Sergi Solans is a must-start player

After seven games in 2026, Sergi Solans has scored five goals, and tonight, he had a really lovely assist, too. He should likely have even had a hat trick today, with a one-on-one chance going begging, as well as other chances he might have scored.

We talked about him on Off the Crossbar recently, and I wondered how many goals it would take before he becomes an automatic starter for Pablo Mastroeni’s side. After tonight, he’s scored more goals for RSL this season than any other player, save Diego Luna, did in 2025. I think Solans has played himself into a must-start position. He’s playing quick, incisive soccer, and he’s defending reasonably well. He’s a player that can score with his head consistently, which RSL has missed since Damir Kreilach’s exit. It gives the team another avenue of attack they’ve needed, and it hasn’t come at the cost of other attacking strategies. Solans’ assist for Guilavogui’s first MLS goal was especially nice, as he draws defenders out with some neat dribbling.

RSL still can’t defend

Well, RSL is still yet to to find a shutout, and there is part of me that’s worried about it — but there’s another more joyful part of me that’s finally not concerned about it. After all, RSL is scoring an average of two goals per game, and they don’t feel fluky. It instead feels like a team that loves to score goals, loves to go forward, and prioritizes it.

Still, I’ve got a nagging feeling that RSL has come up against some bad teams lately, and their good form might disappear once teams figure out how to defend. Maybe this is the new normal in MLS, and maybe somebody at the top is pushing for teams not playing defensively. I dunno.

In its last few matches, RSL has come up against…

• A San Diego side struck with injuries that now hasn’t won a game in five (although drawing RSL was also one of those games)

• Sporting Kansas City, who are historically bad

• An Austin FC side that has just one win from 8

• An Atlanta United side that’s even worse than Austin

I’m not saying these are data that RSL is over-performing or only performing against bad teams, but looking at the evidence does give me a little pause. There's something about the way RSL sets up that is making it difficult to keep a clean sheet;.

Diego Luna

Two goal, three assists (well, one in non-MLS terms — still!) in 218 minutes? He’s starting extremely well, and it’s refreshing to see that he’s doing it with a team that’s producing. He’s not taking the team on his back — he’s not the lone bright spot in a struggling team.

This has been why I’ve wondered how Morgan Guilavogui and Diego Luna would work together, because Guilavogui is very much taking up positions like Luna did last year. It’s worked extremely well, actually, and they seem to fit together nicely.

One more thing

• How did DeAndre Yedlin fare at right back? I think he did a reasonable job, but it’s hard to look past some structural issues in RSL’s defensive outlay. He was a welcome addition from an attacking perspective,