GOAL takes a look back at a weekend lit up by an early goal of the season contender from the Argentina international
Long before his miracle free-kick hit the back of the net on Saturday night, we all knew that Thiago Almada isn't long for MLS. He's too good, too talented, has too much potential.
The clock is ticking on his Atlanta United career as, at some point soon, Europe's big guns will come calling.
And that's what makes what he's doing all the more impressive: we have our expectations, and he repeatedly exceeds them.
Almada is expected to provide greatness and, every week, he does that in more. Just four games into the MLS season, he's smashing records, and doing so in a way that is almost unbelievable.
Almada is THE star of MLS, at least for now, but he isn't the only big storyline from this weekend.
From newcomers continuing their run to the MLS Cup favorites' self-inflicted sign of weakness, it was an eventful weekend all over the league.
Here's a look at the weekend's big winners and losers…
WINNER: Thiago Almada & Atlanta United
There isn't a person on Earth that expected Thiago Almada to score from there. Except maybe Thiago Almada.
Score he did, smashing a stunning free-kick in a game that ended as a 5-1 runaway win over the Portland Timbers.
It was a game where Almada was at his best, proving a menace in every phase of the game as the Timbers were simply overwhelmed by Atlanta's talent.
In addition to Almada, there was Luiz Araujo, who has seemingly found his shooting boots after being criticized for his lack of goals.
Giorgos Giakoumakis, the club's new DP forward, was there too, scoring on his first start to send a message of his own.
And you can't forget about Caleb Wiley, the club's teenage sensation that has come into his own with yet another goal.
Almada, though, is the straw that stirs the drink. He finished with two goals and two assists, taking his total to eight goal contributions on the season. Only one other team, St. Louis City SC, has scored more than eight goals so far this season.
Can anyone stop Atlanta as assembled? The answer is maybe not.
The bad news for Atlanta is that they may not be assembled like this for much longer before the millions and millions coming piling in for Almada, a player that the rest of the league will be glad to see go for their own sakes.
AdvertisementLOSER: Julian Carranza
We'll let Jim Curtin sum up the Philadelphia Union's loss to CF Montreal.
“The word sh*t show comes to mind.”
A fair enough assessment to describe a game that had one red card and five goals, including two in second-half stoppage time. It was almost too chaotic, even by MLS standards.
That chaos can be traced back to Julian Carranza, the Union striker who, for some reason, decided he could try to tackle like a defender. Unsurprisingly, he couldn't, and his clumsy challenge left the Union down a man in Montreal.
It took just about everything they could muster, but CF Montreal, ultimately, made them pay. A 90th-minute equalizer from Chinonso Offor was then followed up by a 98th-minute winner from Romell Quioto. You couldn't have scripted it any better, unless you're a Union fan.
That's two losses for the Union now, with this one coming to a Montreal team that had zero points entering the weekend.
A reason for concern in Philly? Probably not. This team is still too talented to not compete for a Supporters' Shield.
If they fall just short, though, this will be one they'll look back on as one that got away in silly, silly fashion.
St. Louis City SCWINNER: St. Louis City SC
We said last week that we'll stop putting St. Louis City SC here when they stop winning.
Well, they're here for a fourth straight week.
Four games, four wins, one record-breaking star as St. Louis are now the first-ever MLS team to win their first four games. It's completely unbelievable considering the fact that many believed that this team would be one fighting to avoid the Wooden Spoon this year.
"Is it a surprise for us? No. The boys were confident from day one," head coach Bradley Carnell said. "The boys were angry from day one that no one believed in them. So yeah, we've got the chip on the shoulder."
Joao Klauss, who analyst and goalscoring legend Bradley Wright-Phillips dubbed the 'MLS Dimitar Berbatov', has three goals and an assist in four games. Eduard Lowen, another of the club's stars, has four goal contributions as well.
Somehow, just four games into their time together, St. Louis looks and plays like a team. Gelling this quick is incredible when you think about it.
Next up? A visit to Real Salt Lake. Let's see how long they can keep this run going…
LOSER: Austin FC
Not a good week to be Verde.
After a humiliating CONCACAF Champions League exit at the hands of Haitian underdogs Violette, Austin FC then traveled to Houston and were undone by their in-state rivals, the Dynamo.
That's now two wins and two losses for Austin, who haven't really gotten going yet. You can maybe excuse this as a CCL heartbreak hangover, but there are still some concerns overall about the way this team can defend.
You know Sebastian Driussi will get his at some point, so don't worry about the attack putting up a blank here, but this team's defense will ultimately be the difference between success and failure.
As for the Dynamo, they'll need Hector Herrera to be Best XI caliber for them to compete for much of anything. He was against Austin.
He'll need some help this season, but it was an encouraging superstar performance from the Mexico international.