LAFC have won three of their first four matches, sitting atop the MLS standings and scoring more goals than any other team. Are they the best team in MLS?
The 2019 Major League Soccer season is four weeks old. Drawing any meaningful conclusions from any competition that is four weeks old makes little sense, in the grand scheme of things.
But that does not mean that initial impressions have not and cannot be made. In fact, four weeks is plenty of time for plenty of teams to set their stall out for the year ahead. I am sure that San Jose Earthquakes fans are already preparing themselves for a rough season ahead based on the early evidence.
And if there is a list of teams that have truly established themselves as members of the MLS elite, then Los Angeles FC would be top of the pile.
Bob Bradley’s side have played four matches so far this season, the latest of which is Saturday’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, a rematch of a dramatic 2018 playoff contest. They have won three of them and drawn the other, looking extremely fluent in a series of varied and complete displays.
What is most impressive about LAFC’s start to the season is the level of competition that they have bettered. Sporting Kansas City were the best team in the Western Conference last year. The Portland Timbers made the MLS Cup. New York City FC, the only team to not lose to LAFC, made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and RSL beat LAFC in the aforementioned playoff tie last year as well.
Not only are LAFC the highest points scorers in MLS so far this year, earning 10 from their first four matches, but they have done it against elite competition. All four made the playoffs just a year ago and Sporting KC are the sole MLS representatives in the CONCACAF Champions League this season, a sure sign of their all-round excellence.
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No team has scored more goals than LAFC at this point in the year, only the Seattle Sounders have a better goal difference, and their 2.5 points-per-game is the third-best in the league, the Sounders and Toronto FC the only teams to earn more points per game.
And these are all statistical elements of the early goings of the 2019 season. Perhaps the most convincing argument to be made for LAFC being the best team in MLS is just to read off the names in the squad. The attacking talent alone is sensational, with Diego Rossi, Carlos Vela, Adama Diomande, Christian Ramirez, Lee Nguyen, and Latif Blessing all vying for three or four starting positions.
Add in their depth in central midfield, with designated player Andre Horta largely unable to earn a start, his first of the season coming on Saturday thanks to the absences with the international break, and the likes of Walker Zimmerman and Tyler Miller, and it is easy to see why some would argue this is the strongest squad in the league.
Whether LAFC actually are the best team in MLS, I have no idea. Four weeks, as I stated, is not enough to draw any meaningful conclusions. But the early impressions suggest they might be, and for now, that is all that they can do.