What We Learned: Nashville's new-look attack,football transfer rumors Cincy find solutions

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Matchday 1 is in the books.

What did we learn? Did the games confirm our priors or change the complexion of the league?

Let’s dive into some key takeaways from the season-opening weekend of MLS action.

As it turns out, when a team adds an elite creator to one of the league’s absolute best attacking duos, you get a forward line that can drop four goals on you at a moment’s notice. That’s what we all learned about Nashville SC in their 4-1 thumping of the New England Revolution on Saturday evening.

For the first time, Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge?and Cristian Espinoza started together for B.J. Callaghan – and the attack flowed. Only Red Bull New York and LAFC posted more xG to open the season than Nashville, as per American Soccer Analysis.

Espinoza was effective from his position on the right side, though less directly impactful than another one of Nashville’s newcomers:?Warren Madrigal, a 21-year-old Costa Rican attacker signed over the offseason. With a goal and two assists, Madrigal was incisive on the left wing and helped support the two center-most attackers in Mukhtar and Surridge, who tallied three goals between them.

Of course, playing a short-handed version of New England made life easier for Nashville than it might have been on a different day. But after taking care to restock the attack this winter, it sure looks like Nashville's effort is paying off.

Make that ?? for Sam Surridge!@NashvilleSC doubles their lead over New England, courtesy of a brace from Surridge. pic.twitter.com/YnBRTXUDcm

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026

That’s the statement you make when you beat the reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champions in?Inter Miami, isn’t it?

LAFC impressed in their 3-0 win over Miami at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, with assistant-turned-head coach Marc Dos Santos’ team looking like a finely tuned version of last year’s outfit. Perfectly willing to defend in a compact mid- or even low-block, LAFC used a tight 4-4-2 shape and played against the ball to limit space for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to exploit.?

“They put us under a lot of pressure, but we defended very well,” Dos Santos said postgame. “I don’t think we conceded many chances. Overall, the way we defended the box was excellent. The way we followed runners in the box, how we moved our feet around the 18, and how we didn’t allow their one-twos to get through us was exceptional. For me, that was the best part of our team today.”

More than just absorbing pressure from the visitors, LAFC leveraged their deep defending into high-flying counterattacks like this one that served as Denis Bouanga’s first goal of the season:

BOUANGAAAAA ?? pic.twitter.com/BGOHiF5MTE

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026

“As a team, we can be very dangerous in open space," Dos Santos noted. "So when the field started to open up, I knew that if we defended well, we would have many opportunities in transition."

Though LAFC spent much of the game without the ball, they also showed flashes of quality in possession, especially via new No. 6?Stephen Eustáquio, talented Venezuelan right winger David Martinez, and?Son Heung-Min, who started up top.

There’s a well-rounded team underneath the defend-and-counter exterior that LAFC showed against Inter Miami. That fact should terrify the rest of the league.

For the first time in MLS history, a team rolled out a starting lineup with three players under the age of 18.?

The team in question? Red Bull New York. The players in question? Sixteen-year-old defensive midfielder Adri Mehmeti, 17-year-old left back Matthew Dos Santos, and 17-year-old forward Julian Hall. All three of those teenagers were brilliant in Michael Bradley’s coaching debut for Red Bull, which ended with a 2-1 road win over Orlando City.

Mehmeti wowed with his body positioning and accurate distribution, nabbing an assist in his MLS debut. Dos Santos (who was signed on a short-term loan from RBNY II in MLS NEXT Pro before the season opener!) progressed the ball up the left side of the field with ease. Hall, who started over Designated Player Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, rewarded his new manager’s decision with a brace.

?? JULIAN HALL BRACE! ??

The 17-year-old striker buries the cross from 16-year-old Adri Mehmeti. pic.twitter.com/sDy4YIk4bA

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026

While Red Bull’s teenage contingent makes the rest of their players from the weekend look downright mature, Bradley also started two 21-year-olds in fullback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and center-mid Ronald Donkor, and two 22-year-olds in winger Cade Cowell and defender?Justin Che.

Energy abounded in a new-look 4-3-3 setup, one that combined aggressive pressing and controlled possession in the attacking half of the field. Together, those things led to one of the most dominant first-half showings in MLS history, one where RBNY led 2-0 over Orlando and posted 3.65 xG to their host’s 0.05, according to FotMob.

The gap narrowed dramatically in the second half of the contest. But by then, it was too little, too late for Orlando. The younger, sleeker version of Red Bull New York might be a must-watch team for the rest of the year.

When Evander exited the field with a leg injury less than 15 minutes into FC Cincinnati’s season-opener, it was hard not to think back to last year’s injury-riddled campaign. Later, head coach Pat Noonan noted that the hamstring issue “didn’t seem severe," which is great news for Cincinnati. Still, with most of the game left to play against Atlanta United, an Evander-less version of Cincinnati had to find a path through the visitors – and that path was found in an unexpected place.

Defensive midfielder Samuel Gidi, who notably started over the more veteran Obinna Nwobodo at the base of Noonan’s midfield, broke the game wide open in the second half. With this bit of line-breaking transition passing, Gidi released right wingback Ender Echenique, who assisted striker Kévin Denkey for the go-ahead goal:

Kévin. Denkey. ??@fccincinnati on top in the 80th minute! pic.twitter.com/YBF5a7jQ43

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 21, 2026

After arriving from Slovakia last summer on a U22 Initiative deal, Gidi almost immediately found himself in the starting lineup. With his ground coverage and flashes of elite ball progression, it’s easy to see why.

Clearly trusted by the coaching staff and validating that trust on the field, expect to see the young No. 6 play a big role throughout 2026 for FC Cincinnati.

It’s hard to picture a more drastic stylistic shift than the one underway in St. Louis right now.

For most of their first few seasons in MLS, St. Louis CITY sought to be the Western Conference’s finest purveyors of classic Red Bull soccer, hitting vertical passes and pressing high early and often. Under the club’s new sporting regime, though, led by sporting director Corey Wray and head coach Yoann Damet, St. Louis used a very different approach in their first game of 2026.?

Damet’s team used a possession-heavy 3-4-3 setup in a 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC, a result that kicked off the MLS season at large.

Though missing perhaps their two best initiators of possession in Mamadou Fall and Fallou Fall, St. Louis still sought to use the ball to break through Charlotte's 4-4-2 block. Predictably, given his strong 2025 season for CITY, even in the midst of coaching changes, Marcel Hartel thrived in the left halfspace. The German attacker scored St. Louis’ lone goal and looked bright as a chance creator, too.

THE FIRST GOAL OF THE 2026 MLS SEASON BELONGS TO MARCEL HARTEL AND ST. LOUIS CITY ?? pic.twitter.com/wIVNjzD4XH

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 21, 2026

St. Louis, of course, weren’t totally married to patient short passes. As you can see in the goal sequence above, Damet’s team moved quickly when the moment called for it – and that paid off in the season opener. There’s work to be done, but something is starting to take shape in St. Louis.

• What We Learned
• Match Reaction
• Voices: Joseph Lowery
• Nashville SC

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