Diego Luna turned a possible unfavorable outcome into a multiple-score outing. He had a red card rescinded and then secured his second brace this month for Real Salt Lake.
Christian Pulisic had a strong showing as well, scoring an early goal to spark A.C. Milan to victory, after helping his team to a Coppa Italia semifinal win over archrival Inter Milan.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty took home some silverware as Celtic captured the Scottish Premiership crown.
Chris Richards and Matt Turner will have an opportunity to win an English FA Cup winner's medal after Crystal Palace prevailed its semifinal match.
Brian White hit double digits in goals across all competitions, tallying in the Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-0 triumph over Inter Miami CF in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.
Haji Wright reached a dozen goals for the fourth consecutive time in Europe, in Coventry City's loss.
Djordje Mihailovic celebrated a goal for the third straight week for the Colorado Rapids, and Max Arfsten put home his second of the season.
Shaq Moore scored his first goal of the MLS season in FC Dallas' comeback win over Inter Miami CF.
And Paxten Aaronson, John Tolkin and Ben Cremaschi recorded assists for their respective sides, Utrecht, Holstein Kiel and Inter Miami CF.
BRACE FOR IT, AGAIN
Diego Luna made the most out of a second chance. He was supposed to sit out Real Salt Lake's match at San Diego FC on Saturday, April 26, but he got a lifeline from Major League Soccer's Independent Review Panel, which rescinded his red card that he was awarded in a 1-0 loss to Toronto FC last weekend. The 21-year-old midfielder then registered his second brace of the month in a 3-1 victory.
A minute into stoppage time, he took advantage of a turnover, raced into the penalty area on the left flank before curling the ball past keeper Carlos dos Santos for a 1-0 lead. The hosts equalized several minutes later in injury time. After a handball was called on San Diego, Luna converted the ensuing penalty kick into the lower left corner as dos Santos dove in the opposite direction in the 54th minute.
Luna, who had his first brace in a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy on April 5, has tallied a team-high five goals. RSL (4-6-0, 12 points) is in tenth place in the MLS Western Conference.
SWEET 16
Christian Pulisic scored for the first time more than in a month, connecting five minutes after kickoff to ignite A.C. Milan to a 2-0 victory over Venezia in Italy’s Serie A on Sunday, April 27. By doing so, Pulisic became the first player to score more than 15 goals across all competitions in each of his first two Serie A seasons with Milan since Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2010-11, 2011-12). With 50 goal contributions (31 goals and 19 assists), he also became one of only three Serie A players to have been involved in at least 50 goals across all competitions in the last two seasons. Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez (54) and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman (50) are the others.
Pulisic last found the net in a 2-1 win over Como on March 15. He snapped that streak early on in the match. After a turnover, Youssouf Fofana set up Pulisic, who beat goalkeeper Ionuț Radu from 11 yards into the lower left corner. Milan (15-10-9, 54 points) is in ninth place.
DREAMING ON
Brian White's start to his dream season continued as he hit double figures in goals across all competitions. He struck for the first goal of the Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-0 triumph over Inter Miami CF in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal series on Thursday, April 24. The 29-year-old striker put away a Pedro Vite feed in the 24th minute to lift the host side to a 1-0 lead before it scored an insurance goal in the second half. The second leg is set for Wednesday, April 30. White, who has four Concacaf goals and another six in MLS, sat out Vancouver's 3-1 win at Minnesota United on Sunday, April 27. The Whitecaps (7-1-2, 23) hold a five-point lead over the Portland Timbers (5-2-3, 18) in the MLS Western Conference.
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING
Center back Cameron Carter-Vickers went the full 90 and won his ninth trophy with Celtic. The Glasglow side captured the Scottish Premiership title behind a 5-0 victory over Dundee United on Saturday, April 26 with four games remaining in the season. Carter-Vickers' haul includes four Premiership championships, three League Cup crowns and two Scottish Cup titles. He can win a 10th when Celtic meets Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final on May 24. Center back Auston Trusty, in his first year with the club, was an unused substitute in the match.
