FC Dallas cruises to victory on the road against D.C. United
- Mario Amaya
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
The return from the International break in club football also meant the return to play in MLS as they look to move their season forward ahead of the break for the World Cup in May. For D.C. United, this meant a return to action in front of their fans inside the confines of Audi Field as FC Dallas came into town.
However, for the Black-and-Red, this would not be a happy return to MLS action as FC Dallas dismantled DC in front of more than 19,215 fans Saturday night that came to witness the visitors walk away 4-0 victors on the night.
"Difficult to find the right words," said D.C. United head coach Rene Weiler. "I think we have to speak about the last 15-20 minutes. Some players, they quit. They gave up. I felt it when I started my job last season, but it was much better now [in] the first five games. But yeah, a little bit back to the old [ways]. Unbelievable."
The Game
D.C. would have the first scoring of the game as a Joao Peglow cross found Tai Baribo in the box; however, his header would be caught by Dallas goalkeeper Micheal Collodi.
Dallas opened up the scoring in the 16th minute. After a D.C. clearance from their own end, the ball would be won in midfield by Sebastien Ibeagha, who headed the ball to Ramiro. The Brazilian midfielder played a long ball behind the D.C. defense to Logan Farrington, who was left one-on-one with Sean Johnson. Farrington settled the ball inside the box and slotted his shot past Johnson to give Dallas an early lead.
"We let down the fans today," said D.C. United midfielder Brandon Servania. "We just lost intensity in certain moments. We lost fight in certain moments. And yeah, that was kind of like the culture from last year — that we wanted to kill and end and didn't want to bring back this year — kind of lingering around in this game."
D.C. had a chance to tie the game in the 40th minute when Keisuke Kurokawa sent a cross into the box to a waiting Lucas Bartlett, who headed the ball towards the net, but Collodi was equal to the play and punched the center back's goalscoring opportunity over the bar and out for a corner.
Just before halftime, Dallas would be gifted a free kick outside of the box. Patrickson Delgado set up to take the free kick. The Ecuadorian midfielder produced a sublime strike as the ball nestled in the middle of the goal and doubled the visiting team's lead ahead of the break.
D.C. would create a couple of opportunities in the second half, including one off a set piece, which led to a collision between Peglow and Dallas's Kaick, prompting appeals for a penalty for United. After a VAR check, the referee determined there was no foul inside the box and let play continue.
"It was obviously not enough. We cannot end the game like this," said Silvan Hefti. "In the end, we didn't win in fights, and we let them too [easily] create some chances. So, that was not enough."
Aaron Herrera would play his first minutes of the 2026 season, replacing Sean Nealis in the 60th minute, who would come off due to injury. Baribo would also come off the field a few minutes later due to injury and was replaced by Jacob Murrell.
"He gave me a signal that he's feeling his muscle, so [the change was] a protection," said Weiler. "I have no other updates about his injury."
Dallas would go on to dominate the closing stages of the match and would get the third goal of the match in the 78th minute. After Ramiro's corner kick was cleared by a United defender. Kaick got to the loose ball and quickly passed the ball to Joaquín Valiente, who sent the ball into the box and to the head of defender Osaze Urhoghide, headed the ball past Johnson and into the lower left corner of the net.
"It's a little bit the culture," said Weiler about the last 20 minutes of the game. "We have to change the culture, and it's not so easy to change the culture. It was really good now, the first five games, but today, really bad. And so, it means that we didn't change the culture, yet." The Swiss coach continued, "How we want to change it, it takes a little bit more time, but at the end, the players have to perform in the best possible way. They have to fight until the end. Doesn't matter the result: you can't give up at the end. They can score — easily — two, three goals more. That's unbelievable, and we have to change immediately."
Dallas would round out their night in stoppage time, after a Collodi clearance found Petar Musa deep in United territory. Musa would play the ball to newcomer Santiago Moreno, who shot the ball towards goal, but the ball would fall to Musa, who placed the ball in the lower right corner of the net for his 7th goal of the season, keeping the Croatian International tied for first place in goalscoring leader boards with Nashville's Sam Surridge.
"To lose 4- 0 at home is, it's embarrassing," said Bartlett. "To be honest, we gave up in the last 15 minutes — as a team [and] individually — and it's not acceptable."
With this result, D.C. drops to 8th place of the Eastern Conference with 7 points, while FC Dallas is tied for 5th place of the Western Conference with San Diego with 11 points.
D.C. will have a stretch of five games in a span of 14 days ahead of them between league play and US Open Cup play, which will start with their visit to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, when they take on the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 11th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
