Messi Setting the Pace Entering 30th Match
The greatest player of all-time, Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi, has wasted no time in putting his talents on display in Major League Soccer, scoring 24 goals and adding 20 assists across 29 regular season matches while becoming the club’s all-time leading goal contributor.
As Messi enters his 30th career MLS match against Chicago Fire FC on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+), he looks to join a list of league legends to have reached at least 25 goals in his first 30 MLS matches. Stern John, who scored 28 goals in his first 30 matches for the Columbus Crew in 1998-99, owns the record for the best 30-game goal-scoring start in league history.
Messi’s 1.52 goal contributions per game is already the highest total by a player through 30 games in league history and significantly more than the next-closest player – Zlatan Ibrahimović (1.23 goal contributions per game).
The most goals contributions per game through the first 30 games of a career:
Crew Eye Club-Best Start
One of the last two unbeaten teams in MLS in 2025, the Columbus Crew (15 points, 4-0-3) sit atop the Eastern Conference after a 2-1 victory over CF Montréal on Matchday 7. Columbus is undefeated through seven matches for the second time in club history and can match their team-best start to a season with a result against St. Louis CITY SC on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (7 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+).
A win or draw would tie the club’s longest unbeaten run to start a season, which was set by the 2010 edition of the Crew. The club finished second in the Eastern Conference standings and fifth in the Supporters’ Shield rankings that season after opening the year with a 6-0-2 mark before their first loss.
The longest unbeaten streaks to open a season in Columbus Crew history:
Loons Looking to Stay Hot
Winners of four of their last six matches, Minnesota United FC (14 points, 4-1-2) are one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer and have climbed to third place in the Western Conference standings. The Loons are unbeaten across its last six matches and haven’t dropped a match since its season opener at LAFC.
With a result at Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV), Minnesota (six straight matches) would match its second-longest single-season unbeaten streak in club history, a feat it last accomplished from July 12 to Sept. 9, 2023.
The club record streak of eight consecutive games unbeaten in a single season was set from Sept. 27 through Nov. 8, 2020. The Loons have advanced to the postseason in four of the five seasons in which it recorded an unbeaten streak of seven-or-more matches, including each season from 2019-22.
The longest single-season unbeaten streaks in Minnesota United FC history:
Martínez Continues to Make History
After earning Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honors following his hat-trick performance last week, San Jose Earthquakes forward Josef Martínez has once again rounded into form and continues to cement himself as one of the greatest players to ever compete in Major League Soccer. Martínez recorded his first hat trick in six years and 259 days and the league-record seventh of his MLS career in San Jose’s 6-1 victory over D.C. United.
With his next multi-goal game, Martínez will once again inch up the MLS record books as he continues to make history on the field. Martínez (25 multi-goal games) is currently tied with MLS Great and league all-time leading scorer Chris Wondolowski for the second-most multi-score games in MLS history and sits just seven such games behind Landon Donovan (32), who owns the league record.
The Venezuelan superstar will look to continue his hot run of form in an intrastate matchup against LAFC on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
The most multi-goal games by a player in MLS history:
Dominating Defenders in 2025
Some of the top defenses in MLS have been led by defenders who are excellent when clearing the ball out of danger. These chance-stopping actions can indicate how impactful a defender is in order to limit opposing attacks. Five different players sit on at least 19 clearances in 2025 with Morris Duggan (Minnesota United FC) and Rodrigo Schlegel (Orlando City SC) leading the way with 20.
Duggan is a unique story in MLS this season, the German-born defender began his youth career overseas before playing collegiately in the United States and starring at Marshall. A 2024 MLS SuperDraft selection, Duggan spent most of 2024 with MNUFC2 and on loan at Rhode Island FC. In 2025 though, he has been a locked-in starter for the Loons and one of the breakout players across MLS.
Most clearances in MLS in 2025:
