New York Red Bulls captain Sean Nealis has vowed the team will learn from last week's defeat to the New England Revolution, when they were hamstrung by several absences.

The Red Bulls were beaten 1-0 in Foxborough following a run of four wins in five matches, with Lewis Morgan and Emil Forsberg among the big names missing due to international duty.

The result left them fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, six points adrift of Supporters' Shield frontrunners Inter Miami.

"We separated ourselves from the bottom half of the group and now we're kind of just lying there in the middle," centre-back Nealis said as he reflected on New York's last result.

"We'll learn from this. We'll get better from it. This is a young group out there. 

"A lot got their first minutes of the season and I think we'll all learn how to get better and how to understand these environments and then get over the hump."

Nashville, meanwhile, sit ninth in the East, 10 points adrift of the Red Bulls. 

They have taken four points from four games (one win, two draws, one defeat) since Rumba Munthali took over as interim head coach following the firing of Gary Smith.

They were also beaten by the Revs on their last MLS outing before the international break, and Munthali believes keeping players fresh will be key if they are to improve.   

"It's a quick turnaround, and we have a lot of confidence in the group," Munthali said. 

"We try to balance that, and we want to make sure guys are available for the whole season, not just game to game.

"It's about managing and making sure we're not straining guys and breaking them."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Elias Manoel

Having seen the likes of Morgan and Forsberg go on international duty, the Red Bulls could be left to rely on Manoel.

He has three goals and three assists in MLS play this term, despite only making eight starts. Only Morgan (nine) and Forsberg (six) have outscored him for New York.

Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar 

Mukhtar scored Nashville's only goal in their defeat to New England on June 1 from the penalty spot. 

He has been directly involved in each of Nashville's last four MLS goals (two goals, two assists, with the last Nashville goal without a Mukhtar involvement coming on May 15.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

Nashville ended a seven-game run without an away victory by beating FC Cincinnati 2-0 on May 29, just their second win in their last 16 away league matches. 

However, they may struggle on Saturday against a team unbeaten in 10 straight home games (seven wins, three draws), dating back to last year's playoffs.

The Red Bulls are also unbeaten in their last five meetings with Nashville, winning two and drawing three while only conceding once in that sequence. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 52%

Nashville SC – 23.5%

Draw – 24.5% 

Caleb Porter wants to use New England Revolution's win last weekend as a springboard to turn their season around as they prepare to face the New York Red Bulls.

The Revs had won just one of their previous seven matches in the MLS before travelling to Nashville SC and held out for a much-needed 2-1 victory.

They remain bottom of the Eastern Conference, and Porter's main aim is to find some consistency, but admits that might be hard with players leaving to go on international duty.

"We want to keep continuity as much as we can because we're finally getting some continuity in our understanding," Porter said, as quoted in the Blazing Musket substack.

"That's going to breed more and more consistency in our play. So, we'll keep continuity as much as we can, but we have a couple of ideas on what we're going to do."

"It will be our execution against their execution. I don't think there will be a tonne of mysteries about what they're looking to do. It's going to come down to who executes better," he added in a press conference.

Meanwhile, New York Red Bulls sit fourth in the table having won back-to-back home games, but have struggled on the road of late, something Sandro Schwarz is keen to change.

"We need our home mentality and our whole energy for Saturday. We didn't change the first days in our week or our preparation," Schwarz said.

"Even with all the changes as players go off internationally, we haven't let it affect us. It's an opportunity for us to get the next three points, it's our chance, we have to be focused and bring the intensity on Saturday."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England – Carles Gil

Gil's first-half goal in Saturday's win at Nashville was his sixth goal from outside the box in regular-season play since the beginning of last season. Only Thiago Almada (seven) has scored more goals from outside the box than him in that time.

New York RB – John Tolkin

Tolkin scored his third career direct free-kick goal for the Red Bulls (incl. playoffs) in the win over Orlando on Saturday, more than any other player for the side since the start of the 2010 season.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

New England have lost only three of their last 33 home MLS matches against the Red Bulls (W21 D9, incl. playoffs) dating back to September 2002, including winning eight of the last 11 (D1 L2).

However, the Revolution have lost their last three home matches, their first such losing streak since June-July 2014. The Revs have only one longer losing streak (excluding breakaway shootouts) in all competitions in club history, losing five straight in July-September 1999.

Meanwhile, New York's 1-0 win over Orlando on Saturday took them to 29 points from 16 matches this season (W8 D5 L3). The Red Bulls could equal the club record of 32 points in the first half of a season with a win over the Revs, reaching that total in the Supporters' Shield-winning 2018 campaign.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England – 29.5%

Draw – 24.7%

New York RB – 45.7%

New York Red Bulls forward Lewis Morgan has been added to Scotland's preliminary squad for Euro 2024 following the withdrawals of Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak.

Steve Clarke lost Queens Park Rangers striker Dykes to a knee injury in training last week, and Liverpool winger Ben Doak also withdrew from the squad on Tuesday, having not featured for his club since sustaining a knee problem last December.

Bristol City's Tommy Conway was added to Scotland's party upon Doak's withdrawal, and he has now been joined by Morgan, who has spent the last two years with the Red Bulls.

Morgan has scored nine goals in 16 league appearances in 2024, with Sandro Schwarz's Red Bulls sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference, six points behind leaders Inter Miami. He has previously won two caps for Scotland, with both outings coming under Alex McLeish in 2018.

Morgan's nine league goals this year have come from 46 shots amounting to 6.56 expected goals (xG). His big chance conversion rate of 63.6 per cent has only been bettered by 13 players in MLS this term and is identical to the figure posted by Lionel Messi.

He scored a hat-trick as the Red Bulls thrashed Miami 4-0 in March, when Messi was unavailable.

Scotland kick off Euro 2024 versus Germany in eight days' time, with fixtures against Switzerland and Hungary also on the agenda for Clarke's team in Group A.

Emil Forsberg has praised the New York Red Bulls' confident attacking threat ahead of their game against Orlando City on Saturday.

The Red Bulls currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, only behind city rivals New York City FC due to having one less win than them this season.

They bounced back in style from their derby defeat to NYCFC in midweek, beating Charlotte FC 3-1 with an impressive second-half performance.

Forsberg was full of praise for the way his team play, particularly in the final third.

"When we play with tempo, it's hard to get us," he said. "And I think that's the most important thing - to play with confidence.

"When we are straightforward, that's key for us. When we win the ball, we put those hard passes forward and go with everybody."

Orlando City, meanwhile, sit eight points below them in 11th after winning just one of their last four matches.

While they only drew with Chicago Fire on Wednesday, they did end a run of three games without hitting the back of the net.

Oscar Pareja reiterated the Lions’s need to improve if they want to reach the final series.

He said: "It's important that we can keep our minds calm and see the things that we need to get better. We take [the draw against Chicago Fire] and look to improve against New York."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Emil Forsberg

Forsberg scored goals one minute and 45 seconds apart in the Red Bulls' win on Wednesday. It was the fastest two goals by a Red Bulls player since Daniel Royer scored one minute and 43 seconds apart against Seattle Sounders in July 2017.

Orlando City – Facundo Torres

Torres has scored four goals against the Red Bulls in regular-season play, tied for his most against any opponent along with Chicago Fire, whom he scored against on Wednesday.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

The Red Bulls have not lost any of their last nine MLS home matches (W6 D3, incl. playoffs) dating back to last October. New York has not had a longer home unbeaten run in MLS play (incl. playoffs) since a 14-game streak in April-October 2016.

However, Orlando are unbeaten in five matches against the Red Bulls in all competitions (W4 D1) after having never gone more than two in a row without a loss against New York before.

Orlando have lost only six of their 24 regular-season away matches since the start of last season, including going unbeaten in five straight on the road. Only FC Cincinnati (four) have fewer road losses since the start of last season than the Lions (tied with Real Salt Lake).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 51.3%

Draw – 24.7%

Orlando City – 23.9%

Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith says his team will continue to work on their lack of goal threat as they prepare to travel to New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.

Charlotte sit seventh in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind the Red Bulls after going unbeaten in their last five matches.

However, their last two outings have finished 0-0 against LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union as they managed just six shots on target combined in those games.

Asked how he approaches a situation like that, Smith said: "We talk openly, review all the games and the fact is that we probably haven't worked the goalkeeper enough.

