The Red Bulls put in a strong offensive display Saturday afternoon to beat the MLS's newest team 5-2 at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls were perhaps fortunate to enter the locker room at halftime even at 2-2, but they really stepped up in the second half, scoring three goals including a wonderfully worked goal finished off by Medhi Ballouchy in the the 72nd minute.

Thierry Henry notched his first MLS hat trick, leaving a helpless Montreal searching for answers as they continue their search for their first MLS victory.

Player Ratings

GK Ryan Meara

Could have done better on Montreal's two goals and almost allowed a third goal after spilling a first half cross. Wasn't called on much in the second half, but did have a strong save to deny Justin Mapp a second goal.

Player Rating: 5

RB Jan Gunnar Solli

Did well setting up Medhi Ballouchy's 72nd minute goal and found Ballouchy minutes later on a ball headed just wide. Defended well, but he will take a fair amount of blame for Justin Mapp's 38th minute goal, allowing the midfielder to switch onto his favored left foot. 

Player Rating: 6

CB Markus Holgersson

Will take blame for both goals, particularly the first where he failed to clear an easy ball. Got better in the second half, but not enough to look past a poor first half performance.

Player Rating: 4

CB Wilman Conde

Solid performance by the big center back.

Player Rating: 6

LB Roy Miller

Didn't look good in the first half, but looked really dangerous in the second. Almost scored a great goal, but was denied by the post.

Player Rating: 6

RM Dane Richards

Looked dangerous throughout. Sent in a great cross to Thierry Henry early in the first half that was only thwarted by what looked like a foul on the French striker.

Player Rating: 7

CM Rafa Marquez

Beautiful cross to assist on Thierry Henry's first goal and did very well to pick out a long pass in the buildup to Dax McCarty's penalty. Outside of those two plays, his distribution was poor and he failed to put up much of a fight in the middle of the park. Often gave away possession easily. Was substituted for Teemu Tainio at halftime.

Player Rating: 5

CM Dax McCarty

Didn't look good in the first half as the Red Bulls consistently lost the midfield battle. Did well to draw an important penalty at the end of the first half. Looked much better in the second half, setting up Thierry Henry's second goal after winning back possession in the attacking third.

Player Rating: 6

LM Joel Lindpere

Workman-like effort from the Estonian. Created a few chances and was part of the build up to Dax McCarty's penalty. Came off limping in the 69th minute. 

Player Rating: 6

ST Kenny Cooper

Put away New York's 45th minute penalty. He was cut off for most of the game, but did do well with the possession he did have. Looked much brighter towards the end of the second half, blasting a shot at Donovan Ricketts, which rebounded for Thierry Henry's third goal.

Player Rating: 6

ST Thierry Henry

Was clearly the game's danger man, scoring three goals, assisting on a fourth and playing the ball into Dax McCarty that led to a 45th minute penalty. Should have drawn a penalty early in the game after being held in the box on a Dane Richards cross, but finished a Rafa Marquez cross minutes later.

His second goal was world-class as the striker turned quickly and found the bottom corner. Assisted on Medhi Ballouchy's goal as he flicked a Jan Gunnar Solli cross far post to find the fortunate Moroccan. His final goal was a real poacher's effort, but nothing less than he deserved.

Player Rating: 9

Substitutes

CM Teemu Tainio (on 45th minute)

Solidified the midfield after a shaky first half. Did his job well and deserves credit for the Red Bulls' defensive success in the second half. 

Player Rating: 7

MF Medhi Ballouchy (on 66th minute)

Right place, right time to score a 72nd minute goal. Did well linking up play. Solid performance.

Player Rating: 7

LM Brandon Barklage (on 90th minute)

Not enough time to make an impression

Player Rating: INC

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Since it's inception, Major League Soccer has been dependent on big names from across the pond for an infusion of much needed talent and publicity. Premier League players make for logical targets for MLS teams willing to spend the cash. A handful of former English club stars who came to the States to play in the American competition have made a mark. 

The list isn't long, however.

There are many more players going from MLS to the Premier League than the other way around. Even allowing for players who had a stop in-between their Prem careers and their MLS signings (see the bloke above) and those who started in MLS, played in the Premier League and then returned, the number is relatively small. 

But let's see how deep we can go, shall we? Here are the top ten Premier League imports to MLS ranked by their performance in the States (including players who didn't arrive directly from England).  

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy continue their 2012 Major League Soccer season on Saturday, March 31st against Jay Heaps' New England Revolution at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET and will be televised by NBC Sports. A live blog of the match will begin at 6:15 p.m. PT/9:15 p.m. ET.

Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2012 MLS season and all things world football.

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Are two Supporters' Shields better than one?

A huge, million-dollar question was brought up by Los Angeles Galaxy manager Bruce Arena earlier this week: should the MLS Western Conference regular season champion win two Supporters' Shields?

One would be for finishing first in the West, the other for finishing first in the league, since the West is presumably superior to its Eastern counterparts.

“[The Shield] does carry the same meaning because they give it,” Arena recently told MLSsoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “Why they did not understand that it skews the competition, I don’t quite get it, is odd to me.

"I think if you are going to have an unbalanced schedule, what you should have is a regular-season champion in both leagues. It doesn’t make sense doing it the way we’re doing it.”

In the unbalanced schedule, Western Conference teams will have to play against their Eastern rivals once per year, while they face other Western Conference opponents three times per year.

In the end, only one will be awarded. But for Los Angeles, their road to the Shield will get a little bit harder.

“You still want to be on top at the end of the year, regardless,” Arena said. “Having the competition set up this way certainly opens up a lot of debate. Does it really declare the regular-season champion? We’ll have to let itself play out, but it seems real odd to me that it’s done this way.”

More Injury Bug Problems for Landon Donovan

This week, Landon Donovan was nursing a quad muscle injury, which prevented him from taking part in a number of training sessions.

The possibility of Donovan sitting out the game against the New England Revolution grew strong.

“It’s always possible,” Arena told Bueno. “That’s been the case the last two or three games.”

Midfielder David Beckham, who would take up the captain's armband in the event Donovan was unable to play, had hope that he would recover just in time.

“I’ve spoke to him a couple of times and it’s just precaution that he’s pulling out training," Beckham said. "If he’s not all right, we’ve got players who will step in and do the job. His health is the most important part.”

A Touch of Brilliance From Marcelo Sarvas

Meanwhile, Marcelo Sarvas had the challenge of breaking through as a starter. The Brazilian midfielder came off the bench in LA's 3-1 win over D.C. United and could be launched into a starting role this weekend, pending Donovan's quad issues.

"It's the same team that played last year," Sarvas told Bueno. "They are doing good and I'm here to add something. Of course I want to play also like everyone here.

"We have 30 players and 30 players want to play so I have to train hard, do my best and wait for my opportunity to come."

Sarvas plays a blue-collar type of football where he keeps his feet on the ground and continues to work hard during training. And Sarvas is aware that when his name is called, it is on him to help get the job done.

"When you do these things the right way, when you train hard, when you work hard, good things come to you,” Sarvas added. “This is just something that I'm doing during the week and then it's coming in the games."

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Toronto FC stepped onto the pitch as Major League Soccer’s last team remaining in the semi-final round of the CONCACAF Champions League, the tournament for clubs from North and Central America and the Caribbean.  They earned that right by upsetting the defending MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy 4-3 on aggregate.

They are proudly the first team from Canada to progress this far into the tournament, and they were greeted by nearly 19,000 screaming fans, most of whom wore the team’s colors—the stands were a sea of red.  The weather was perfectly fitted for the home team, as the rain and winds were not something the opponents from Mexico were used to.

They would leave the pitch with a man advantage, as Santos Laguna’s Oscar Mares received a red card in the 77th for a studs-up, two-footed challenge after his touch while attacking let him down.  Yet with all this, the team limped into the match and had to fight for a draw at home against a very strong Santos Laguna squad.   

