The 2018 Major League Soccer season kicks off Saturday, as Toronto FC begins its title defense campaign against Columbus.
Here is a look at the five most interesting facts ahead of MLS Week 1, courtesy of Opta:
—New Atlanta United man Darlington Nagbe completed 86.8 percent of his 258 forward passes in the final third, the best rate of any player who attempted at least three such passes last season.
—Sacha Kljestan, who will make his Orlando City debut later this month after serving a two-game suspension stemming from an incident in last year's playoffs, needs three assists to pass Andy Williams (86) for the ninth-most assists in MLS history. He has five assists in 10 career games against D.C. United (including playoffs) since 2015.
—Real Salt Lake won eight games from July 4, 2017, through the end of last season. Only Toronto (10), Vancouver (nine) and Seattle (nine) had more in that time.
—Nemanja Nikolic netted 24 goals last season, becoming the first Fire player to win the league’s Golden Boot. He recorded a brace against the Rapids last season in a 3-0 win on May 17.
—Sporting Kansas City conceded just 29 goals in league play last season, tied for the eighth-fewest all-time.
Follow @OptaJack on Twitter for more facts and statistics throughout the season.