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Atlanta United’s 3-1 loss to Columbus on Saturday felt frustrating not just because of the result, but because it brought familiar concerns back into focus. Coming out of the international break, this was a night to look for sharper attacking connections and more clarity in the final third. Instead, Atlanta left the match still searching for both.

There were stretches when Atlanta had the ball and made the game look steadier than it did early on. From the 23rd minute to halftime, they controlled more possession, completed passes at a high rate, and kept Columbus from fully dictating the rhythm. But that control rarely turned into real danger. As Tata Martino put it, much of the first half was played between the boxes, and Miguel Almirón’s postmatch read was just as blunt: possession means little if it does not lead to goals or decisive attacking moments.

That is where the numbers from the Long View sharpen the picture. Atlanta finished with 57.6 percent possession and nearly matched Columbus in final-third passing, but Columbus had 28 touches in the box to Atlanta’s eight and outshot them 16-7. Atlanta had the ball often enough to keep the match from feeling completely out of hand. Columbus had the clearer attacking route and created the more dangerous game throughout.

When Alexey Miranchuk pulled one back to make it 2-1, it felt like the match had offered Atlanta a way back in. Instead, that opening disappeared almost immediately when Columbus answered again. That sequence became the emotional hinge of the night. Rather than building momentum, Atlanta gave it away, and the response after that moment never carried the urgency or desperation the situation demanded.

That is why this result lands as more than one bad night. Defensively, Atlanta has had solid stretches, and Jay Fortune’s return was a real bright spot. But the attack remains the biggest concern. The ball circulation can look fine. The possession can look respectable. Until it produces more depth, sharper decisions, and more conviction in the final third, Atlanta will keep running into the same questions.

MLS came back from the international break with a weekend that felt busy in every direction. Inter Miami opened Nu Stadium with a 2-2 draw against Austin, turning a long-awaited homecoming into one of the league’s bigger moments of the weekend, while LAFC delivered the most brutal scoreline by far with a 6-0 demolition of Orlando. LAFC are now the league’s last unbeaten team, they have not conceded in league play, and their attacking edge looked ruthless again with Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min overwhelming Orlando from the opening whistle.

Out West, the chase is taking shape quickly. Vancouver and San Jose stayed right on LAFC’s heels with strong wins of their own, and both look like real factors rather than early-season curiosities. San Jose rolled past San Diego 3-0 behind another big day from Niko Tsakiris, while Vancouver came from behind to beat Portland 3-2 with two stoppage-time goals, the kind of comeback that says plenty about belief and momentum in April.

Elsewhere, the weekend had the usual MLS chaos too. Toronto and Colorado produced one of those matches that only this league can really stage, with five goals, three red cards, and a late winner from Josh Sargent for his first MLS goal. Real Salt Lake also kept building a serious case for themselves with a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City, extending their unbeaten run and showing again that they look more like a contender than a nice early story.

This was a weekend that made the broader league picture feel clearer. Miami’s new home is now part of the league’s stage, LAFC look like the standard everybody is chasing, and the Western Conference already feels crowded with teams that look dangerous.

Arne Slot’s situation at Liverpool feels less like a one-match overreaction and more like the point where a bad season fully came into focus. Saturday’s 4-0 FA Cup quarterfinal loss at Manchester City was the heaviest defeat of his Liverpool tenure, and it landed with the kind of collapse that makes every existing concern louder. Liverpool did not just lose a difficult cup tie. They looked fragile, disconnected, and easy to play through once City seized control.

That is why the pressure around Slot is real. The issue is not simply that Liverpool spent heavily and regressed. It is that the team no longer looks built around a clear identity. Last season, Slot was praised for adding control to a squad that still carried the physical edge and rhythm of the Jürgen Klopp era. Now the control looks thinner, the fight looks inconsistent, and even senior players have publicly questioned the team’s mentality after the City loss.

The immediate context matters too. Liverpool are still fighting on in Europe, but the next assignment is Paris Saint-Germain, which is hardly the fixture you want when confidence is this low. Reports around the club suggest Champions League qualification for next season is the key line, and with Liverpool sitting fifth and only narrowly ahead of the teams chasing them, the margin for error is small. In that sense, Slot does not look like he is on the way out today, but he does look like a manager whose season is being judged week to week now.

The situation feels serious, but not fully decided. Managers can survive these situations if the league position stabilizes and Europe offers a response. What makes this different is that Liverpool’s problems look structural as much as emotional. When Slot talked afterward about City outperforming expected goals, it sounded less like analysis and more like a manager searching for cover after a performance that exposed how little resilience his side currently has.

As the women’s game heads into an international window, it creates a useful pause point. Before the USWNT takes the field this week, there is room to take stock of what is moving across the club game, from early NWSL form lines to the bigger investment conversations shaping the sport’s future.

