James Rodriguez debut to forget

By James Nalton

James Rodríguez plays in MLS

In some ways, Minnesota United’s signing of the 34-year-old Colombian feels like an old-school MLS signing: a languid South American playmaker in the twilight of his career with varied club experience but renowned at international level. Not good enough to still be playing for top clubs, but potentially able to perform some magic in MLS if the other players do his running.

Whether any of that magic arrives remains to be seen, and MLS has seen a considerable rise in quality since the old days, but with a World Cup on the horizon, James will be looking to impress.

He finally made his debut for Minnesota on Sunday, but not in the best of circumstances. By the time he entered the pitch, his team were already 5-0 down to the Vancouver Whitecaps, who ended up winning the game 6-0.

There was some encouragement from James, though, especially in the way he was able to get involved, with 41 touches after coming on in the 64th minute.

There was not much he could do about the one-sided scoreline once entering the field late in the game, but there will now be anticipation that he will soon make his first start. 

Given how much he was able to get on the ball in a short space of time on Sunday, Minnesota hope that if their play ends up going mostly through him and he can create for those around him, things might start looking up.

Two perfect records remain

Vancouver’s emphatic win took them to the top of the Western Conference, making it four wins from four to maintain their perfect record to start the season.

They’ve only conceded once in this run, and the six goals against Minnesota made them the league’s top scorers with 14.

Just behind them in the West, only on goal difference, is the other team with a perfect start to 2026, Los Angeles FC.

LAFC are yet to concede a goal, and continued their run of solid results with a 2-0 win against St Louis City.

So far, the 2022 MLS Cup champions have built steadily following their headline-grabbing 3-0 defeat of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on the opening day, with some 2-0 and 1-0 wins while balancing that with Champions Cup games.

But it’s Vancouver who look the most impressive overall, and the underlying numbers back that up as they lead the way for xG and the lowest xG conceded.

Player of the week

At a time when clubs around the world are gambling plenty of money on strikers, FC Dallas have found a very handy one.

Petar Musa could end up playing a part for Croatia at the upcoming World Cup, but for now, the 6-foot-3 striker is making an impact for the Texas team, which he joined in 2024 for the decent-sized sum, especially by MLS standards, of $13 million.

The club-record signing averages more than a goal every other game in MLS, and managed to score three against one of the best sides in the league early in 2026, San Diego FC.

With a bit of help from the direct play of winger Bernard Kamungo, Musa helped himself to a hat-trick in a 3-3 thriller. It was the first dropped points for San Diego this year, and the first goals they have conceded.

Musa’s performance ranked him as the highest-rated player in Matchday 4 per the FotMob ratings.

NYC’s striker experiment bears fruit

Nicolás Fernández Mercau has played a number of positions down the flank and in attacking midfield throughout his early career with San Lorenzo, Elche, and now New York City FC, but until recently, striker was not really one of them.

With Costa Rican goal-getter Alonso Martínez out injured, NYCFC’s depth in the centre-forward position suddenly looked worryingly thin, but as they did at the very end of last season, they’ve turned to the 26-year-old Argentine to try to solve the problem.

Not only has he been able to do a job in the role, but he has emerged as one of the best in the position in MLS in the early stages of the 2026 season.

He has four goals and an assist in four games, and scored two of those in another impressive performance from the Pigeons against Colorado Rapids at home on Saturday night, resulting in a 3-1 win.

He’s a different proposition for defenders than the more traditional centre-forward like Musa at Dallas, or the impressive Englishman Sam Surridge at Nashville, but his busy attacking play and quickness to close down in defence suits the style of Pascal Jansen’s side.

With Talles Magno coming off the bench to play alongside Fernández Mercau and grabbing a goal of his own, NYCFC have gone from looking short of depth in attack to having some very useful options.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

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