Six games took place in MLS on Saturday, with certain teams hit big time by players being on international duty during the FIFA window but the show went on.
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Below is a look at what we learned from Week 4 in Major League Soccer.
Welcome to the Bradley Wright-Phillips under-appreciation club
He scored two beauties against Minnesota United in a 3-0 win on Saturday at Red Bull Arena and Bradley Wright-Phillips continues his fine start to 2018. He now has six goals and four assists in his first eight games in all competitions and his finishes against Minnesota pointed to a striker purely relying on his instincts and at the peak of his powers.
Does he get the respect he deserves? His coach, Jesse Marsch, had the following to say to reporters after the win.
“Why doesn’t Bradley Wright-Phillips garner the respect of the premier players in this league? Because you could make an argument that he is the best player to ever play in this league, and the best goal-scorer to play in this league, and he should be treated as such by everyone, including referees. If we’re talking about protecting the star players, and making sure that we’re protecting attacking players.”
Have yourself a night, BWP! #RBNYvMIN https://t.co/4qKQFU8mUL
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 25, 2018
Now, calling BWP the best player to ever play in MLS may be a stretch, but you can’t argue with the assumption that Wright-Phillips is massively underrated. And with Thierry Henry and Sacha Kljestan getting plenty of plaudits for their time as playmakers at Red Bull Arena amid BWP’s goalscoring in the past, maybe he will now get the credit he deserves as the main man.
Columbus Crew making their point
The Crew are top of the Eastern Conference after four games and are unbeaten as they beat D.C. United 3-1 on Saturday. Whatever is happening off the pitch as owner Anthony Precourt continues to push for their relocation to Austin, Texas, the players and Gregg Berhalter are focusing on the job in hand and playing extremely well.
Pipa talks with @Alex_Stec_ on making it into @MLS' elite 50-50 club after tonights #CLBvDC match! 🖤💛
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) March 25, 2018
"Work, work and more work is our way to play games." 💪🔥 pic.twitter.com/xe1v2VCM8z
Federico Higuain made it 50 assists in MLS on Saturday as the cerebral player continues to run the show and Columbus’ solid defense can bend but not break as we saw throughout the 2017 season.
It is still early days in the season but Columbus are proving that they aren’t missing the likes of Ola Kamara and Justin Meram just yet.
Sporting Kansas City the great entertainers
You can never count out Sporting Kansas City. Especially early on this season as they’re becoming the great entertainers with more late dramatics in Week 4.
Peter Vermes’ men launched a comeback from 2-0 down to draw at the Colorado Rapids and in their last three games there have been 16 goals scored. Felipe Gutierrez and Diego Rubin scored in the second half in their latest comeback and after a dramatic 4-3 win at Chicago and a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, this SKC team are full of goals but also unable to shut opponents down.
Sub in, score a goal! Diego Rubio equalizes for @SportingKC. This one's not over yet... #COLvSKC https://t.co/EXp5Ny2JER
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 25, 2018
The shackles are off for SKC this season and after two away games they’ve scored six goals in 2018, compared to 10 in the entire 2017 regular season campaign. That’s bonkers and you can see that Vermes is taking more risks with his team selections and Gutierrez (four goals in his last four games) is at the center of their fluid attacking unit. If you want some fun, tune in and watch Sporting KC this season.