After the two thrilling performances against the Galaxy, the team went on to drop their league and home openers to Seattle and San Jose, giving up three goals in each game.  Throwing a bit of salt in the wounds were the losses to injury of their star captain Torsten Frings, as well as vice captain and goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

American international striker Herculez Gomez dealt Toronto their first blow, grabbing a crucial away goal and the game’s lead in the 30th minute.  Carlos Quintero found space on the right side and sent a ball that beat Toronto’s defense, allowing Gomez to tuck it past goalkeeper Milos Kocic into the left side of the net. 

Seven minutes later, Toronto’s Dutch striker Danny Koevermans was given a yellow card, meaning he would miss the away leg serving a suspension.

While Santos set up to defend a set piece, Koevermans tried to catch them off guard with a quick shot, which fell harmlessly into the hands of Santos’ keeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Evidently unaware that his team had asked for their ten yards, he was carded for not having waited for the referee’s whistle, and things looked to go from bad to worse.

But on the ensuing re-take, Koevermans stepped off the ball, still furious at the call, and defender Miguel Aceval took it, driving the ball low and inside the near post to tie the game.  The goal will be listed as unassisted, but Terry Dunfield held the Santos wall in-check, allowing the ball to fly by it and out of the reach of Sanchez, who was guarding the far post.

From there, Toronto kept the pressure up, and the game’s best chance was theirs in the 64th minute, when Julian de Guzman’s perfect cross was redirected by striker Ryan Johnson.  Only the extended forearm of Sanchez tipped the shot just wide of the net, keeping the game level.  The Reds kept the pressure up until the end, but couldn’t take advantage of the extra man in the final 13 minutes, as the game became chippier and the teams became more heated.

In an ugly display at the end, Quintero head-butted Toronto defender Ashtone Morgan away from the ball as the final whistle blew.  He was shown a red card, and walked over to Morgan, who lay on the ground, barking at him to get up.  Benches cleared so quickly that Toronto coach Aron Winter couldn’t see or tell what happened.  On the contrary, his counterpart, Benjamin Galindo, claims that Toronto defender Aceval left the bench to throw a punch. 

All in all, Toronto managed to pick themselves up and dust themselves off after 12 Santos fouls and two red cards.  They outshot Santos Laguna 14-10, earned more corner kicks 12-1, and showed no signs of being intimidated by the underdog label in the 1-1 draw,

Now the walking wounded must take an even bigger step, and get a result in Torreon, Mexico, on April 4.  As if the roster wasn’t depleted before, they must play without their striker Koevermans, and their defender and lone goal scorer of the night, Aceval.  They must say goodbye to the comforts of the Red Sea and walk into a Sea of Green.

They must get that critical away goal back, while limiting a team that scores at will in its backyard.  Yes, they’ll be underdogs yet again, if not more so.  American Gomez for Santos summed it up best, as reported on Toronto's website: “If we score 6-1 against the best team in the MLS, (their last match against Seattle on Mexican soil), can you imagine what we can do to Toronto.”

But the Reds will have MLS in their corner, vying to become the 2nd MLS team to reach the finals in the last two years.  They’ll have Canada in their corner, still looking for its first representative in the CONCACAF Champions League finals.  They’ll want it for themselves, as they’ve never been this close and have already overcome so much.

And in a year in which Canada is going to the Olympics at the expense of the United States, maybe that’s all Toronto will need.  

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According the Major League Soccer Players' Union, the Los Angeles Galaxy paid David Beckham $6.5 million last year in guaranteed compensation, making Beckham the highest paid player in the league.

Is the former Manchester United midfielder still worth the hefty price tag that brought him to Major League Soccer as the original Designated Player? Right now, yes. David Beckham is worth every penny to the defending MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield winners. 

Beckham enjoyed his best season in MLS last year. He was able to stay healthy and contributed more than the goalscoring stats show—two goals in 26 appearances. Beckham provided 15 assists for the Galaxy, a team that was light on stand-out out-and-out strikers for much of the season (Robbie Keane joined the team in August and I'm excluding Landon Donovan from the "out-and-out striker" role because he operated on the wing).

