CITY SC's RSL hangover, and a moment to turn the page.

The sun never sets on Major League Soccer. 

St. Louis CITY SC returned to MLS play after a short stopover in Columbus to claim some hardware. No one would ever trade success in Minnesota and Utah for a US Open Cup title, but midweek success came at the expense of CITY SC’s league form. Yoann Damet’s side is not nearly deep enough to manage back to back rotations, and the injuries to Roman Bürki, along with Alex Mǎțan, did not help a midfield that failed to create for itself vs RSL. 

CITY SC conceded the opener when Segi Solans capitalized on a sloppy build-up; moments later Tomáš Ostrák went late into a tackle and picked up his 2nd yellow card. Down to 10, St. Louis pushed forward trying to create an equalizer, but RSL took advantage of tired legs and weak side spacing to make it 2-0 and ultimately 3-0.

Mǎțan’s ankle injury won’t keep him out long-term, but Yoann Damet isn’t confident that he will be available for this upcoming homestand. Similarly, Bürki returned to St. Louis following his overnight stay in Columbus; he has no lingering complications from the collision but is still in concussion protocol as of Sunday morning. 

Without those pieces, and Carlo Holse who was rested both in Minnesota and Utah, Damet had to rely on his unproven depth. As an aside, I do believe the plan was to get Holse on for the last 30 minutes of the 2nd half, but Ostrák’s red card changed the plans. 

Charles-Emile Brunet made his long awaited CITY SC debut, a 72 minute appearance where the young midfielder was forced to adjust his role following the red card.

“It's an adjustment,” Damet said. “I think there were some good things that we can build on, and at the same time there is still like a a lot to a lot to work on and a lot of areas to improve, so it's positive that we're able to have a look at him tonight and get him on the pitch.”

Brunet debuted along with Chris Durkin in the midfield, and then it was the usual rotation for Rafael Santos, Jaziel Orozco, and Fallou Fall. Navarro and Becher gave some stability to the top line, but the pair was largely ineffective, with a failure to create through the midfield. 

“It’s not an excuse,” Timo Baumgartl said. “We have so many fresh guys on the team. I'm always telling everyone it's a mindset whether you're tired or not. In professional football, you have to be able to play every three days, that's the truth.”

It’s not an excuse, but it has largely been the story.

CITY SC has had some of the best underlying numbers throughout the 21 match unbeaten stretch but have seen that number crater over the past two matches. The combined -4.86 expected goal differential was the worst in the league as Damet rotated around the Cup Final. 

It’s not a cause for immediate concern. The 6-2 win over Los Angeles and the scoreless draw vs Vancouver are still the last time CITY SC has had their best XI on the pitch.

“At the end of the day, it's part of having success,” Damet said. “It's disappointing, but at the same time, there is a good lesson to learn tonight.”

Where it went wrong.

The rotated lineup was to be expected, but with Ben Lundt back between the sticks, CITY SC were left without their usual pressure release valve in Roman Bürki’s distribution. Then the midfield diamond of Durkin, Ostrák, Brunet, and Navarro failed to control the buildup, and that led to moments where CITY SC were uncharacteristically trapped in their own end. 

CITY SC’s midfield depth is going to be the story out of this one. 

The 22-year-old Brunet was promising in his debut. He bailed the build up out of a few sticky situations with a calm presence on the ball, but he lacked the confidence to try balls up field that may have created dangerous opportunities. There’s safety in a midfielder who completes 39 of 43 passes, but none of those passes added much value to CITY SC’s possession numbers.

The Futi Possession value stats were quite bearish on the whole team’s performance, but Brunet, Navarro, and Ostrak were all poor in possession on Saturday night, especially as CITY SC went down to 10 men in the 2nd half. 

That’s a not insignificant aspect of the story. CITY SC didn’t try to bunker down to 10; they attempted to play more aggressively to erase the deficit, and while it didn’t pay off for them, it was the most progressive option already down a goal at halftime. 

In that context, Ostrák’s 2nd yellow decided the game. 

The midfielder hadn’t been great before that moment either, one of a few players consistently a step late over the first 40 minutes, but that moment was killer for a group who had found pockets of momentum after RSL’s initial flurry. 

Yoann Damet has to wipe the slate clean on this one, but that’s back to back losses with this rotated group where they conceded 3 goals on the back end. 

Rough night.

A clear reminder for Corey Wray as CITY SC gets ready for CONCACAF play in 2027. I’ve written plenty about the club’s depth needs, and this match did nothing to change the hierarchy. Wray needs to acquire a more dangerous LWB in relief of Tomas Totland (or commit to Riley Lynch), and needs to bring in help at CDM. 

It’s not yet time to push the panic alarm, but the week ahead suddenly becomes crucial with the USOC in the rearview.

Some luck in the table.

After just 1 point in their last 3 matches, St. Louis dropped to 3rd in the West, just 9 points up for grabs to close out 2026. Luckily, no one else in the Western Conference has seized the brass ring either. 

