FRISCO — After a tough battle down in Houston for El Capitán, FC Dallas was able to extend its lead in the Western Conference to four points over the rest of the competition. It took some help from other teams around the league, but FCD still remains in first place with a little bit of cushion atop the west.
Dallas gained one point this weekend after a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo, but it was Los Angeles FC that slipped up in Week 21. LAFC traveled to TCF Bank Stadium and fell at the hands of Minnesota United FC, 5-1. It was an ugly showing for LAFC, and its performance gave no return in points. Four different players got on the scoresheet for Minnesota, but LAFC was lucky the team behind them in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City, had the week off.
Sporting KC, this Saturday's opponent for FCD, last played in the U.S. Open Cup on July 18, where it fell to the Dynamo 4-2, ending its Cup run. Sporting will now return to league play in a top-three battle when it hosts Dallas for the second time this season.
It was LA Galaxy that made all the noise in Week 21, moving up two spots in the Western Conference standings following a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union. Ola Kamara, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Michaël Ciani all got on the scoresheet in a dominant win. The victory extended the Galaxy's win streak to five games, and their latest win propelled them over the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake.
Portland hosted the Montreal Impact and found itself trailing 2-1 in the second half. It took a Diego Valeri goal to bring things level, and Portland was able to come out of the match with one point against a Montreal team that has gone unbeaten in its last three games.
Real Salt Lake was coming off a road loss to Minnesota United, and was looking to bounce back from an underwhelming performance. RSL returned home to face the Colorado Rapids, where it quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Colorado recovered, however, and was able to tie the game in the 88th minute, splitting the points between the two sides.
Real Salt Lake rounds out the top six still in the playoff picture, but Minnesota is right behind by just two points. Minnesota has won four of its last five games and is now sitting on the outside of the Western Conference looking in.