In four MLS Cup matches, Beckham provided four assists for the eventual champions, making him the major supplier for the team's goalscorers. In fact, Beckham had a decisive touch in the Galaxy's game-winning goal against the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final.

Beckham made the first touch on the goal, flicking on to Robbie Keane with his head. Keane then laid the ball off to Donovan, who slotted his shot past a diving Dynamo goalkeeper, Tally Hall. It was an expensive exchange between three of the league's highest paid players, but it worked because of the class all three posses. Beckham started the move with a simple looking play that players often get wrong.

The goal against Houston was like so many others that Beckham had his hand in over the year. He started the move as the Galaxy's deep-lying playmaker, creating the tempo Los Angeles plays with with his passing ability. The ability to set up goals and create space for other players with his passing is one of the reasons why the Galaxy's ownership, AEG, fought so hard to keep him around for another two seasons, beating out the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and money-is-no-object Paris Saint-Germain.

Beckham has rejuvenated his career as a deep-lying playmaker for the Galaxy. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena has used Beckham in the holding midfield role similar to Andrea Pirlo, the model regista, of Juventus. Beckham doesn't have the movement he once had now that he's 36 years old, so Arena took him off the wing and placed him in the center of the midfield alongside a hard-worker—the Brazilian Juninho is his favored partner—to track and tackle and let Beckham work with the ball when the Galaxy get it back.

By pushing Beckham further back in the midfield, Arena has given him more space and time on the ball to pick passes and control the tempo of play. With Beckham's eye for a pass and a cross, the space and time he has in the Galaxy midfield allows him to break down opponents and take pressure of his teammates because they know he can receive the ball in tight spaces and work a pass with his impeccable skill.

It's a natural move for the aging midfielder, but one that many players struggle to adapt to, which is a testament to his work ethic and ability on and off the ball.

The move into a deeper role has helped Beckham continue to excel in MLS, a notoriously physical league. And with Beckham on the field, and an infusion of new teams with great fan bases, MLS enjoyed record attendances last year [a league-wide average of 17,872 fans per game in 2011].  That growth is directly related to Beckham in a way.

When he joined the league from Real Madrid in 2007, there were only 12 teams in the league, which was still trying to find its identity and a major breakthrough. Only a few seasons before MLS was on the brink of extinction. Now it's flourishing amid a sports-saturated world, which isn't something every major American sport can say. 

Beckham has also had an effect on television deals for the league.

The Galaxy signed a 10-year, $55 million local television deal with Time Warner Cable last season even amid the fears that Beckham might leave for Europe. It showed the faith Time Warner and AEG had that Beckham would return to the Galaxy and help continue the team's winning ways. MLS signed a three-year deal with NBC Sports as well last year, which was an unprecedented deal with a major network that would never have happened before 2007 and Beckham mania. 

Is the 36-year-old Beckham worth the money the Galaxy are shelling out? Yes.

He is a rare breed of a player who excels on the field and transitions even better off the field. He drives revenue. He drives the world-wide brand of the team and the league. And the change in position has rejuvenated his career.

When Beckham stands over a free-kick, the opposition knows he can deliver the telling ball with precision and power. He's still the best when it comes to whipping in crosses. And it shows. In two regular season games this year, Beckham already has two assists.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

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There were many great individual performances in Major League Soccer last weekend.

Chris Wondolowski scored a brace for the San Jose Earthquakes over Toronto FC.

Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry did the same for New York Red Bulls, each scoring two goals in a 4-1 thumping of Colorado. 

But this weekend, there is a new crop of players to watch out for, including those U.S. national team players returning from Olympic qualifying.

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After a two-week layoff, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy return to action on Saturday, March 31 when they take on Jay Heaps's New England Revolution at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET and will be televised by NBC Sports.

So, just how will this match turn out? These 10 Bold Predictions from yours truly may shed a little light into the proceedings on Saturday.