"We've spoke about that and what we feel we can do to improve that. We've had chances, and we probably haven't done as well as we could do with those, so that's something we'll continue to work on

"It's going to be a tough game [against the Red Bulls] because they're a tough team."

The Red Bulls are coming off a 10-day break after their derby defeat to New York City FC on May 19, and sit fifth in the table.

Head coach Sandro Schwarz said: "The performance [against NYCFC] wasn't the best, and we weren't able to create chances to score and to get three points.

"We want more, and we have to improve a lot, but this is normal. We need time, but the mentality, the behaviour, they adapt very quick and very well.

"We were disappointed to lose the derby game, but that happens. Heads up, we have to come back stronger and take the next opportunity."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Cameron Harper

Harper scored New York's lone goal in their last match, his third straight match with a goal. He is the first Red Bulls player to score in three straight regular-season matches since Patryk Klimala in 2021, and the last Red Bulls player to score in four straight league games was Bradley Wright-Phillips in July-August 2017.

Charlotte – Kristijan Kahlina

Charlotte have kept clean sheets in five consecutive regular-season matches, the only team to do so in MLS this season. The only team since 2008 to keep a clean sheet in six straight games within a single regular season was New York City FC in May 2022, and Kahlina will be looking to equal that record.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

The Red Bulls have lost only one of their six all-time meetings with Charlotte in all competitions, a 2-0 road defeat in June 2022. New York have won three of their four home matches against Charlotte (D1), scoring multiple goals in each match, including a 5-2 win in last year's playoffs.

The Red Bulls are unbeaten in eight straight home matches dating back to last season (W5 D3, incl. playoffs). New York have not had a longer home unbeaten run in MLS play since a nine-match run from August 2018 to March 2019.

Meanwhile, Charlotte won 1-0 at Chicago in their last away match after a seven-match winless run on the road in all competitions. Charlotte have never recorded back-to-back away wins in all competitions before.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 53%

Draw – 23.9%

Charlotte – 23.1%

Sandro Schwarz has called on the New York Red Bulls to make it a "perfect" week when they visit rivals New York City for a meeting between two of the form teams in MLS.

The Red Bulls sit third in the Eastern Conference, five points behind leaders Inter Miami with a game in hand, after back-to-back wins over the New England Revolution (4-2) and D.C. United (4-1).

Just three points further back are NYCFC, who have taken 15 points from the last 18 available to soar up the standings.

Schwarz knows a derby victory would make this week hugely significant for the Red Bulls, saying: "It's a short week and we need all our players, not only 11, 12 or 13.

"On Saturday, we know it's an important game for our club and we want to have this perfect week. We have six points already this week and we want to create that. It's step by step." 

NYCFC boss Nick Cushing, meanwhile, is pleased to see his side looking more dangerous in transition after successive victories over Toronto FC (3-2) and the Philadelphia Union (2-1).

"I think my aim at the start of the season was to have us create goal chances in every phase of play," Cushing said.

"We had good moments last year but maybe weren't great in low moments, or when counter-pressing.

"I'm really pleased that we are creating from transition moments, but if we have more possession you have control and can take the air out of games."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

New York City – Santiago Rodriguez 

Rodriguez assisted New York City's opening goal in their midweek win over Philadelphia. 

NYCFC have a record of five wins, one draw and one defeat in the seven matches in which Rodriguez has contributed to a goal this season, compared to one win, one draw and four losses when he has not.

New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan

Morgan, Elias Manoel and Cameron Harper have each scored in the Red Bulls' last two matches. 

The last time two Red Bulls players scored in three straight matches was between March and April 2012, when Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry each scored in the same three consecutive games.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK CITY WIN

The Red Bulls won each of their first two road games against New York City, scoring 10 goals in the process. 

However, the Red Bulls have since won on just one of their last nine visits to Yankee Stadium (two draws, six defeats), totalling just seven goals in those games.

NYCFC have won five of their last six matches (one defeat) after starting the campaign with just one victory in seven. With home advantage on their side, they may just be slight favourites for what should be an entertaining affair.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York City – 45.2%

New York Red Bulls – 25.9%

Draw – 28.9% 

D.C. United coach Troy Lesesne feels fortunate to work with Christian Benteke, who is battling the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi for the MLS Golden Boot after a flying start to 2024.

