What We Learned: Orlando City are legit, Marco Reus rescues LA Galaxy

With the season's first batch of midweek games in the rearview mirror and Rivalry Week complete, I’m in my fixture-heavy happy place.

Let's look back at the latest slate of MLS matches to examine some of the most intriguing things we learned. And if you want to read up on the other key moments of Matchday 14 in detail, check out Charlie Boehm’s Rivalry Week column.

Onwards.

Buckle up, y’all. I’ve got some stats to share:

• With Sunday's 3-0 win over Inter Miami, Orlando City became the first team to shut out Lionel Messi & Co. since October… of 2023!
• The Lions haven’t lost a game since Matchday 3.
• Only three teams in MLS boast a better xG differential than Oscar Pareja’s group, according to American Soccer Analysis.

This team is very legit, taking a major step forward from last year… when they were already a strong squad in the Eastern Conference. So, where is this improvement coming from? The answer lies in the attack.

For one, Marco Pašalić has been an upgrade on Facundo Torres on the right wing. According to FBref, Pašalić is in the 68th percentile for non-penalty xG+xA per 90 minutes among his positional peers this year, whereas Torres was in the 36th percentile last year.

For another, Alex Freeman has provided a transformational attacking presence from his right back role. In his first season as a starter, the 20-year-old homegrown already ranks in the 93rd percentile among fullbacks for those same statistics cited above.

Even with a rotating cast of midfielders in Orlando’s double pivot (due to injuries), this team looks new and improved. That’s the power of finding a new pair of good-to-truly elite starters.

Watch out, MLS. Orlando City look like a true contender.

Strikers always seem to benefit from playing under Gregg Berhalter at club level. Gyasi Zardes and Ola Kamara on the Columbus Crew teams of old, plus Hugo Cuypers with this year’s Chicago Fire team, are all testaments to that concept. And yet despite Cuypers’ ballooning goals tally, the Belgian No. 9 isn’t the Fire player who’s most benefitted from Berhalter’s arrival.

That would be Brian Gutiérrez.

Cuypers has previously reached the 20-goal mark in a single season and arrived in MLS with the sort of profile that underlined his potential to be an elite MLS striker. On the other hand, Gutiérrez has been a year away from being a year away since 2021. The 21-year-old has long been a useful MLS player, but we’ve all been waiting for him to make the leap in midfield. Don’t look now, but that's unfolding before our eyes.

Playing not quite as a No. 10 and not quite as a No. 8, Gutiérrez has thrived in his fluid role on the left side of Berhalter’s midfield trio. He's blossoming as a goal threat and taking higher-quality shots, all while upping his progressive passing and defensive actions. Fresh off the best game of his career with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win at Charlotte FC, the homegrown US international is thriving – and doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

Despite taking an early lead in Sunday’s El Tráfico, the LA Galaxy couldn’t collect their first three points of the year and finished with a 2-2 draw at home with LAFC. The reigning MLS Cup champions have now gone 14 games winless to start the year.

Yet Marco Reus provides reason for hope.

Playing the full 90 minutes for just the third time all season, Reus’ eight progressive passes were good for his second-best display of the season, according to FBref. More crucially, the German veteran scored both goals for the Galaxy, with the highlight coming via a lovely free-kick equalizer in the 87th minute:

The 35-year-old has gotten a lot of slack this year, including from yours truly. He was supposed to carry the Galaxy's attack as Riqui Puig recovers from a torn ACL suffered last November. Now, after a slow start, he's got 3g/3a in his last five matches and stepped up Sunday when his team needed him.

Surely, there's some comfort for Galaxy fans in knowing Reus still has some tricks up his sleeve.

Sitting at 1.93 points per game (or above) and on pace for at least 65-point seasons, the three clubs leading the Eastern Conference continue to impress.

At the very top are the Philadelphia Union, who enjoyed a six-point week thanks to wins over the LA Galaxy and Atlanta United. Since trading Dániel Gazdag to the Columbus Crew, the Union have gone a staggering 5W-0L-1D and reached the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup. Only three teams in MLS allow fewer touches in their own box than Philadelphia, as per FBref. They have an iron grip on every phase of play right now.

FC Cincinnati sit behind the Union in second and the Columbus Crew are in third; those two teams just played to a hotly contested 1-1 draw as part of Rivalry Week.

Though the Crew ended up with a sizable chance creation majority, they had to put themselves in the driver’s seat after Kévin Denkey's early goal gave Cincy the early lead. With Pat Noonan seemingly settled on a 3-4-1-2 setup featuring Luca Orellano at right wingback and Evander playing underneath Denkey and Sergio Santos, it’s easy to imagine chemistry starting to solidify for Cincy. And for the Crew? While Wilfried Nancy is still searching for his best possible front three (Aliyu Ibrahim earned his first start in yellow on Saturday), Columbus’ only loss of the year came in Cleveland to Inter Miami.

Toss Nashville SC, Orlando and Miami into the equation, and it’s not just the top three teams out East that are yelp-inducing. That conference is a blender, folks.

Look, I know San Jose playing to a scoreless draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday isn’t exactly a great launch point for my “the Quakes’ attack is phenomenal, actually” take. But… the Quakes' attack is phenomenal, actually. Don’t believe me? Allow me to present some context.

That 0-0 draw with the Revs came just days after San Jose played to an impressive 3-3 midweek draw with Inter Miami. On short rest (and without Chicho Arango, who got injured during the first half of the Miami match), Bruce Arena rotated all but one of his outfield starters for his return to New England. Despite playing on the road with a depth-heavy lineup against a Revs team on full rest with a complete batch of starters, San Jose out-created, out-shot and out-played their hosts.

It's tough luck they didn’t find the back of the net. But that they continue to hold the title as the best attacking team in MLS based on both goals scored and xG created this season? That’s the sign of a dangerous squad.

Up to eighth in the Western Conference, it’s getting awfully easy to believe in San Jose. Buy your stock now.