MLS weekend wrap-up: Key takeaways from Matchday 11

Zaha’s got a point on this one. Getting up to speed with MLS is a difficult, physical process, and Zaha is handling it better than most. He proved that this weekend by scoring a high-pressure penalty against the fearsome, Eastern Conference-leading Columbus Crew. Charlotte went on to lose the match 4-2, but that loss was far from Zaha’s fault, and the narrative around his MLS performance is slowly beginning to shift. He's the motor of this Charlotte team, and he's helping it go toe-to-toe with the league's best.

Miami bounced back from its Champions Cup defeat

Inter Miami aims to win every competition it enters, so it was shocking to see it crash out of the Concacaf Champions Cup last Wednesday at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Champions Cup, North America's most prestigious club trophy, is the ultimate goal for Miami, and it blew it in spectacular fashion against the Caps. As the dust settled on its humiliating defeat, the question on everyone’s lips was simple: how would Messi and company respond?

The question might have been simple, but the answer was simpler still. Miami bounced right back from its Champions Cup woe to beat the New York Red Bulls 4-1 in MLS. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both got on the scoresheet, but it was bench player Fafa Picault who made the biggest impression. The Haitian winger scored the game’s opening goal and set the tone for Miami. Coach Javier Mascherano hasn’t utilized Picault much this season, but this confidence-building performance should change that. Picault is a fascinating player with deep ties to the Miami area who deserves his spot in the lineup.

Sporting Kansas City pulled off the funniest win ever

There are highway robberies, and then there’s Sporting Kansas City versus the Los Angeles Galaxy. Matchday 11's marquee Sunday Night Soccer match wound up delivering one of the wildest results in league history.

Kansas City won the game 1-0; on paper, that isn't all that surprising. But look a little bit deeper. It also won with 0.0 expected goals, 0 shots on target and 0 shots period. This is the first time in MLS history—and one of the only times in the history of professional soccer—that a team has won without taking a single shot.

How did Kansas City manage to score without shooting? By taking advantage of an unlucky, unfortunate own goal. Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida accidentally turned a Kansas City cross into his own net in the 13th minute, and thus strange, regrettable history was made.

The Galaxy lost all three of its Killer Ps

As if the Galaxy wasn’t unlucky enough, its two biggest playmakers—Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec and Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil—both traipsed off injured over the course of its humiliating, unprecedented defeat to Kansas City. They’ll join Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig on the Galaxy’s injury list. The Galaxy are winless in 11 games in MLS this season; with all three of its famed “Killer P” attack on the sidelines, it’s hard to see it snapping that streak anytime soon.

MLS will return for Matchday 12 on Saturday, May 10.