What We Learned: Charlotte FC mean business,kèo châu Âu Philadelphia Union regain Shield lead

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Between San Diego FC becoming the first team to clinch an Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs spot, Sam Surridge taking the Golden Boot presented by Audi lead, and Son Heung-Min and Thomas Müller both scoring their first MLS goals, this past weekend’s slate had it all.

Let's explore some of the most interesting things we learned during Matchday 30. And if you want to read up on other key moments in detail, check out Matt Doyle’s latest column.

Onwards.

Don’t look now, but the longest active winning streak in MLS belongs to Charlotte FC, who have rattled off seven straight victories and are up to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Two of their last three wins have come against teams in the East playoff picture: they won at FC Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and just defeated the New York Red Bulls at home on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. To make matters more impressive, those last three wins have all come without Pep Biel, who hurt his hamstring during a Leagues Cup clash with Chivas.

Biel, as I’ve written all year long, has been Charlotte’s best player. Even missing time over the last month, he’s still one of only six players in the league with at least 20 non-penalty goal contributions.

The Spaniard’s company? Anders Dreyer, Evander, Martín Ojeda, Philip Zinckernagel and some guy named Lionel Messi. Biel is an elite No. 10 who carries the playmaking burden for Charlotte: his 10.8 expected assisted goals total, as per FBref, is more than double the Crown’s next best creator (Wilfried Zaha).

That Charlotte FC have continued this winning streak without the Spaniard is a testament to the broad quality of Dean Smith's squad. A couple of the young attackers have truly stepped up – see winger Kerwin Vargas and striker Idan Toklomati – and the defense is holding firm. As such, the wins keep on coming.

A Sunday night 𝑺𝑻𝑼𝑵𝑵𝑬𝑹 😤 pic.twitter.com/y6wOkFCSOH

— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) August 24, 2025

New York City FC are nearly as hot as Charlotte right now.

Over their last five games, NYCFC have picked up 13 points and beaten three East teams vying for home-field advantage in Round One of the playoffs: Orlando City, Nashville SC and Cincinnati. Those wins are about as legit as it gets. Now up to fifth in the Eastern Conference based on points per game – they’re eighth in the actual standings, but have games in hand on every team above them outside of Inter Miami – it’s becoming impossible to ignore the Cityzens' résumé.

Somehow, despite being in the middle of his second-straight season averaging at least half a non-penalty goal per 90 minutes, Alonso Martínez's role in his team’s success still goes under-discussed. The Costa Rican forward scored the game-winner in NYCFC's 1-0 win at Cincinnati on Saturday, showing off his mixture of pressing threat, off-ball movement, speed and on-ball cleverness:

No goal is safe from Alonso Martínez 🤩 pic.twitter.com/PazSr9JhQT

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 24, 2025

As new DP midfielder Nicolás Fernández Mercau gets more comfortable linking up with Martínez, it’s easy to imagine his numbers ballooning even further. Even now, it feels foolish to bet against NYCFC and their Martínez-led attack.

What impresses me most about Minnesota United is how head coach Eric Ramsay can chop and change chunks of his lineup without consequence.

So far this season, we’ve seen a 3-5-2 setup with Kelvin Yeboah playing alongside Tani Oluwaseyi, who is strongly linked with a reported move to LaLiga side Villarreal.

We’ve also seen a single-striker setup in a 3-4-3 shape, with just one of those two No. 9s leading the line. We’ve seen Bongi Hlongwane at right wingback, bringing his vertical, almost center forward-esque approach to that position. We’ve seen Julian Gressel, with his penchant for early crosses, in that spot as well. The left wingback spot has flipped between Joseph Rosales and Anthony Markanich. Need I go on?

It’s a clever roster build – one that only got deeper with shrewd signings in the Secondary Transfer Window – mixed with Ramsay’s ability to generate team-wide buy-in, helping Minnesota sprint up to second in the Western Conference. For my money, their ceiling is even higher than that after last weekend's 3-1 win at Real Salt Lake.

The Philadelphia Union took it personally when people questioned their Supporters’ Shield bona fides after they dropped points against both Toronto FC and the Red Bulls in recent weeks. In response, they beat Chicago Fire FC on Saturday to reclaim the Shield lead.

It wasn’t just that Philly toppled the Fire – they clobbered them. Philadelphia prevailed with a 4-0 scoreline, outshooting the visitors 23-9 and only allowing 0.6 xG. They did all of that without the injured Andre Blake and with Milan Iloski deputizing in the attacking midfield line while Indiana Vassilev recovers from a head injury. The whole game very much smelled of the best team in the Eastern Conference brushing off a fringe playoff team, which is… exactly what it was.

With their cohesive defensive approach out of Bradley Carnell’s 4-2-2-2 setup, elite direct attacking play, and far more creative savvy in possession than they get credit for, the Union are one of the league’s most complete teams this season.

I wouldn’t count out Philly from claiming any of the three trophies still on offer for them: the US Open Cup, the Shield and MLS Cup presented by Audi. It’s all in play for one of the best teams, if not thebest team, in the league.

Look, pretty much everything that happened to the Colorado Rapids before their new DP No. 10 signing stepped on the field against the LA Galaxy was bad. They had already shipped several goals, hadn’t found a footing in the attack, and were en route to a humbling against a heavily (!) rotated Galaxy squad with half an eye on the Leagues Cup semifinals.

Paxten Aaronson subbing on for the final 30-plus minutes didn’t salvage the result – Colorado still lost 3-0 and slipped closer to the Western Conference Wild Card spots. But Aaronson’s debut did spark some optimism.

The USMNT attacker was exactly as energetic as you’d expect an Aaronson brother to be, pressing in hopes of winning the ball just seconds after entering the game. He fouled and drew fouls, buzzing around from his attacking midfield role in Chris Armas’ 4-2-3-1 setup.

Not all of Aaronson’s distribution was refined, but he seemed to play faster than just about anybody else on the field. Between his progressive carrying and his savvy off-ball movement, the summer signing immediately elevated the Rapids’ attack. Just look at how clever Aaronson’s movement is here during the sequence that nearly led to his first goal for Colorado. He stays patient, waits for a gap to open, and then bursts into it:

pic.twitter.com/yvldt6aKUr

— _ (@21LBRB) August 25, 2025

We shouldn’t over-index a substitute appearance against a bottom-of-the-table team. But for Rapids fans seeking something to get them going following Djordje Mihailovic’s exit, Aaronson’s debut should do exactly that.

• Voices: Joseph Lowery
• What We Learned
• Match Reaction
• Charlotte FC
• Philadelphia Union

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