MLS Winners and Losers: Timo Werner lifts San Jose Earthquakes, Kevin Denkey stars again, concerns grow for Lionel Messi's Inter Miami

Well done, San Jose. It looked like a pretty disastrous offseason when the Quakes saw their main creative force, Cristian Espinoza, depart in free agency. There were few ideas here, and aside from one or two promising prospects, no clear main man in attack. The signing of Werner changed that completely. That may be rather obvious. The German striker, criticism notwithstanding, has always been able to score goals.

But few could have predicted how quickly he would take to MLS. This has been a masterful bit of management from Bruce Arena, who has steadily moved Werner into the XI. And now the German is there for good, the numbers are coming. He bagged a second half brace to overturn a 2-1 deficit single-handedly Saturday night. San Jose are top of the West. Werner has seven goal contributions. This all looks a lot like perfection.

Things are strange in Miami. To this point, it’s really not quite clear why Javier Mascherano left. Personal reasons was the official line, but the rumors of dressing room discontent point to some larger issues behind the scenes. Chuck in the fact that there’s this unspoken understanding that Messi is always sort of running the show anyway, and it’s a curious time to be a Miami fan.

Usually, results on the pitch can throw Band-Aids over the locker room stuff. But not here. Miami settled for a 1-1 draw that felt about right. German Berterame scored, but Messi had a frustrating night. This was actually one of his most involved games of the season. But he didn’t provide a goal contribution, and sulked off the pitch at full time. Something is afoot here.

It was a bleak week for Martino, who admitted that had he not been so successful in his first stint in Atlanta, he might be looking for a new job right now. That’s a tough assessment, but probably a fair one. Atlanta started the season woefully. Last year’s big signings still aren’t quite hitting.

They kept the ball plenty and were middling defensively. But the attack was nowhere to be found. It didn’t quite come alive on Saturday, but it did enough. Martino’s side bagged with their only two shots on target, and held Toronto to just one. Is Martino on borrowed time? Perhaps. But this was a mightily welcome win.

Okay, what does Lozano have to do to get a look here? What did he do to anger everyone so much in the first place? San Diego are on a pretty woeful run. They have lost seven in a row. Their attack is short of ideas. What they need is a shot in the arm, a spark plug, a creative force who can offer something a little different in the final third. Well, turns out they have that.

They just don’t want to use him. Lozano has been in exile since the start of the season, and San Diego have missed him dearly. Head coach Mikey Varas said there’s “no chance” he plays for the team again, and fan discontent is growing. The specifics of their fallout remain unclear. But something went wrong here.

It was always a bit weird that Belgium’s top goalscorer went to MLS. That’s no disrespect to the league, of course. It’s just a curious pipeline for a top talent to take. But regardless of how he got here, Denkey still underwhelmed a little in 2025. Sure, he bagged 18 goals, but it still felt like he should have had a few more.

Either way, Cincy held onto him this winter amid reported European interest, and he has repaid their faith. Denkey found the net twice against Michael Bradley’s New York Red Bulls. He now has eight goals and three assists on the season. His sophomore campaign in MLS could be special.

There was always likely to be a bit of a rough patch for Jansen. He proved himself a mightily effective coach in 2025, and took NYCFC on a richly deserved playoff run. But an injury to star man Alonzo Martinez was always going to make this season tough. The club didn’t go for an obvious replacement in the market, and still lacks a star.

The result has been a topsy-turvy campaign, filled with solid performances but some maddening inconsistencies. Such was the case on Saturday. NYCFC weren’t terrible at Montreal, but they weren’t particularly good, either. Montreal rather bunkered in. NYCFC didn’t create loads. Montreal won 1-0. If there ever was an argument for signing an impact attacking player, this was it.