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Centre Forward · Al Ahly · Denmark
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MLS weekend wrap: Revel in the joy and agony of absurd long-range goals
In an era where the sport’s biggest moments are scrutinized in slow-motion to find an inch of infraction, the long-range goal has become a necessary thrill. VAR only comes into play if a loitering teammate is caught between the shooter and goalkeeper. They also hatch a comfortingly familiar point of debate: was there anything that could’ve been done to save it? We can safely count Zavier Gozo’s wonder goal this weekend among the unsaveable. The Real Salt Lake homegrown has been one of the best players in Major League Soccer’s early weeks, a 19-year-old danger down the right flank who can slot in as a winger or wing back with similar impact. He’s quickly become one of the most proven progressive dribblers in the entire US player pool, and has shot up the scouting priority queues of several major European clubs. On Saturday, RSL was maintaining a one-goal lead over visiting Sporting Kansas City when Gozo collected the ball just outside the box. Left unmarked by Manu García, Gozo flicked it up to himself and volleyed it to the far post, leaving John Pulskamp to dive in vain. Indeed, you can’t spell “golazo” without Gozo, who now has two goals and three assists in 539 minutes. Wessam Abou Ali likely also qualifies for the “fully deserved” distinction for his second goal in Columbus’ 3-1 away win at Atlanta United. After heading in the opener, the Palestine international ran on to a through ball, cut backwards like a running back, used the defenders to screen each other,and found a clear lane for an audacious strike to the far corner. Atlanta’s transition defending has been a mess for a couple of years, but it’s a clever reading of space from Abou Ali. Other long range goals defy all explanation and are undoubtedly the goalkeeper’s fault. Colorado was working to see out a 2-1 lead in Toronto when Keegan Rosenberry played a back pass to goalkeeper Zack Steffen from near the center circle. The pass itself was far from ideal, but a gust of wind complicated its path back to goal, apparently swerving at the worst possible moment. The former Manchester City goalkeeper was visibly dismayed at the gaffe, and was ultimately credited with the own goal. The mayhem helped Toronto reclaim a point. Unfortunately for Steffen’s blushes, they weren’t done yet. Sargent saves to open his account If you watched the highlight above, you may have noticed an awful lot of red along the score bug. It was a messy and entertaining contest, featuring five goals and a trio of red cards. For both teams, the first sending off was fairly obvious. Jackson Travis exited in the 34th minute after stepping on Raheem Edwards’ ankle, then Edwards saw red himself for denying a goal scoring opportunity in the 49th. Most contentious was showing Rapids defender Miguel Navarro a second yellow card for a light push from behind on Laryea, arguably shifting the momentum for the rest of the match. Steffen was visibly incensed as he pleaded Navarro’s innocence, only a few minutes before his lapse in focus on his own goal. As if the local headline writers didn’t have enough fodder, Josh Sargent capped the comeback with his first goal since leaving Norwich City, heading home a corner kick to secure three points. Colorado coach Matt Wells deflected a question about Steffen’s status as starting goalkeeper after the match, calling it a “wild” suggestion and that there’s “something special brewing” among the group. Rosenberry took a similar tone, saying he and Steffen agreed to “forget about it” while praising the goalkeeper for being “such a big piece of what we do here.” Steffen will try to bounce back when the Houston Dynamo visit on Saturday. Son’s best running mate since Kane Defenders readying to face Los Angeles FC may should practice running backwards. Whether aggressively they face a high line or a side bunkering closer to goal, forward tandem Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga will force regular back-pedaling. Orlando City was the latest victim, trailing 5-0 after 39 minutes before ultimately losing 6-0. Son carved up poor Orlando, still without a permanent head coach and left to tread water until Antoine Griezmann’s arrival this summer. The South Korean’s first three assists were all to Bouanga, breaking a surprising five-match stretch in league play without the LAFC dangermen connecting on a goal. He notched another assist before half-time, becoming just the second player to record four in one half of any MLS game. You only need one guess to name the second. While the former Tottenham forward hasn’t scored himself yet through six games, his half-dozen helpers have kept Marc Dos Santos’ side atop the Western Conference. The way he garners assists is exactly as you’d expect: a mix of balls up the channel or through balls into a nearby teammate’s stride. From the time he arrived at