San Diego Wave carry real momentum into the break after a 1-0 win over expansion Boston Legacy FC pushed them to a fourth straight victory, matching the best five-match start in club history. Ludmila supplied the decisive finish off a well-weighted Kimmi Ascanio through ball, and first-year goalkeeper Leah Freeman added a second straight shutout, another sign that San Diego are building results on both efficiency and defensive stability.

Washington Spirit also head into the window with something to build on after a 2-0 win over Bay FC, their first victory of the season. An own goal opened the scoring, then Gift Monday came off the bench and struck almost immediately to put the game away, while Trinity Rodman remained heavily involved even as she continues to hunt for her first goal of the year.

Off the field, one of the more interesting stories in the women’s game is Crux Football’s push to build a five-club European platform dedicated exclusively to women’s football. After moves involving Montpellier and a 49 percent stake in Sweden’s FC Rosengård, Crux is now targeting England, Spain, and Germany, with founder Bex Smith describing England as both the most attractive and the most expensive market in the sport right now.

What makes that story worth watching is the argument behind it. Crux is not just talking about buying clubs. It is talking about changing the structure around women’s football by using a multi-club model to share expertise, infrastructure, and commercial value across multiple teams. Smith’s view is that many women’s clubs still sit on unrealized potential, and that scale, specialist leadership, and capital are what can turn that potential into something sustainable.

SDH AM is live at 9:05 this morning with Jon Nelson in the host chair. Abe Gordon from 92.9 The Game and Bart Keeler from the Soccer for US podcast join the show to look back at the weekend that was and start setting the table for the week ahead.

Then tonight, Soccer Over There is live at 8pm with Jon getting you ready for the week in the Champions League and beyond. It is a busy Monday on the network with a strong mix of weekend reaction and a look ahead at what is coming next.

As always this time of year, the polls are a snapshot, not a final verdict. But they do give a strong read on which programs are carrying momentum into the stretch run, and they set the stage for what should be a fascinating push toward the postseason around the state.

Arsenal’s Week Gets Complicated: Arsenal’s season tightened up in a hurry after their FA Cup exit to Southampton, coming on the heels of their Carabao Cup final loss. The bigger concern now is whether the squad has the depth and resilience to keep the Premier League and Champions League pushes from slipping as the pressure rises.

Bernardo Silva Nearing the End at City: Manchester City assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed that Bernardo Silva will leave the club when his contract expires this summer. It closes a remarkable chapter for one of the defining midfielders of City’s era, and replacing his control, versatility, and leadership will not be simple.

Italy Reset Again: Gennaro Gattuso has left his role as Italy head coach after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. With federation president Gabriele Gravina and head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon also stepping down, Italy’s latest collapse has turned into a full institutional reset.

PSV Clinch the Title, but Lose Schouten: PSV Eindhoven wrapped up a third straight Eredivisie title after results elsewhere confirmed their lead is uncatchable. The celebration was tempered by the news that captain Jerdy Schouten suffered a cruciate ligament injury that will require surgery and rule him out of the World Cup.

Inter Look Like Inter Again: Lautaro Martinez returned from injury and scored twice as Inter Milan thumped Roma 5-2 to end a four-match winless run. It was the kind of response Inter needed, and it restored some authority to their place at the top of Serie A.

Chivas Escape Late Against Pumas: Chivas looked headed for a damaging loss before Armando “Hormiga” González scored twice, including a late penalty, in a 2-2 draw with Pumas. The comeback kept Chivas in control at the top of the Clausura table and added another big moment to González’s breakout scoring run.

Soccer.com Deal Signals Bigger Youth Sports Shift: Varsity Brands is set to acquire Sports Endeavors, the parent company of Soccer.com, in a deal that could be worth up to $400 million. It is a notable move into the youth club sports market and another sign that the business around participation sports is becoming more consolidated and more valuable.

Atlanta United’s loss to Columbus set the tone for a Monday that feels more reflective than reactive. The local takeaway is clear: possession alone is not fixing Atlanta’s attacking issues, and the sharper questions around chance creation, urgency, and final-third conviction are still sitting right in front of them.

Beyond Atlanta, the weekend in MLS delivered a wider reminder of how quickly the league’s picture can sharpen. Inter Miami christened a new home, LAFC looked ruthless again, and several clubs around the Western Conference continued to strengthen their early credentials while the East remains full of swings and uncertainty.

In the wider game, pressure is building in different forms. Liverpool head into a massive week with Arne Slot under heavier scrutiny after a bad FA Cup loss, the women’s game pauses for an international window while important NWSL and ownership stories continue to develop, and around the world the headlines kept moving from Arsenal’s setbacks to Italy’s latest reset to a major business move involving Soccer.com.

That is the rhythm of this Monday edition. Atlanta has real work to do, the broader game is not slowing down, and this week already feels set up to give us more answers in both the local and global picture.

Jason