Benteke has been in incredible form this year, scoring 11 goals in 10 MLS appearances to join Suarez and Cristian Arango at the top of the scoring charts, with Messi one behind that trio.

The former Liverpool and Aston Villa man scored a hat-trick of headers last time out, helping D.C. recover from behind for a 3-2 win over Atlanta United. 

With Lesesne's former employers the New York Red Bulls visiting Audi Field on Wednesday, the D.C. boss will be hoping for more of the same.   

"He's incredible," Lesesne said of Benteke. "He's got two hat-tricks this year, he's on 11 goals now and he's just such an incredible presence in our team, even beyond scoring.

"He deserves to be talked about first. He is a handful, and he allows other players to come into the match and have dangerous opportunities themselves. I'm very lucky to work with him."

Benteke's form has helped put D.C. in the playoff picture early on this campaign, but the Red Bulls are three points clear of them, sitting third in the Eastern Conference.

They also came out on top in a thriller last week, with two late goals helping them overcome the New England Revolution 4-2.

One of their goalscorers, Elias Manoel, says the Red Bulls' ability to pick up results when not at their best will take them far this term.

"It was really important to keep the consistency because even though we had some unfavourable results, in some games we didn't lose as well," Manoel said.

"This consistency is going to be really good at the end of the competition."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

D.C. United – Christian Benteke

Against Atlanta last week, Benteke became just the second player since 2010 to score three headed goals in a single MLS game, alongside the Five Stripes' Juan Purata in 2022 (versus Toronto FC).

New York Red Bulls – Elias Manoel 

Manoel recorded both a goal and an assist as a substitute in New York's win over the Revolution last week. 

He joined Cameron Harper and Bradley Wright-Phillips as the only Red Bulls players over the last 10 seasons to come off the bench and record both a goal and assist. Will he be rewarded with a start?

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

This will be the 107th meeting between D.C. and the Red Bulls in all competitions – it is the most-played match between two MLS teams. The Red Bulls, winners of the last three meetings, have never won four straight against D.C.

D.C. have gone unbeaten through their last three games, winning two and drawing one, while scoring multiple goals in each match. An entertaining draw could be on the cards here… 

The Red Bulls are coming off a 4-2 win over New England in which they only had 33.1 per cent of possession. They have had four games with less than a third of possession and four or more goals in the last three seasons, more than every other MLS team combined.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

D.C. United – 39.1%
New York Red Bulls – 32%
Draw – 28.9% 

New England Revolution head coach Caleb Porter wants his team to focus on their own game as they prepare to face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

The Revs sit bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with just seven points, though they ended a three-match losing run with a narrow 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls sit in fourth, though they are winless in their last four outings after last week's 6-2 thrashing at the hands of a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami.

Asked how he would prepare to face a side coming off the back of such a heavy defeat, Porter turned the focus back to his own team, saying: "I think we have to be more focused on our mentality.

"That was, last week, a point of emphasis: ‘Let’s work on our execution.’ In the game of football, if you do what you want to do, that's half the equation or more, and I thought we did that in the latter stages of the first half and the entire second half, and I think that was a big reason we won the game."

Youngster Esmir Bajraktarevic echoed his coach’s thoughts, noting how the Revs have caused some of their own problems this season.

He said: "I think the main thing is just playing our game. I think when you look back at most of our games, it's kind of us beating ourselves rather than the other way around.

"So, it's kind of just making sure that we're doing the best that we can, and the results will come."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Dante Vanzeir

Vanzeir recorded his eighth goal contribution of the season with the opening goal against Inter Miami on Saturday, the joint-most for the team this season with Lewis Morgan.

Only one player, Fabio in 2021, has recorded eight or more goal involvements in the Red Bulls’ first 11 matches of a season between 2019 and 2023.

New England Revolution – Tomas Chancalay

Chancalay scored the lone goal in New England’s win over Chicago Fire last Saturday. Since his debut last April, he has scored more MLS goals than any other Revs player, netting eight.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

The Red Bulls have lost only one of their last 19 regular-season home matches against New England (12 wins, six draws) dating back to September 2007 – a 3-2 defeat in July 2021 – scoring at least once in all 19 games.

Indeed, the Red Bulls are unbeaten in seven straight home matches in all competitions (four wins, three draws) including last season’s playoffs. New York, who have two wins and two draws on their own turf this year, haven’t started a season unbeaten in their first five home games since 2017.

However, New England ended a 17-match away winless streak in MLS play (incl. playoffs) with a 1-0 win over Chicago Fire on Saturday. The Revs have only won consecutive games on the road once since the start of the 2022 season, doing so in May-June 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 44.4%

Draw – 28.7%

New England Revolution – 26.9%

Lionel Messi had a hand in all six goals while Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as Inter Miami overcame the New York Red Bulls 6-2 at Chase Stadium.

The Eastern Conference leaders were on a three-match winning streak in MLS, but fell behind to Dante Vanzeir's opener in the 30th minute.

However, the hosts turned the match on its head after the break, with Messi assisting a brace for half-time substitute Matias Rojas either side of getting on the scoresheet himself.

Suarez then took centre stage with a hat-trick inside 13 minutes - all assisted by his former Barcelona team-mate - while Emil Forsberg's stoppage-time penalty was a mere consolation for the visitors, who are now without a win in four.

Data debrief

Messi broke two more MLS records following yet another inspirational display for the Herons.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's six goal contributions and five assists were both the most recorded by a player in a single game.

Leonardo Campana does not concern himself with competing with team-mate Lionel Messi when it comes to Inter Miami records.

Campana has netted 25 goals during his time with Miami, while Messi – who joined the club midway through 2023 after leaving Paris Saint-Germain – has scored 22 times.

Only Gonzalo Higuain (29), has scored more goals than Campana and Messi for the Herons in the club’s short history.

Campana, though, shrugged off the suggestion that he is in competition with Messi to become Miami’s record goalscorer.

"No, I don't really pay it much attention,” he said.

“I just try to enjoy it when it's my turn to play. Obviously, if I could manage it, it would be incredible, but we all know that Leo [Messi] is coming up behind me very quickly, so let's see what happens."

Asked if Messi will catch up with his own tally, Campana played the question with a straight bat, replying: "As I said, Leo is coming up fast. So, obviously, it makes me happy for him, for everything he creates for the team. But my time will come.

"As I always say, having Leo [Messi] on the pitch is a positive. It's good, when he's in the national team, we feel his presence, and when he's here with us, we feel him and when he's not, we feel that too. We know what he creates on the pitch and, obviously, when he's not there we always try our best to do a good job. But as I say, Leo is Leo and always when he's not there, it's different."

Next up for Miami – the Western Conference leaders – and Messi are the New York Red Bulls, who are four points behind the Herons in the standings.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Inter Miami – Lionel Messi

Messi has contributed to at least one goal in 10 consecutive club matches in all competitions for the seventh time in his career and the first since 2018 (12 straight). Messi has scored in six straight league matches for the first time since January-February 2021.

New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan

Morgan has scored seven goals this season, including one on Saturday and three against Miami in March. Last season, Omir Fernandez and Elias Manoel led the Red Bulls with six total goals all season.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

While the Opta predictor is forecasting a draw, there has never actually been a draw between these two teams, with the Red Bulls recording six wins to Miami’s three, including a 4-0 victory in New York in March. Indeed, the Red Bulls have won three of their four away games against the Herons.

Miami have scored 78 goals in 36 matches in all competitions since Messi made his debut for the club last July, 14 more than any other MLS team in that time. Saturday’s 4-1 win over the New England Red Bulls was the 15th time Miami has scored at least three goals in a match in that time.

The Red Bulls are unbeaten in six straight regular-season matches (W2 D4), though the last three matches have all ended in draws. New York have had only one longer unbeaten run in league play since 2017, an eight-match stretch in September-October 2021.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Inter Miami – 39.7%

New York Red Bulls – 31.4%

Draw – 28.9%

Mikael Uhre netted a hat-trick as Philadelphia Union snapped their five-game MLS winless run with a 4-2 victory over Toronto on Saturday.

Union took an early lead after Lukas MacNaughton's 16th-minute own goal before Denmark international Uhre bagged a double before half-time.

Uhre added a third in the 56th minute to round out his hat-trick, tapping in Julian Carranza's low ball across goal and put the contest to bed.

Toronto pulled one back through Italy international Lorenzo Insigne in the 66th minute, before Richie Laryea's stoppage-time consolation.

New England reinforced their grip on top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 home win over Sporting KC, who are last overall.

Giacomo Vrioni netted a first-half brace for the Revs, but Sporting pulled one back in the 50th minute from Johnny Russell, only to be reduced to 10 men when Andreu Fontas was sent off 10 minutes later.

The Revs are ahead of second-placed Cincinnati on goal difference, with Cincy winning 2-1 over Portland Timbers after strikes from Sergio Santos and Brandon Vasquez.

New York City moved up to fourth in the East with a 3-1 home win over Dallas sparked by Santiago Rodriguez's double.

Western Conference leaders St Louis City were denied victory after Michael Barrios' 90th-minute equaliser as they drew 1-1 at Colorado Rapids.

St Louis remain top in the West but only on goal difference from Seattle Sounders who condemned Minnesota United to three straight losses with a 1-0 victory.

Denis Bouanga netted his seventh goal of the MLS season as LAFC drew 1-1 at Nashville, while LA Galaxy snapped their winless start to the campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Austin.

Inter Miami's losing run extended to six in a row, compounding the pressure on boss Phil Neville, as they went down 1-0 at Houston Dynamo.

Real Salt Lake beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-1, Charlotte defeated Columbus Crew 1-0, struggling Montreal edged New York Red Bulls 2-0 and Christian Benteke scored as DC United won 3-1 at Orlando City.

St Louis City snapped their two-game losing skid with a statement win where they piled on five goals within an hour in a 5-1 hammering over Eastern Conference-leading Cincinnati on Saturday.

The MLS expansion side had suffered back-to-back losses after creating league history by winning their first five games but responded at CityPark.

Jared Stroud fired in a third-minute opener from a set-piece before Eduard Lowen lashed home a volley in the 39th minute.

Kyle Hiebert glanced in Stroud's cross in first-half stoppage-time and St Louis did not relent after the break, with Nicholas Gioacchini adding another from Rasmus Alm's classy touch in the 53rd minute.

It was five in the 57th minute when Alm's rifled strike from outside the box hit the post and deflected in off goalkeeper Roman Celentano.

Sergio Santos grabbed a consolation for Cincy, who were unbeaten coming into this encounter.

Dairon Asprilla netted an early goal of the year contender with an acrobatic bicycle kick to equalise for Portland Timbers before they raced away with a 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders.

Asprilla brilliantly netted in the 71st minute before Portland added a further three goals in the final 20 minutes, meaning Seattle slipped from top spot in the West.

Sean Zawadzki netted a 90th-minute equaliser as Columbus Crew pinched a 1-1 home draw with 10-man New England, who move up to top spot in the Eastern Conference ahead of Cincinnati.

Lorenzo Insigne returned from a groin injury as Toronto drew 2-2 with Atlanta. Toronto have drawn four games in a row.

DC United ended their six-game winless run with a 1-0 victory over last-placed Montreal, while New York Red Bulls' streak without a win extended to four games after a 1-1 draw with Houston Dynamo.

Keaton Parks and Maxime Chanot scored excellent early goals as New York City moved up to fifth in the East with a 2-1 win over Nashville.

Austin drew 0-0 with Vancouver Whitecaps, while Orlando City rallied from behind to get past Minnesota United 2-1.

Bernard Kamungo scored an 88th-minute winner as Dallas moved up to fourth in the West with a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, while San Jose Earthquakes crushed Sporting KC 3-0 with a Jeremy Ebobisse double.

Struggling Charlotte drew 2-2 with Colorado Rapids and Philadelphia Union's winless run extended to five games with a 2-2 draw at Chicago Fire although they fought back from 2-0 down.

New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir has been banned for six MLS games after using racist language during last Saturday's clash with the San Jose Earthquakes.

The encounter was stopped for 15 minutes at Red Bull Arena after Belgium international Vanzeir was involved in a confrontation.

He has since apologised, saying he "made a mistake and will take all the necessary steps to grow", but that did not spare him from firm punishment from league chiefs.

Announcing the suspension in a statement, MLS said it had also imposed a fine of an unspecified sum on Vanzeir, adding he must take part in "league-mandated training and education sessions, as well as a restorative practices programme".

The league added: "MLS is working with both clubs and the MLS Players Association to provide impacted players and staff with support and resources, and is committed to continuing to review and improve its in-game protocol."

