MLS Matchday 8 spanned three days this weekend, rather than the usual two.
We got our first taste of action Friday night with a matchup between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Kansas City. Vancouver looked like the team we all know, taking down Kansas City, 3-0. They scored all three goals within the first 30 minutes of the night.
The party then began in full on Saturday. Lionel Messi carried Inter Miami to a win over the Colorado Rapids at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. Messi's brace gave Miami three points to move into second place in the Eastern Conference.
Tai Baribo made his return debut to Subaru Park on Saturday night when DC United traveled to Philly to take on the Union. Both teams managed one point each in this one, finishing in a 0-0 draw. The Union controlled play for most of the match but couldn't convert on the critical chances they had.
FC Cincinnati picked up a big point against the Chicago Fire, who dropped two places in the standings following this one. Evander picked up a much-needed goal to hopefully get some fuel underneath him moving forward.
We have a quick turnaround, with Matchday 9 on Wednesday. Before that, here are some highlight matches from Matchday 8.
The Colorado Rapids hosted Inter Miami at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, to accommodate all the Messi fans who were coming to the match.
Messi gave everyone their money's worth with a goal in the 18th minute to put Miami up 1-0. Germán Berterame doubled Miami's lead in stoppage time before the first half whistle.
Colorado started to fight back in the second half, scoring two goals in quick succession in the 58th and 62nd minutes. But in the 79th minute, Messi converted on a penalty to put Miami back in front.
Miami's Yannick Bright was sent off with a red card in the 87th minute, but Miami managed to hold on for three points.
After picking up their first win of the season over CF Montreal last week, the Philadelphia Union hosted DC United on Saturday night. Tai Baribo made his first return to Philly for the first time since joining DC.
Both teams earned a point in this 0-0 draw, but the Union was clearly the superior team. They controlled possession (62%-38%) and had four shots on target compared to none from DC. The Union just couldn't capitalize on their chances.
Baribo was silenced in his return and also received a mixed amount of applause and boo's form the Union supporters.
This weekend's Walmart Saturday Showdown provided six total goals between FC Cincinnati and the Chicago Fire.
Hugo Cuypers started the party with a goal in the 25th minute. Tom Barlow answered back from Cincinnati in the 42nd minute, but then Philip Zinckernagel responded with a penalty conversion in the 45+5' to give Chicago the lead heading into the second half.
Cuypers added a brace in the 48th minute to put Chicago up 3-1, but then Cincinnati started crawling back. Evander brought Cincinnati within one with a penalty kick in the 79th. In the 86th minute, Chicago midfielder Djé D'Avilla scored an own goal to bring the match level.
The own goal was set up by an Evander free kick, and he was the man to turn things around for Cincinnati.
After falling to the Union the previous Saturday, CF Montreal fired its head coach, Marco Donadel, shortly after the loss. It's been a rough start for Montreal this year, but they picked up an important 4-1 win over the New York Red Bulls this past weekend.
The Red Bulls dominated possession, but Montreal controlled what really mattered: the scoreboard. The Red Bulls have been on a bit of a downward trend after a hot start to the season. They are 1-2-2 in their last five matches.
Montreal has six points to its name now. They are sitting 11th in the East and are 1-4-0 in their last five.
Sunday Night Soccer featured LAFC hosting the San Jose Earthquakes, and the San Jose visiting supporters got their money's worth. A 4-1 win over LAFC now sees San Jose joint-tied with the Vancouver Whitecaps for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The first half of this one was scoreless, but San Jose turned up in the second. Ousseni Bouda put the Quakes on the scoreboard in the 53rd minute, and he would add a brace for himself in the 80th. Timo Wenrer scored his first MLS goal in the 56th minute, followed by an own goal from LAFC centerback Ryan Porteous. LAFC scored on a San Jose own goal from centerback Reid Roberts in the 74th minute, which ended up being their only goal in the match.
LAFC hoped to bounce back after a tough loss to the Portland Timbers in Matchday 7, but adding back Heung-Min Son to the squad didn't bother San Jose one bit.
Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC 3-3 Austin FC
CF Montreal 4-1 New York Red Bulls
Colorado Rapids 2-3 Inter Miami
Atlanta United 0-2 Nashville SC
FC Cincinnati 3-3 Chicago Fire
New England Revolution 2-1 Columbus Crew
NYCFC 1-2 Charlotte FC
Orlando City 0-1 Houston Dynamo
Philadelphia Union 0-0 DC United
FC Dallas 2-2 LA Galaxy
Minnesota United 2-0 Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake 4-2 San Diego FC
Seattle Sounders 4-1 St. Louis City
LAFC 1-4 San Jose Earthquakes
Nashville SC - 19 pts
Inter Miami - 15 pts
Charlotte FC - 14 pts
Chicago Fire - 14 pts
New England Revolution - 12 pts
Toronto FC - 12 pts
NYCFC - 11 pts
New York Red Bulls - 11 pts
DC United - 8 pts
FC Cincinnati - 8 pts
CF Montreal - 6 pts
Columbus Crew - 6 pts
Philadelphia Union - 4 pts
Atlanta United - 4 pts
Orlando City - 4 pts
Vancouver Whitecaps - 21 pts
San Jose Earthquakes - 21 pts
LAFC - 16 pts
Seattle Sounders - 16 pts
Real Salt Lake - 16 pts
Minnesota United - 14 pts
FC Dallas - 13 pts
Colorado Rapids - 12 pts
San Diego FC - 11 pts
Houston Dynamo - 9 pts
LA Galaxy - 9 pts
Portland Timbers - 7 pts
Austin FC - 7 pts
St. Louis City - 6 pts
Sporting Kansas City - 4 pts
MORE: Carnell feels "really happy" despite Union's draw against DC United
