After an embarrassing 4-1 defeat in the previous edition, MLS rose to the occasion and defeated Liga MX 3-1 in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game thanks to the efforts of Philadelphia Union players. Despite the absence of joint league top scorer Lionel Messi and fellow Inter Miami star Jordi Alba, a goal in the first half and two more in the second half were enough to damage any hopes of a comeback from Liga MX, as Philadelphia Union Tai Baribo won the MVP Award.

MLS All-Stars best Liga MX All-Stars
In an MLS team that started slowly at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Evander was the main character in the first 15 minutes, with two consecutive shots on target in the 12th and 13th minutes. The first, from a direct free kick that was saved by the Liga MX goalkeeper Luis Malagon, who was named the best goalkeeper at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, earned MLS a corner kick. For his second shot, he followed up a punching clearance from a corner kick with a sublime volley that forced Malagon into another save.
Liga MX soon replied without hesitation, exerting complete dominance in the next ten minutes, forcing Brad Stuver to replicate the same wonders Malagon was working on at the other end of the pitch. They ran the show until Denis Bouanga took over completely. He made his mark by taking a short pass from a corner kick all the way into the box and sending in a shot that went out wide.
He returned a minute later after snatching the ball in the midfield and running past three Liga MX players to force a parrying save from Malagon. Again, Bouanga ran towards the left-hand side to pick up the parried shot and sent in a cross that found an unmarked Sam Surridge, who headed in to give MLS the lead.
An assist wasn’t going to suffice for Denis Bouanga. In another sequence of play minutes later, he sent a through ball to a free MLS player down the right-hand side, before making a forward run to attempt a shot saved by the post. Unfortunately, Liga MX captain Sergio Ramos blocked a follow-up shot from Sam Surridge.
MLS continued its impressive display in the second half. Six minutes after the break, MLS broke through on the counter and a through pass from Diego Rossi found a running Tai Baribo, who outran the Liga MX defenders and slotted the ball in the bottom left corner to extend MLS’s lead to 2-0 at the 51st minute.

In response, Gilberto Mora–the 16-year-old who became the youngest player to feature in an MLS All-Star game–took advantage of a moment of sloppiness from the MLS defense in the 64th minute and latched on to a loose ball from the right-hand side to become the youngest scorer in an MLS All-Star game.
Once Mora broke the deadlock, Liga MX mounted more pressure and came close to scoring on several occasions. But that wasn’t going to last for long. As MLS struggled with the attacking pressure of Liga MX, an MLS defender cleared a cross that was followed by a series of passes on the left-hand side, before a squared pass from Philip Zinckernagel found a free Brian White, who sealed the game for MLS. The game ended 3-1 in favor of the Americans.
Philadelphia Union’s Tai Baribo scored the second goal and won the MVP Award, while Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba were absent without any injury reports. As in the case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic some years ago, both players should be suspended for a game as a result of their absence, per MLS rules.

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Featured Image Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images