CITY SC are now 4 points back of Vancouver after their loss in Colorado, and 3 behind FC Dallas after their 3-0 win over San Jose. St. Louis also maintains a 3 point lead on 4th and 5th place with a Decision Day 6-pointer vs. Houston to potentially decide home advantage for at least the 1st round. 

It wouldn’t be a satisfying finish for a group that still needs 5 points to break the club’s all-time record, but there’s time to bounce back. A 6 point week against 2 clubs under the playoff line could give CITY SC that lifeline, but they’ll need a fresh Carlo Holse, some injury luck, and their first-choice midfield against Portland and San Diego.

The warning signs are there if they once again stumble out of the gates, but Yoann Damet has earned the benefit of the doubt through this point. The lack of pure rotation throughout the 21 match win streak has come back to bite CITY when they needed to tap into their depth, but this is where great teams find a way through. 

Captain Timo Baumgartl.

It was a feel good week for Timo Baumgartl despite the scoreline in Utah. Baumgartl took the armband after Bürki’s injury last Wednesday, and was announced as captain as CITY SC lifted the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Trophy. He then wore it from the jump on Saturday, a night where his leadership credentials shone as bright as day.

Baumgartl signed in St. Louis after a tumultuous few years in Germany. A cancer diagnosis before he fought back into the Union Berlin starting XI, and a very public spat with the Schalke coaching staff during the heat of the club’s downfall to the 2. Bundesliga. 

Then, he walked into a chaotic CITY SC squad; Olof Mellberg didn’t try him in the Starting XI until week 8 vs Columbus. 

Under Yoann Damet, he’s become undroppable as the anchor along the backline, playing every single minute in 2026 and possessing the 3rd strongest xPassing score in the ASA database. That is important to how Yoann Damet wants to play.

Unlike Columbus and San Diego, who have similar ideas in possession, Baumgartl is CITY SC’s only player in the top 50 of ASA’s passing score metric, and while Baumgartl is CITY SC’s worst performing defender via ASA’s g+ metric, his play is a case study in what metrics matter where. It’s a reminder that stats only matter in the context of the system they are applied to, and for Baumgartl that is as a relatively shielded CB in a back 3 whose distribution runs the show.

All of that is great context for how Timo Baumgartl is on pace to become the first ironman in club history but his leadership has shone in more than just his consistency.

Late in the match vs RSL, Baumgartl alerted referee Drew Fischer to chants that were directed towards Fallou Fall. 

“There were sounds, monkey sounds against Fallou,” Baumgartl described. “I think that, for me, is unforgivable, but doing that kind of thing, discrimination. There's no place in the world for that. There's no place for doing that. No matter what people look like, we have to accept everyone, and we are just everyone is a human being, and doing that from the stands, especially if you look at him and you do it right in his face, that's awful.”

Yoann Damet was too far away to hear the noises made towards Fallou on Saturday, but says they’ve talked with Fallou Fall about the incident.

“100% this has no place in the game,” Damet said. “It’s something that still happens way too often. and needs to be addressed appropriately. “It’s unimaginable that these things are happening in 2026, it’s really sad to hear those things and at the same time, we have to make sure we are doing our part in reporting it and making sure it doesn’t happen again.”

After Timo Baumgartl’s comments were reported this weekend, a few RSL fans claimed the sounds were a group of young fans barking at CITY SC players, however, both Baumgartl and Fallou were very sure of what they heard, and Baumgartl says the noises were directed at Fallou Fall.

MLS has opened an investigation into the incident.

Onward to Portland.

Next up, CITY SC hosts the Portland Timbers, their first match back at Energizer Park following the Cup win. There will be pomp, there will be circumstance, but they will need to take care of business in the aftermath. 

Portland are coming off a 3-2 win vs. Charlotte that essentially saved their season when Alexander Aravena scored at the death. The win snapped Portland’s 7 match winless streak, and the Timbers have to win again in St. Louis to keep pushing for the final play-in spot. Over the past 10 matches, Portland’s underlying numbers have been top 10 in MLS, but they’ve only played 3 playoff teams and have had some luck in the timing of their midweek matches – facing St. Louis as they rotated off of the Vancouver match, for instance. 

Yoann Damet knows there is some pressure to succeed here.

“It’s very important that we approach these 3 games with the mindset that the playoffs are starting now,” Damet said on Monday.

How CITY SC accomplishes that will be pivotal. 

Alex Mǎțan is likely to miss this week’s homestand, and despite Damet’s assurances, the team does suffer without Roman Bürki’s distribution. 

In Portland, CITY SC dropped two points at the death thanks to their set piece defending. Despite creating the majority of the match's most dangerous chances from open play, the final left the team disappointed after a breakthrough win in Vancouver. 

Lately, teams have started to disrupt CITY SC’s buildup through tight man marking, can they figure out another wrinkle to disrupt that disruption? 

That will be the story of the next 3 matches.