Vanzeir will be eligible to return to action against CF Montreal on May 20.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Vanzeir said he would "accept full responsibility for my actions".

"While I did not intend to cause any harm or offense with my language, I know that I did and for that I am deeply sorry," he said.

Anticipating his punishment, Vanzeir added: "I will use this opportunity to better myself, reflect and dedicate my time and efforts to work with organisations that tackle racial injustice."

Denis Bouanga netted a hat-trick as reigning MLS champions LAFC claimed a statement win with a 3-0 rout of Austin on Saturday.

Bouanga opened the scoring with a low strike with five minutes left in the first half, before adding further goals in the 57th and 68th minutes.

The Gabonese winger fired in a powerful right-foot volley from a corner for 2-0, before side-footing home at the back post for the third.

The result meant LAFC kept in touch with the top two in the Western Conference, with Seattle Sounders moving above St Louis City into top spot with a 3-0 win in the late game.

The Sounders netted three second-half goals to condemn the expansion side to their second straight loss after winning their opening five MLS games.

Phil Neville's Inter Miami slumped to their fifth straight loss, going down 1-0 at home to Dallas. US international Jesus Ferreira scored the only goal in the 27th minute. Dallas moved up to fourth in the West with the victory.

Cincinnati remained top of the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 home win over Philadelphia Union, who are winless in four. New England are second in the East behind Cincy, thrashing Montreal 4-0.

Tom Barlow scored deep into stoppage time to rescue a 1-1 draw for New York Red Bulls against San Jose Earthquakes, while Colorado Rapids edged Sporting KC 1-0 on the road.

New York City and Atlanta United drew 1-1, Nashville and Toronto drew 0-0, while Columbus Crew secured their third straight win with a 2-0 victory at D United.

Kei Kamara scored a double as Chicago Fire won 2-1 over Minnesota United, while Amine Bassi also netted a brace as 10-man Houston Dynamo beat nine-man LA Galaxy 3-0.

Real Salt Lake came from behind to win 3-1 over Charlotte, while Vancouver Whitecaps beat Portland Timbers 1-0.

Expansion franchise St Louis City's perfect start to their inaugural MLS season was ended by Minnesota United who triumphed 1-0 after Luis Amarilla's 78th-minute penalty on Saturday.

City had made MLS history by winning their first five games but that was ended by the Loons with Amarilla drilling home the spot kick after a needless challenge by Kyle Hiebert.

Hiebert brought down Amarilla just inside the box with a rash tackle when Jakob Nerwinski appeared to have Kervin Arriaga's wayward pass under control.

Substitute Samuel Adeniran came closest to equalising for St Louis, with a 95th-minute shot going over the bar after a great first touch from Klauss' right-wing cut back.

St Louis remain top of the table with 15 points from six games, but unbeaten Minnesota climb up to fourth in the Western Conference.

Cincinnati continued their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 home triumph over Inter Miami who slumped to their fourth straight defeat.

Yerson Mosquera scored the 45th-minute winner for Cincy, who are top of the Eastern Conference.

Giorgos Giakoumakis scored an early winner as Atlanta United moved up to second in the East with a 1-0 home win over New York Red Bulls, who are down in 12th in that conference.

Jordan Morris and Leo Chu scored first-half goals as Seattle Sounders stayed second in the West with a 2-1 victory at LA Galaxy, who are without a win and have only three points from five games.

LAFC remained unbeaten and third in the West despite a 0-0 draw at the winless Colorado Rapids, while SJ Earthquakes climbed to fifth with a 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo with all three goals coming from penalties.

Vancouver Whitecaps snapped a run of three straight draws with a resounding 5-0 win over 10-man Montreal with Simon Becher scoring a double. Becher is the fastest player (87 minutes) in MLS history to score his first four goals.

Franck Boli rescued a 1-1 draw for Portland Timbers at Dallas, Chicago Fire and DC United drew 0-0 and Nashville triumphed 2-0 at Orlando City.

Federico Bernardeschi netted another spectacular goal with a strike straight from a corner in Toronto's 2-2 home draw with Charlotte.

Sporting KC remained winless after a 0-0 draw at Philadelphia Union, New England drew 1-1 with New York City and Real Salt Lake suffered their fourth straight loss, going down 4-0 to Columbus Crew.