS Champs
In what will go down as one of the best debut performances in MLS expansion history, San Diego FC just ran the defending champions out of their own house.
La Galaxy’s trophy ceremony to start the afternoon was probably their lone highlight of the day, with San Diego out-possessing and out-pressing their hosts all night long.
Two well-taken finishes from Anders Dreyer proved the difference, with the Danish designated player flashing enough quality to earn MLS Player of the Matchday honours for week one.
If you haven’t seen the two-footed show he put on for San Diego’s second goal, picture a Trent-esque through ball to spring the move, and a Salah-esque strike to finish it – all courtesy of Drayer himself.
Marquee man Chucky Lozano proved his worth out there too, providing an assist to go along with his tireless defensive work rate, showing a grit you don’t always see from big-money DPs coming straight from Europe.
For the Galaxy, this result combined with their offseason squad shedding asks serious questions about their title defense efforts.
They parted ways with last year’s top scorer Dejan Jovelić, MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman, and exciting center-back prospect Jalen Neal as they spar with the post-cup salary cap monster that’s eaten many past champions.
With Riqui Puig out for most of this season with a torn ACL, and with fellow goal-getter Joseph Paintsill battling a long-term quad injury, this La Galaxy side look definitively lighter than their triumphant 2024 counterparts.
Debutants Dazzle in Attack
It was an arms race for attacking talent this MLS offseason, with multiple sides breaking their all-time transfer record to secure goal scorers and chance creators of all varieties.
Thankfully, for the sake of owner’s checkbooks everywhere, these new weapons were firing on opening day.
League-record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath found the back of the net twice for Atlanta United in his debut, proving he looks worth his massive $22M fee.
Miguel Almirón, the returning $13m man, was able to provide an assist on the day in a thrilling 3-2 victory for the Five Stripes in their season opener.
Kévin Denkey, whose $16m fee was briefly the highest in league history before Latte Lath’s arrival, also showed out in Week 1, providing the lone goal in FC Cincinnati’s 1-0 victory over New York Red Bulls.
Chicago Fire’s new star Jonathan Bamba also got off to an impressive start as well, bagging two assists in his MLS debut under Gregg Berhalter.
It wasn’t enough to earn a point in Columbus, but it should provide at least a glimmer of hope for Chicago fans who have had it rough for most of the past decade.
Out West, former Toronto man Jayden Nelson had an incredible opening day with his new side Vancouver Whitecaps.
The pacy winger ripped the 10-men Timbers to shreds, providing a goal to go along with his hat trick of assists en route to another dominant victory for the Whitecaps in Portland.
In Los Angeles, it wasn’t the stardust of Olivier Giroud that secured the three points but rather was the cultured left boot of MLS veteran Jeremy Ebobisse.
His emphatic strike from the top of the box rewarded Steve Cherundolo’s decision to start Ebobisse in his MLS debut with the Black and Gold, putting further pressure on Giroud to find his shooting boots in LA.
Finally, while everyone was technically making a debut with San Diego FC in their season opener, the aforementioned Anders Dreyer can’t be overlooked in this conversation either – it was a special showing for the Dane in the expansion side’s maiden voyage.
Messi Saves Miami in Wild Draw vs. NYCFC
You can’t talk about the opening weekend in MLS without talking about Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, can you?
Coming into the match, the questions surrounding the Heron’s Supporter’s Shield defense came mostly in the form of Javier Mascherano’s coaching experience, or lack thereof.
But, after such a chaotic opening affair, these questions remain largely answered.
Inter Miami took the lead early on from a well-worked set piece from Messi, who dissected the NYCFC defense with ease while assisting young center back Tomas Aviles to open the scoring.
Then, things went a bit sideways.
Aviles, through his continued efforts to make games exciting by any means necessary, grabbed a hold of Alonso Martinez’s blue shirt as he skipped in behind Miami’s defense, earning him a straight red card just 18 minutes after his opening goal.
From the ensuing set piece, an equally shrewd routine from NYCFC saw Mitja Ilenic smash one home from close range to equalize.
City’s young right back promptly hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s patented celebration right in front of Messi, which he clarified after the match was very much an intentional display of loyalty to his generation’s other footballing god.
Down to 10 men, the game’s rhythm became unpredictable, with the Pigeons latching onto more of the ball than they had previously, but still less possession than you’d expect from a traditionally ball-dominant side playing a man up.
In the 55th minute, an equally ridiculous error from Jordi Alba, of all people, saw Martinez fire NYCFC in front, but Pascal Jansen’s side couldn’t put the game to bed.
With the door still open in the 10th minute of stoppage time, another moment of magic from Messi unlocked City’s defense, with newcomer Telasco Segovia chipping Matt Freese for the equalizer.
At face value, Mascherano may be happy with a point given the circumstances.
But, given how heavily Miami relied on individual moments of magic from Messi, this match did little to answer any questions surrounding Mascherano and his MLS readiness.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Recording Date: 22.02.2025