Good Monday morning Caps fans. I hope you all are well rested and having a good start to your week.

The Whitecaps are off the mark with three points. Though they won’t get any bonus points for style, it was a professional display against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, combined with a bit of luck that helped the Caps see out a 1-0 win to get their season underway.

RSL and Pablo Mastroeni deserve credit for a strong game plan that frustrated a Caps team that may have had some tired legs from the midweek. The away side had numbers in the midfield to deny the Caps space in the buildup, and Emmanuel Sabbi and AZ Jackson were forced to try and create out wide while building chemistry with a makeshift pair of fullbacks.

Moments after Sabbi dodged a sending off, the Caps fired their way in front and continued to build some semblance of momentum from there. The second half version of Vancouver resembled what we were used to seeing last year, but it still wasn’t quite as smooth as you’d like. Yohei Takaoka and Mathias Laborda had some hiccups (I’m good not seeing Takaoka try and turn somebody in his own box ever again), and this team still looks like it is shaking off some rust.

Jackson was the man who got the goal, but I think he showed his potential even before then. While he didn’t make much of an impact against Cartaginés, he definitely made his mark on this one. His dribbling skill didn’t always come off, but the vision clearly is there. The expectation that he will immediately be Ali Ahmed is unfair, but he will also benefit from more time gelling with Tate Johnson, Thomas Müller, and the rest of the attack. I was skeptical AZ would really stick in this team, but, per usual, it is looking like Axel Schuster and Jesper Sorensen know more about ball than I do.

I’ve seen some light freaking out over the first two matches. I get it, but it is just too early to tell if there is anything to worry about. RSL definitely did not look like a bottom-feeder team in the west, but the Caps also did well to neutralize their attack in the second half and see this one out. The Caps will probably have to grind more this year than they did last year. If they can build on this performance on Wednesday, that will go a long way to banishing the early-season jitters.

Shameless Self Promotion

The first post-match and report card of the MLS season break down what we can take away from Saturday night.

Best of the Rest

We’re one week into the MLS season, and we already have fresh drama with Lionel Messi, who won’t be disciplined for going after the referees following Miami’s 3-0 loss to LAFC.

League executives agree: The Caps are getting a good deal on Seb Berhalter’s contract.

Alphonso Davies picked up another injury over the weekend, though Bayern boss Vincent Kompany played down its severity.