White Hart Lane, Son has proven a master at weighing passes during a quick break upfield. Even with Orlando being one of roughly a third of MLS teams to play with five at the back, any gap between the lines or across them is an invitation Son seldom declines. Bouanga is an ideal running mate for this. Few players in MLS history have been so dependably lethal in transition, and he isn’t showing signs of slowing as he approaches his 32nd birthday. The Gabon winger’s hat-trick left him with 69 goals in MLS play, surpassing Sebastian Giovinco’s total in seven fewer games. Bouanga now ranks 51st in MLS history, and seventh among active players. Despite considerably different profiles, Bouanga may be Son’s best final-third partner since Harry Kane. LAFC leads the early Supporters Shield standings with 16 points through six games, remarkably balancing 14 goals scored against zero conceded. Odds and ends • Diego Chara made some deserved history, becoming MLS’s all-time leading yellow card collector (124). His Timbers had another game to forget, with Phil Neville’s men blowing a lead in stoppage time to fall 3-2 in Vancouver. The underlying numbers and eye test agreed it was a deserved three points for the Whitecaps, but a missed snatch-and-grab for a Portland side in need of points. • Kelvin Yeboah continued his rampant return from an injury-riddled close to 2025, scoring the match-winner in Minnesota’s 2-1 away win over the LA Galaxy. The Loons suffered mightily from the minute he left the US Open Cup semi-final with a major hamstring injury, an impact compounded by Tani Oluwaseyi’s sale to Villarreal a week prior. Yeboah, the nephew of screamer specialist Tony, has bagged three of the Loons’ six goals this season. • Petar Musa is in the form of his life as he works to crack Croatia’s squad for the World Cup. FC Dallas will brace for bids if he performs in this summer’s tournament, a growing possibility after he scored his seventh goal of the season in a 4-0 thrashing of DC United. They can more comfortably project life without the striker thanks to the progress shown by Logan Farrington, who notched the opener of the rout for his fourth goal in six games as Musa’s strike partner. • The Philadelphia Union extended their worst-ever start to a Supporters’ Shield defense. Their sixth straight loss to open the year came in a 2-1 defeat at Charlotte, giving up goals to Ashley Westwood and Wilfried Zaha. The only team without a point at this stage, the Union head to fellow lower-table CF Montréal this week for what could be an absolute scrap.
MLS weekend wrap: Revel in the joy and agony of absurd long-range goals
In an era where the sport’s biggest moments are scrutinized in slow-motion to find an inch of infraction, the long-range goal has become a necessary thrill. VAR only comes into play if a loitering teammate is caught between the shooter and goalkeeper. They also hatch a comfortingly familiar point of debate: was there anything that could’ve been done to save it? We can safely count Zavier Gozo’s wonder goal this weekend among the unsaveable. The Real Salt Lake homegrown has been one of the best players in Major League Soccer’s early weeks, a 19-year-old danger down the right flank who can slot in as a winger or wing back with similar impact. He’s quickly become one of the most proven progressive dribblers in the entire US player pool, and has shot up the scouting priority queues of several major European clubs. On Saturday, RSL was maintaining a one-goal lead over visiting Sporting Kansas City when Gozo collected the ball just outside the box. Left unmarked by Manu García, Gozo flicked it up to himself and volleyed it to the far post, leaving John Pulskamp to dive in vain. Indeed, you can’t spell “golazo” without Gozo, who now has two goals and three assists in 539 minutes. Wessam Abou Ali likely also qualifies for the “fully deserved” distinction for his second goal in Columbus’ 3-1 away win at Atlanta United. After heading in the opener, the Palestine international ran on to a through ball, cut backwards like a running back, used the defenders to screen each other,and found a clear lane for an audacious strike to the far corner. Atlanta’s transition defending has been a mess for a couple of years, but it’s a clever reading of space from Abou Ali. Other long range goals defy all explanation and are undoubtedly the goalkeeper’s fault. Colorado was working to see out a 2-1 lead in Toronto when Keegan Rosenberry played a back pass to goalkeeper Zack Steffen from near the center circle. The pass itself was far from ideal, but a gust of wind complicated its path back to goal, apparently swerving at the worst possible moment. The former Manchester City goalkeeper was visibly dismayed at the gaffe, and was ultimately credited with the own goal. The mayhem helped Toronto reclaim a point. Unfortunately for Steffen’s blushes, they weren’t done yet. Sargent saves to open his account If you watched the highlight above, you may have noticed an awful lot of red along the score bug. It