Starting XI: First Fall in Frisco

Starting XI is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Sporting Kansas City (3-1-3, 12 points) suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 setback to FC Dallas (4-0-2, 14 points) at Toyota Stadium, falling in a battle between the two remaining undefeated clubs in MLS. Tim Melia delivered a strong performance between the posts, making five first-half saves to equal the most by a Sporting KC goalkeeper in a single half since 2010. With the defeat came an end to a historic run, as Sporting KC became just the fourth side to go the first six games of a season without trailing.

2. The Boys are Back in Town

With a two-game road swing in the rearview mirror, Sporting Kansas City returns to the friendly confines of Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday to host rivals Real Salt Lake (2-4-2,8 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, ESPN 99.3 FM and La Grande 1340 AM. Tickets for the Western Conference clash are on sale at SeatGeek.com, and the first 10,000 fans through the Children’s Mercy Park gates will receive a free Sporting KC koozie courtesy of match sponsor Park University.

Sporting KC’s 12-game home unbeaten streak dating back to last June is tied for the longest in club history. Manager Peter Vermes’ men will look to snap a seven-game winless skid in the regular season series against a Real Salt Lake side that has won two of its last three matches.

3. Special Occasion

All supporters who attend Saturday’s match at Children’s Mercy Park are encouraged to remain in their seats afterward for a Special Olympics Exchange game between athletes from Special Olympics Kansas City and Special Olympics Utah. Player introductions, warmups and a National Anthem performance will give both teams a professional pregame experience, followed by two 15-minute halves. After the game, a commemorative ceremony will see each participant receive a medal. The Special Olympics Kansas City team will feature players from Special Olympics Kansas and Special Olympics Missouri.

4. Comeback Cut Short

A commendable second-half comeback from the Swope Park Rangers fell just short on Sunday as the club fell 4-3 to Phoenix Rising FC in Tempe, Arizona. After falling behind 4-0 early in the second half, the Rangers (3-1-0, 9 points) staged a furious fightback to nearly salvage a draw with two goals from Kevin Oliveira and a strike from Christian Duke in the final quarter-hour. The Rangers will remain on the road Saturday to face Real Monarchs SLC (4-1-0, 12 points) at 5 p.m. CT, kicking off at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah with a live stream on SportingKC.com.

5. Five-Star Showing

Swope Park Rangers defender and Sporting KC Academy product Jaylin Lindsey played 90 minutes and recorded an assist on Sunday as the United States U-17 Men’s National Team defeated Jamaica 5-0 to kick off the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Panama City, Panama. Lindsey and the U.S. will conclude group stage play this week, facing Mexico at 5:30 p.m. CT Wednesday and El Salvador at 10:30 a.m. CT Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live in English on the CONCACAF Facebook page. The competition ends May 7 and will determine the four CONCACAF representatives at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.

6. Rush Crushed

The Sporting KC U-16s kept pace at the top of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Frontier Division standings with an 8-1 win over the Colorado Rush on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village. Earlier that morning, the Sporting KC U-18s kicked off the doubleheader with a 2-2 draw to remain in position — like the U-16s — to qualify for the Development Academy playoffs in June. Both academy sides now turn their attention to this Saturday’s crucial doubleheader with FC Dallas, to be played on the campus of the University of Tulsa. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates.

7. That’s a Wrap

A busy Week 8 in MLS unfolded as such: Orlando’s Cyle Larin continued his history of bossing New York City FC, Seattle thrashed hapless LA on the road, Atlanta rolled past RSL, Portland edged Cascadia rival Vancouver, Sebastian Giovinco exploded against Chicago, the Red Bulls dispatched Crew SC, Houston blanked San Jose, Minnesota earned its first ever shutout win, and Philly stayed winless by throwing away a three-goal lead to Montreal. MLSsoccer.com analyst Matthew Doyle offered his thoughts on the week that was, while FOX Soccer’s Caitlin Murray drew eight key takeaways from the action.

8. LAFC Lining Up Chicharito?

The Metro’s Kristian Dyer reported Saturday that 2018 MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC are making “significant process” in their negotiations with heralded Mexican striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. LAFC is reportedly considering a deal that would make him the highest paid player in league history with a potential salary of more than $10 million per year. The report comes after ESPN FC’s Jeff Carlisle originally revealed that talks had begun between LAFC and Hernandez’s current club Bayer Leverkusen back in February.

9. Magical Messi

Lionel Messi added to his legend on Sunday with a magical performance in El Clasico, scoring two goals to propel FC Barcelona to a scintillating 3-2 win over Real Madrid that leapfrogged the side into first place in La Liga. The gifted Argentine bagged his first goal on a fine solo effort in the first half before netting the game-winner — his 500th Barcelona goal across all competitions — in second-half stoppage time. Barcelona and Real Madrid are currently level on points atop the La Liga table, but Madrid have an all-important game in hand.

10. London Calling

A pair of London clubs prevailed at Wembley Stadium this weekend to set up a London derby in the 2017 FA Cup Final. Chelsea claimed a pulsating 4-2 semifinal win over Tottenham on Saturday, sparked by second-half substitute Eden Hazard, before Arsenal came from behind to oust Manchester City 2-1 in extra time the following afternoon. Rivals Chelsea and Arsenal can now look forward to their highly anticipated date in the final, set for May 27 at Wembley.

11. Midweek Madness

Major League Soccer doesn’t resume until Friday, but there is plenty of mouthwatering action from across the pond to satisfy the soccer appetite until then. In England, Chelsea continues its chase of the Premier League title on Tuesday before Manchester United and Manchester City resume their fierce rivalry on Thursday. La Liga’s title race rages on as Barcelona and Real Madrid both take the field Wednesday, the same afternoon that Bayern Munich hosts Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund in a star-studded DFB Pokal semifinal battle. Finally, the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League winner will be crowned Wednesday night when Pachuca hosts Tigres UANL, having drawn the first leg 1-1 last week.

Games to Watch (April 25-27)