MLS weekend wrap-up: Key takeaways from Matchday 10

Inter Miami’s unbeaten streak came to an end

A heavily-rotated Miami side missing Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba fell, 4-3, to FC Dallas at home after cruising to a 3-1 lead earlier in the match. It was a stunning collapse from Miami’s B-team and one that coach Javier Mascherano took personally. 

“I made a mistake in reading the match, and in the end, I couldn’t help the players,” he said after the loss. “I made some decisions that weren’t right.”

Perhaps, but you can’t really blame Mascherano for giving Messi and Co. the day off. Miami is in the midst of a fearsome run of fixture congestion and its stars simply can’t play every minute of every game. (Poor Suarez, 38 years old and working with a chronic knee injury, has already played over 1200 minutes this season … and it’s April. The season won’t end until well after Thanksgiving.)

Miami’s loss ended its season-long unbeaten streak in MLS and dropped the team to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. With tired stars, chastened bench players and a do-or-die Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps looming on Wednesday, the mood in Miami is grim.

Kevin Denkey and Djordje Mihailovic scored two of the coolest goals you’ll see this year

It was a big weekend for big goals in MLS, and no goals were bigger than these two. 

FC Cincinnati’s Kevin Denkey made his case for goal of the season with a stunning bicycle kick against Sporting Kansas City. The acrobatics were one thing, but the truly stunning thing about Denkey’s goal was how little effort it seemed to require from him. There he was, alone in the penalty box, throwing himself upside down and backwards as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Djordje Mihailovic’s effort was less artistic but more cerebral. As he lined up to take a free kick for the Colorado Rapids, Mihailovic noticed that his opponents, the Seattle Sounders, had failed to place a man on the ground behind their defensive wall. He took a chance and struck his free kick hard and fast along the grass. Seattle’s wall jumped, the ball ran harmlessly below their feet, and suddenly Colorado was on the score sheet.

Brazilian attacker Ronaldinho made this kind of kick famous in the early 2000s and it was a treat to see Mihailovic finally bring it back. Seattle, on the other hand, probably should've known better than to leave an under-the-wall kick on the table. It was a clear defensive error from a team that doesn't make too many of them.

MLS will return for Matchday 11 on Saturday.