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Major League Soccer and the USMNT are tied together like bacon and scallops. The MLS bacon imbues the USMNT scallop with a certain smokey flavor. Or, it did. The amount of MLS bacon has dwindled in recent years, to the point that the direct impact of the league on the USMNT is at an all-time low. 

There are still a handful of MLS players in the USMNT mix. Those who can make Klinsmann's cut are generally the league's biggest stars. This past weekend in MLS, the number of USMNT players playing was limited by schedule quirks and U-23 Olympic qualifying. 

Those Americans playing in America's top league—as more and more of their countrymen go abroad for brighter lights and bigger paychecks—who manage to get called-up are most often in positions of greatest National Team need. See: Cameron, Geoff. 

Quick show of hands: How many of you know which Major League Soccer players are regulars in Jurgen Klinsmann's US National Team? 

Those with your hands raised...name them. Quickly!

If you said "Landon Donovan", I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Only technically, of course, since Donovan hasn't yet suited up for Jurgen Klinsmann, but certainly will as soon as he is able. After Donovan, it gets a little difficult to rattle off the MLSers who are established in the US squad. 

Here are the four who made the cut the last time Klinsmann called up a team (for the match against Itay on February 29th):

GK Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake

DF Geoff Cameron, Houston Dynamo

MF Brek Shea, FC Dallas

FW Edson Buddle, LA Galaxy

For that particular team, Brek Shea was a late call-up, one of two replacements brought in for the ill Landon Donovan and the (reportedly) injured Timmy Chandler. 

In this past weekend's MLS action, only Cameron and Rimando played, both in losses. Shea was with the U-23s in Nashville, while Buddle and LA had the week off. 

It was Nick Rimando's failure to hold onto a high ball in the box that allowed Chivas USA's Casey Townsend to score, giving the visitors a win over the home-standing RSL. The loss was mildly shocking, both because Rimando is among the league's best decision-makers at goalkeeper, and because RSL had shot out to such a hot start in the league. 

Cameron and Houston fell to Seattle in Seattle, 2-0. The match was a nightmare from Cameron's perspective, thanks to a deflected goal scored by David Estrada off of Cameron and the penalty called on the Dynamo center-back for his bump of Patrick Ianni on a corner kick. 

MLS players on the USMNT fringe abound. Most notable of those who played in MLS Week 3 are Graham Zusi (both assists in Sporting Kansas City's 2-1 win over FC Dallas), Chris Wondolowski (a pair of goals in San Jose's road win over Toronto) and Kyle Beckerman, who put in his usual solid midfield effort for Real Salt Lake in their losing effort against Chivas. 

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Toronto FC will host a very tough Mexican side, Santos Laguna, at BMO Field tonight in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finals.  

Toronto drew Santos after a great victory against MLS Champions LA Galaxy just a few weeks ago.  Santos demolished Seattle in their quarterfinal, winning 7-2 on aggregate. 

Coming off of a high from two well-played fixtures against LA, Toronto FC has come crashing down in league play, losing both their league and home openers to Seattle and San Jose with disappointing play. 

Not only is Toronto playing terrible football, but they are also suffering with injuries to captain and star player Torsten Frings and goalkeeper Stefan Frei.  

Toronto's defense has been terrible in their two league fixtures, giving up three goals in both of their MLS games.  As if their defensive problems were not enough, Santos is a high-scoring side.  

Hopefully the crowd at BMO can be the difference in this match; however, Toronto should be considered huge underdogs in this CONCACAF match. 

Toronto should aim not to concede in this match; if they can squeeze out a 0-0 draw or 1-0 victory, this would be a great step towards the second leg. 

The second leg in Mexico is going to undoubtedly be extremely difficult; however, Toronto must focus on keeping a clean sheet and not conceding any away goals. 

This game might be a tough one for the Toronto faithful; however, Canadian and MLS pride rides on this side as they are the last remaining MLS team in this competition and first Canadian team to reach this stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. 

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