was a messy and entertaining contest, featuring five goals and a trio of red cards. For both teams, the first sending off was fairly obvious. Jackson Travis exited in the 34th minute after stepping on Raheem Edwards’ ankle, then Edwards saw red himself for denying a goal scoring opportunity in the 49th. Most contentious was showing Rapids defender Miguel Navarro a second yellow card for a light push from behind on Laryea, arguably shifting the momentum for the rest of the match. Steffen was visibly incensed as he pleaded Navarro’s innocence, only a few minutes before his lapse in focus on his own goal. As if the local headline writers didn’t have enough fodder, Josh Sargent capped the comeback with his first goal since leaving Norwich City, heading home a corner kick to secure three points. Colorado coach Matt Wells deflected a question about Steffen’s status as starting goalkeeper after the match, calling it a “wild” suggestion and that there’s “something special brewing” among the group. Rosenberry took a similar tone, saying he and Steffen agreed to “forget about it” while praising the goalkeeper for being “such a big piece of what we do here.” Steffen will try to bounce back when the Houston Dynamo visit on Saturday. Son’s best running mate since Kane Defenders readying to face Los Angeles FC may should practice running backwards. Whether aggressively they face a high line or a side bunkering closer to goal, forward tandem Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga will force regular back-pedaling. Orlando City was the latest victim, trailing 5-0 after 39 minutes before ultimately losing 6-0. Son carved up poor Orlando, still without a permanent head coach and left to tread water until Antoine Griezmann’s arrival this summer. The South Korean’s first three assists were all to Bouanga, breaking a surprising five-match stretch in league play without the LAFC dangermen connecting on a goal. He notched another assist before half-time, becoming just the second player to record four in one half of any MLS game. You only need one guess to name the second. While the former Tottenham forward hasn’t scored himself yet through six games, his half-dozen helpers have kept Marc Dos Santos’ side atop the Western Conference. The way he garners assists is exactly as you’d expect: a mix of balls up the channel or through balls into a nearby teammate’s stride. From the time he arrived at White Hart Lane, Son has proven a master at weighing passes during a quick break upfield. Even with Orlando being one of roughly a third of MLS teams to play with five at the back, any gap between the lines or across them is an invitation Son seldom declines. Bouanga is an ideal running mate for this. Few players in MLS history have been so dependably lethal in transition, and he isn’t showing signs of slowing as he approaches his 32nd birthday. The Gabon winger’s hat-trick left him with 69 goals in MLS play, surpassing Sebastian Giovinco’s total in seven fewer games. Bouanga now ranks 51st in MLS history, and seventh among active players. Despite considerably different profiles, Bouanga may be Son’s best final-third partner since Harry Kane. LAFC leads the early Supporters Shield standings with 16 points through six games, remarkably balancing 14 goals scored against zero conceded. Odds and ends • Diego Chara made some deserved history, becoming MLS’s all-time leading yellow card collector (124). His Timbers had another game to forget, with Phil Neville’s men blowing a lead in stoppage time to fall 3-2 in Vancouver. The underlying numbers and eye test agreed it was a deserved three points for the Whitecaps, but a missed snatch-and-grab for a Portland side in need of points. • Kelvin Yeboah continued his rampant return from an injury-riddled close to 2025, scoring the match-winner in Minnesota’s 2-1 away win over the LA Galaxy. The Loons suffered mightily from the minute he left the US Open Cup semi-final with a major hamstring injury, an impact compounded by Tani Oluwaseyi’s sale to Villarreal a week prior. Yeboah, the nephew of screamer specialist Tony, has bagged three of the Loons’ six goals this season. • Petar Musa is in the form of his life as he works to crack Croatia’s squad for the World Cup. FC Dallas will brace for bids if he performs in this summer’s tournament, a growing possibility after he scored his seventh goal of the season in a 4-0 thrashing of DC United. They can more comfortably project life without the striker thanks to the progress shown by Logan Farrington, who notched the opener of the rout for his fourth goal in six games as Musa’s strike partner. • The Philadelphia Union extended their worst-ever start to a Supporters’ Shield defense. Their sixth straight loss to open the year came in a 2-1 defeat at Charlotte, giving up goals to Ashley Westwood and Wilfried Zaha. The only team without a point at this stage, the Union head to fellow lower-table CF Montréal this week for what could be an absolute scrap.
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