Gonzalo Higuain netted a double to keep Inter Miami's playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew that ended their three-game losing streak on Tuesday.
In a game halted at half-time for a lengthy period due to a weather delay, Higuain struck either side of the break to collect three points that puts Inter up to eighth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the seventh-placed Crew.
The 34-year-old former Real Madrid and Juventus forward opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a first-time finish on a fast break after Ariel Lassiter's pass.
Cucho Hernandez equalised for Columbus with a bouncing header in the 41st minute from Steven Moreira's cross.
The half-time delayed lasted more than two hours, with the second half commencing at 11:35pm local time, with Higuain having a good chance saved by Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room in the 54th minute.
The Argentine got the winner for Phil Neville's side in the 82nd minute with an angled left-foot finish beating Room at his near post from Alejandro Pozuelo's through-ball.
Montreal remained second in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 victory over Chicago Fire, for whom Xherdan Shaqiri netted a brace from the spot.
Kei Kamara scored a double, opening up a 2-0 lead within half an hour for Montreal, setting up the game-deciding goal for Zachary Brault-Guillard too.
New England's playoff hopes took another hit with a poor 3-1 loss away to struggling Houston Dynamo with Fabrice Picault netting a pair for the winners.
Carlos Vela was on the scoresheet as Western Conference leaders LAFC drew 1-1 at Minnesota United, while Sporting KC eased past DC United 3-0.
Icing on the cake – Al Nassr celebrate Ronaldo's record-setting Portugal cap
Al Nassr celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking Portugal appearance in style.
Given his impeccable commitment to athleticism, Ronaldo might not have dug into the cake he was presented with on Friday.
Al Nassr were celebrating the 38-year-old becoming the most-capped men's player of all time.
Ronaldo made his 197th appearance for Portugal on March 23, scoring twice in a 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein.
Along with marking that achievement, Al Nassr also celebrated Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 25th birthday.
"Today, we celebrate a record and birthday," the club tweeted. "The record of most capped player in international football [and] the birthday of a talented Saudi player."
Philadelphia Union v Sporting Kansas City: Preview and prediction
Jim Curtin has promised supporters they will see the Philadelphia Union of old in Saturday's showdown with Sporting Kansas City at Subaru Park.
The Union finished top of the Eastern Conference last season en route to losing the MLS Cup final to Los Angeles FC, but they have made a sluggish start to the 2023 campaign.
Philly have lost three of their opening five matches, including back-to-back defeats against a struggling CF Montreal side and Orlando City in their past two outings.
But with winless Sporting up next this weekend, Curtin is hoping to see a response from his players.
"I think the group will have a good response against Kansas City," Curtin said ahead of Union's first home match against Sporting since the MLS is Back quarter-finals in 2020.
"Win, lose or draw we want to put on a good display to our fans and show that we are still a very good team that had a bad outing last game.
"We have players returning and have had a couple of days with them, so we should be pretty much full strength going into the Kansas match."
Sporting have themselves made a slower-than-expected start to the season, having taken just two points from their first five games.
Like Philadelphia, they enter the game on the back of successive defeats, but experienced head coach Peter Vermes knows how quickly things can change.
"It's easy to think negative things, saying what players can't do, but it's amazing how fast a team can turn that, then you ask 'well how did they do that?'," he said.
"A lot of it is to do with plugging away, keep fighting. I've said it before: we've got a good group here and we'll get there."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Andre Blake
Philadelphia's defeats to Montreal and Orlando came in the absence of Blake, whom Curtin this week described as "the best goalkeeper that our league has".
Joe Bendik conceded five goals across those two matches, but Curtin is hopeful Blake will be back between the sticks on Saturday.
Sporting Kansas City – Erik Thommy
Two goals scored in five games is a hugely underwhelming return for Sporting, even more so when you consider they have had 76 shots this term – only Philadelphia have had as many.
Thommy has been heavily involved in an attacking sense, but he has yet to score this campaign and that quite simply has to change if Sporting are to turn things around.
MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA WIN
Philadelphia have clearly lacked the consistency of last season so far in 2023, having lost two MLS games in a row for the first time since September 2021.
The defeat to Orlando last weekend brought an end to the Union's 13-match winning streak on home soil, which was the second-longest run of any side in league history.
But Sporting have really struggled so far, with this only the second time they have gone winless in their first five games, and this seems a good chance for Philly to kick-start their season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union - 62.1 per cent
Sporting KC - 14.8 per cent
Draw - 23.1 per cent
Shakhtar complain to European Commission amid €40m FIFA contract dispute
Shakhtar Donetsk have filed a complaint against FIFA to the European Commission, claiming a ruling allowing their foreign players to suspend their contracts has cost them €40million.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, FIFA permitted foreign players based in the country to suspend their contracts until June 2023, allowing them to seal short-term moves elsewhere.
Claiming those measures will likely be extended through to June 2024, Shakhtar – who have previously seen an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed – pledged to continue to fight the ruling.
A statement from the club's chief executive Serhiy Palkin said: "Action has been taken to file this complaint to the European Commission, given the importance of Shakhtar undertaking transfer market trading with players within the European Union.
"Therefore, it is entirely legitimate and fair to bring this complaint before the EU Commission since FIFA's actions violate EU competition law.
"The over-reaching measures applied by FIFA led to the massive loss of player transfer income and a depletion of essential club revenues amounting to approximately €40million.
"We expect the European Commission to understand and appreciate the extreme financial pressures being placed on our club due to FIFA's actions – at a time when our nation is being ravaged by an illegal war."
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