Dean Smith is looking for his Charlotte FC side to build upon their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when they host the LA Galaxy this weekend.
Charlotte made it three wins in a row as they narrowly beat the Fire during midweek thanks to Ashley Westwood's 60th-minute winner.
The three-match win streak has taken Charlotte all the way up to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and though Smith was not enthralled by the manner of the victory over Chicago, he appreciated his side's mindset.
"I saw the mentality, but I didn’t see a game of football that I liked. It certainly won’t make the highlight reel," Smith told reporters.
"It wasn't a thriller of any sort. It was an untidy game from both teams but we showed real good mentality to limit them to few chances, and we took the one we had from a set piece."
The Galaxy, meanwhile, drew 2-2 at Minnesota United on Wednesday, leaving them fifth in the Western Conference and four points off leaders Real Salt Lake.
Minnesota equalised with just 10 minutes to play, but Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney still thought it was a solid point for his side.
"We've got to try to take this point and start to heal and start to recover and move on to the next one," Vanney said.
"[It is a] good, hard-earned point at the end of the day even though there was a chance for us to get three there at the tail end."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Westwood scored the lone goal in Charlotte’s win over Chicago on Wednesday at the hour mark. Nine of Charlotte's 11 goals since March 23 have been scored after half-time, and Westwood will be hoping to spur his side on once more this Saturday by finding the net again.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig assisted both of the Galaxy's goals against Minnesota on Wednesday after also recording assists on both Galaxy goals on Saturday against Salt Lake. Puig is the first Galaxy player to record multiple assists in consecutive matches since Romain Alessandrini in 2018, and he will hope to make it three such games in a row this weekend.
MATCH PREDICTION – CHARLOTTE WIN
Charlotte and the Galaxy have each recorded a 1-0 away win against the other. Both goals were scored after the 70th minute.
The Galaxy have drawn each of their last three matches with the last two ending 2-2. In their last 22 matches, the Galaxy have scored two or more goals 15 times and allowed two or more goals 17 times.
Charlotte have won three straight matches, keeping clean sheets in all three. This is the first time Charlotte have kept clean sheets in three straight matches in club history, and with home advantage this weekend, they look the favourites to pick up the three points on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte: 47.3%
Galaxy: 25.8%
Draw: 26.9%
Jack Grealish believes he should have been in England's Euro 2024 squad
Jack Grealish thinks that he should have been part of England's Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish was initially called up for the Three Lions' 33-man training squad, but was one of seven players who did not make the final squad for Germany.
England reached the final, losing 2-1 to Spain.
The 29-year-old has been back in the fold under interim manager Lee Carsley, and impressed in September's Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
"I will be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it," Grealish told BBC Radio 5 Live of Gareth Southgate's decision not to include him among the final 26 players.
"You need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself [as] quite an experienced player now.
"I have won a lot of stuff now so, you asked me should I have gone, yes, I still think I should have, but obviously it wasn't meant to be."
Grealish started just 10 league matches for Manchester City in the 2023-24 season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
While he admitted that he "didn’t have the best season" domestically, he was left "devastated" by his omission and said that missing out on Euro 2024 was "probably the most difficult period of my life".
Grealish scored in England's 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin last month, and will be hoping for more of the same against Greece and Finland in the coming week.
Asked if he felt he had a point to prove, Grealish made it clear that he wanted to show people what England were missing at Euro 2024.
"Of course, I wanted to come here and train well and play well," he said.
"I thank Lee Carsley for giving me that chance and having that trust in me.
"It obviously really meant a lot. I think throughout my career when I have played under managers who have shown trust in me and communicated with me the way he has the last two camps, it really helps me.
"It makes me feel that the manager really does rate me and I can't speak highly enough of him since I have been here."
Chelsea edge Real Madrid in Women's Champions League thriller
Chelsea kicked off their 2024-25 Women's Champions League campaign with a 3-2 victory at home to Real Madrid in Group B.
The victory puts the Blues in second in their group after one match, while it was a perfect start for manager Sonia Bompastor, who was taking charge of her first Champions League game for the club.
Bompastor led Lyon to the Champions League final in two of the last three seasons, winning it in 2021-22. She will be hoping to do the same in west London this season and things got off to the perfect start for her and Chelsea in this game.
Sjoeke Nusken's second-minute goal put the home side ahead - unsurprisingly, that is the quickest goal in the Champions League this season.
In miserable weather at Stamford Bridge, things got even better for the hosts after they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Nusken. Guro Reiten made it 2-0 from the spot in the 28th minute, with Madrid goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez unable to get a hand to it despite diving the right way.
But Madrid were back in it 11 minutes later, with Alba Redondo finishing tidily through Zecira Musovic's legs - her second Champions League goal in as many matches.
They were unable to make the most of that lifeline, with Chelsea restoring their two-goal advantage soon after the break. Mayra Ramirez scored her first goal of the season, heading in Lauren James' cross seven minutes after the restart.
The drama was not finished though. Substitute Linda Caicedo once again cut the deficit for the visitors, making it a nervy final seven minutes for Chelsea, but the home side held on to claim a valuable three points.
Chelsea have now lost just one of their last 19 group stage matches (W13 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 13 (W10 D3); the only other team to have participated in every group stage since they were introduced in 2021 and lost just once is Barcelona (W16 D1).
Elsewhere in Group B, Celtic were beaten 2-0 by FC Twente in their opener, which marked their first-ever game in the Champions League.
Kayleigh van Dooren netted twice for the Dutch side, although the Scottish champions held out until the 44th minute before conceding.
In truth, they were second-best with the visitors dominating possession, having over 70% of the ball, and taking double the shots on target of their hosts (six to three). Twente got a second five minutes from time and go top of the group.
Palmer named England's Men's Player of the Year
Cole Palmer has been named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24.
Chelsea star Palmer came off the bench to score in the Euro 2024 final, although England ultimately lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.
Palmer has only nine caps to his name, and just two starts for the Three Lions, but he finished ahead of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the public vote.
The 22-year-old made his debut in a 2-0 win over Malta in November of last year, and has scored two international goals, including that strike against Spain in July.
Palmer is the first Chelsea player to scoop the award since Ashley Cole in 2010.
Since he joined Chelsea from Manchester City last season, Palmer has directly contributed to 44 league goals (28 goals, 16 assists).
Of players to feature in Europe's top five leagues, his England team-mate Harry Kane has provided more goal contributions (53 - 41 goals, 12 assists) in that time.
Earlier this season, Palmer became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match when he scored all of Chelsea's goals in a 4-2 win over Brighton.
Palmer is expected to feature when England take on Greece in the Nations League on Thursday.
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