WEMBLEY BOUND AGAIN
Defender Chris Richards played the entire way, helping Crystal Palace record a clean sheet, as it reached the English FA Cup final for the third time, defeated Aston Villa, 3-0, at Wembley in the semifinals on Saturday, April 26. Goalkeeper Matt Turner sat the bench. Palace will take on Manchester City, which reached its third consecutive final behind a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley the following day. The final is set for Saturday, May 17 at Wembley.
THE EQUALIZER
Djordje Mihailovic struck for the second straight week on Saturday, April 26, helping the Colorado Rapids to a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders. He scored the equalizing goal in the 54th minute. Mihailovic drilled a well-placed, low 20-yard free kick around the defensive wall and past keeper Stefan Frei into the lower left corner. On April 19, Mihailovic had a goal and assist in a 2-2 tie with the Houston Dynamo. After 10 MLS matches, he has contributed five goals and three assists and two goals with just as many scores in Concacaf Champions Cup contests.
AN EVEN DOZEN
Say this about Haji Wright — he is consistent. The forward has scored at least a dozen goals in each of the past four seasons while playing in Europe. He connected for goal No. 12 of the English Championship season for Coventry City in its 3-1 loss at Plymouth Argyle on Monday, April 21. Wright scored an unassisted goal in the 45th minute, which cut the visitors' deficit to 2-1. His recorded a career-high 16 goals for the team during the 2023-24 campaign. Coventry City (19-17-9, 66) is in sixth place by a single goal differential, entering the final weekend of the Championship regular season. City hosts Middlesbrough on Saturday, May 3.
GAME WINNER
Max Arfsten snapped a 1-1 deadlock in the 62nd minute to boost the Columbus Crew to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, April 26. After taking a pass from Aziel Jackson on the left side, Arsten put a couple of moves on his man in the penalty area before burying the ball from eight yards for his second goal of the campaign. Columbus (6-1-3, 21) is in second place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
STARTING IT OFF
Defender Shaq Moore tallied his first goal of the season in FC Dallas' 4-3 comeback victory over host Inter Miami CF (5-1-3, 18), which suffered its first loss of the MLS season on Sunday, April 27. Moore started the scoring in the eighth minute, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and depositing it past keeper Drake Callender. Dallas fell behind 3-1 early in the second half before striking for three straight goals. Dallas (4-3-3, 15) sits sixth in the Western Conference.
HELPING OUT
Paxten Aaronson, John Tolkin and Ben Cremaschi recorded assists in their respective matches.
Paxten Aaronson had a goal contribution for the second successive week, assisting on Miguel Rodriguez's 27th-minute goal of Utrecht's 4-0 victory over RKC Waalwijk in the Dutch Eredivisie on Friday, April 25. That score gave the visitors a three-goal advantage. Aaronson scored in a 4-0 win over Ajax on April 20.
John Tolkin endured a difficult match in Holsten Kiel's 4-3 home win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. He set up the first goal of the Bundesliga encounter, by Shuto Machino, but was forced from the match in the 40th minute after suffering a concussion on Saturday, April 26.
Ben Cremaschi assisted on David Martinez's goal, which gave Inter Miami a 3-1 lead in the 56th minute at home on Sunday, April 27, before FC Dallas rallied for three consecutive second-half goals to post a 4-3 away win.
RELEGATED
Cardiff City and goalkeeper Ethan Horvath were relegated from the English Championship to League One after playing West Bromwich Albion to a scoreless home draw on Saturday, April 26. Horvath, who twice denied Issac Price in the first half, recorded his third clean sheet of the campaign. Cardiff City (9-19-17, 44) is in last place in the 24-team division entering the final weekend.
