MLS matchday 23 review 🔎 | OneFootball

It was another dramatic weekend of MLS action over the weekend and there was plenty of stories to dissect. Let's get into it.

What happened?

Reigning champions Columbus Crew continued their climb towards the top of the Eastern Conference standings after a 5-1 thrashing of New England, who themselves were on a hot-streak.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami kept ahold of first-place thanks to a narrow win in Nashville, picking up another victory without both Leo Messi and Luis Suárez.

Back on Friday, NYCFC put four past Orlando City to remind all of MLS just how good they can be on their night.

Over in the West, both Los Angeles clubs picked up comfortable 3-0 wins to remain neck-and-neck at the top of the conference.

Up the coast the Portland Timbers continued their impressive hot-streak with a 3-2 comeback victory against Minnesota United to send club legend Diaron Asprilla off into sunset.

Player of the matchday

LAFC have had some impressive attackers over the years, but Mateusz Bogusz is proving to be one of the best.

The Polish forward bagged a hat-trick in a huge Western Conference showdown with Colorado over the weekend, bringing his scoring haul up to 12 goals and five assists in the current campaign.

Winners of the matchday

It has been a dreadful season for Seattle so far, but a few comeback victories in previous weeks are keeping them in touching distance for now.

Despite missing both Raúl Ruidíaz and Nouhou against Chicago on Saturday, the Sounders pulled off another dramatic win thanks to a 93rd minute Albert Rusnák penalty, capping off his brace.

The win sees Brian Schmetzer's side jump into the playoff spots for the first time in weeks, though they are on thin ice.

With very winnable games against New England, Austin, and St. Louis on the horizon before a showdown with LAFC, a purple-patch could be all Seattle need to rekindle their season.

Losers of the matchday

It all seemed to be looking up for Colorado. Heading into a showdown with LAFC this weekend, the Rapids had won three straight, comfortably jumped up into the Western Conference playoff picture, and signed standout forward Rafael Navarro to a permanent contract.

By late Saturday evening, Chris Armas' side found themselves 3-0 down and playing with just 10 men after Kevin Cabral was given his marching orders for two yellow-card infractions.

The Denver club had a busy offseason, looking to load up for a push back into the upper reaches of the conference, but the clash at BMO Stadium over the weekend was the game to prove if they are pretenders or contenders. You saw the scoreline, what do you think?