FULL RUNDOWN
- Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United; English Championship) – 86 minutes in 4-0 win vs. Bristol City (April 28)
- Paxten Aaronson (Utrecht; Dutch Eredivisie) - 90 minutes, ASSIST, in 4-0 win vs. RKC Waalwijk (April 25)
- Kellyn Acosta (Chicago Fire; MLS) - 90 minutes in 7-2 loss at Nashville SC (April 26)
- Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth; English Premier League) – 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Manchester United (April 27)
- Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; MLS) - 90 minutes, GOAL, in 2-1 win vs. San Jose Earthquakes (April 26)
- Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC; MLS) - 65 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. New England Revolution (April 26)
- Folarin Balogun (Monaco; French Ligue 1) – 4 minutes as a substitute in 1-1 draw at Le Havre (April 26)
- Taylor Booth (Twente; Dutch Eredivisie) - Injured, DNP in 3-1 loss vs. PSV (April 24)
- Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italian Serie A) - 64 minutes in 2-0 loss vs. A.C. Milan (April 27)
- Drake Callender (Inter Miami CF; MLS) – 90 minutes in 4-3 loss vs. FC Dallas (April 27); In 18, DNP in 2-0 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps in Concacaf Champions Cup (April 24)
- Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis; La Liga) - 90 minutes in 5-1 win vs. Real Valladolid (April 24); 90 minutes, GOAL, in 3-1 win at Girona (April 21)
- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes in 5-0 win at Dundee United (April 26)
- Ben Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; MLS) – 90 minutes, ASSIST, in 4-3 loss vs. FC Dallas (April 27); 16 minutes as a substitute in 2-0 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps in Concacaf Champions Cup (April 24)
- Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC; MLS) – 83 minutes in 3-1 loss vs. Real Salt Lake (April 26)
- Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - Injured, DNP in 3-1 win at Twente (April 24)
- Jesús Ferreira (Seattle Sounders; MLS) - 71 minutes in 1-1 draw at Colorado Rapids (April 26)
- Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege; Belgian Pro League) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw at OH Leuven (April 26); 90 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. OH Leuven (April 22)
- Julian Gressel (Inter Miami CF; MLS) – Not in 18, DNP in 4-3 loss vs. FC Dallas (April 27); Not in 18, DNP in 2-0 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps in Concacaf Champions Cup (April 24)
- Brian Gutiérrez (Chicago Fire; MLS) - 45 minutes in 7-2 loss at Nashville SC (April 26)
- Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City; English Championship) - 90 minutes, SHUTOUT, in 0-0 draw vs. West Bromwich Albion (April 26); 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Oxford United (April 21)
- Sean Johnson (Toronto FC; MLS) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. New York City FC (April 26)
- DeJuan Jones (Columbus Crew; MLS) – 25 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss at Columbus Crew (April 26)
- Richy Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - 78 minutes in a 3-1 win at Twente (April 24)
- Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; MLS) - 89 minutes, TWO GOALS, in 3-1 win at San Diego FC (April 26)
- Kristoffer Lund (Palermo; Italy Serie B) - 90 minutes in 3-1 win at Catanzaro (April 27)
- Lennard Maloney (Mainz; Bundesliga) - In 18, DNP in 3-0 loss at Bayern Munich (April 26)
- Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo; MLS) - 89 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Austin FC (April 26)
- Weston McKennie (Juventus; Italy Serie A) - 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Monza (April 27); 57 minutes in 1-0 loss at Parma (April 23)
- Mark McKenzie (Toulouse; French Ligue 1) - Not in 18, DNP, SUSPENDED, in 0-0 draw at Nantes (April 27)
- Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; MLS) - 90 minutes, GOAL, in 1-1 draw vs. Seattle Sounders (April 26)
- Shaq Moore (FC Dallas; MLS) - 90 minutes, GOAL, in 4-3 win at Inter Miami CF (April 27); 90 minutes in 0-0 draw at Minnesota United (April 19)
- Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 0-0 draw vs. Norwich City (April 26); 90 minutes in 2-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday (April 21)
- Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; MLS) - 1 minute as a substitute in 1-1 draw at Colorado Rapids (April 26)
- Yunus Musah (A.C. Milan; Italy Serie A) - In 18, DNP in 2-0 win at Venezia (April 27); In 18, DNP in 3-0 win at Inter Milan in in Coppa Italia (April 23)
- Jalen Neal (CF Montreal; MLS) – In 18, DNP in 1-0 loss at New York Red Bulls (April 26)
- Erik Palmer-Brown (Panathinaikos; Greek Super League) - 3 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss at PAOK (April 27)
- Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg; Bundesliga) - 62 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Freiburg (April 26)
- Jordan Pefok (Reims; French Ligue 1) - 59 minutes in 0-0 draw at Montpellier (April 27)
- Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - Injured, DNP in 3-1 win at Twente (April 24)
- Christian Pulisic (A.C. Milan; Italy Serie A) - 88 minutes, GOAL, in 2-0 win at Venezia (April 27); 78 minutes in 3-0 win at Inter Milan in in Coppa Italia (April 23)
-- Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; MLS) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. New England Revolution (April 26)
-- Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund; Bundesliga) - 9 minutes as a substitute in 3-2 win at Hoffenheim (April 26)
-- Bryan Reynolds (Westerlo; Belgian Pro League) - 90 minutes in 2-2 draw vs. Mechelen (April 26); 65 minutes in 3-2 win at Mechelen (April 22)
-- Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 3-0 win vs. Aston Villa in FA Cup (April 26); Not in 18, DNP, SUSPENDED, in 2-2 draw vs. Arsenal (April 23)
-- Antonee Robinson (Fulham; English Premier League) - Not in 18, DNP in 2-1 win at Southampton (April 26)
-- Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; MLS) - 90 minutes in 2-1 win vs. Sporting Kansas City (April 26)
-- James Sands (St. Pauli; Bundesliga) - Injured, DNP in 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen (April 27)
-- Josh Sargent (Norwich City; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 3-1 loss at Millwall (April 26); 90 minutes in 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough (April 21)
-- Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach; Bundesliga) - 90 minutes in 4-3 loss at Holstein Kiel (April 26)
-- Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; MLS) - 90 minutes in 2-1 win vs. San Jose Earthquakes (April 26)
-- Gaga Slonina (Chelsea U-21; English Premier League 2) - Not in 18, DNP in 4-0 win vs. Wolves U-21 (April 26)
-- Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; MLS) - Not in 18, DNP, SUSPENDED, in 1-1 draw vs. Seattle Sounders (April 26)
-- Tanner Tessmann (Lyon; French Ligue 1) – 24 minutes as a substitute in 4-1 win vs. Rennes (April 26)
-- Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - 21 minutes as a substitute in 3-1 win at Twente (April 24)
-- Timmy Tillman (Los Angeles FC; MLS) - 90 minutes in 2-2 draw vs. St. Louis CITY (April 27)
-- John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel; Bundesliga) - 40 minutes, ASSIST, in 4-3 win vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (April 26)
-- Auston Trusty (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) -In 18, DNP in 5-0 win at Dundee United (April 26)
-- Matt Turner (Crystal Palace; English Premier League) - In 18, DNP in 3-0 win vs. Aston Villa in FA Cup (April 26); Not in 18, DNP in 2-2 draw vs. Arsenal (April 23)
-- Brandon Vazquez (Austin FC; MLS) - Injured, DNP in 2-0 loss at Houston Dynamo (April 26)
-- Tim Weah (Juventus; Italy Serie A) - 33 minutes as a substitute in 2-0 win vs. Monza (April 27); 4 minutes as a substitute in 1-0 loss at Parma (April 23)
-- Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps; MLS) - In 18, DNP in 3-1 win at Minnesota United (April 27); 90 minutes, GOAL, in 2-0 win vs. Inter Miami in Concacaf Champions Cup (April 24)
-- Caleb Wiley (Watford; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 2-1 loss at Blackburn Rovers (April 26)
-- Haji Wright (Coventry City; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss at Luton Town (April 26); 90 minutes, GOAL, in 3-1 loss at Plymouth Argyle (April 21)
-- DeAndre Yedlin (FC Cincinnati; MLS) - 90 minutes in 2-1 win vs. Sporting Kansas City (April 26)
- Alejandro Zendejas (Club America; Liga MX) - No games
- Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; MLS) - Injured, DNP in 7-2 win vs. Chicago Fire (April 26)
