Los Angeles FC made a statement in its MLS debut as the expansion side upstaged the Seattle Sounders, while LA's cross-town rivals got the season off to a strong start and New York City FC also won the road.
It was a landmark occasion for MLS' newest team LAFC on Sunday – the expansion franchise marking its inaugural game with a 1-0 victory at CenturyLink Field.
There are plenty of big names associated with LAFC, a club co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson.
Hollywood star Will Ferrell is also part of the ownership team and he was in attendance as LAFC left Seattle with all three points thanks to Diego Rossi's early strike, the fastest ever scored by an expansion side in their first outing.
Led by former United States and Swansea City boss Bob Bradley and headlined by Mexican star Carlos Vela following his arrival from La Liga outfit Real Sociedad, it was Uruguayan Rossi who netted the winner in the 11th minute.
After hitting the post, Rossi was played in by Vela before finishing past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei .
Will Bruin thought he had equalized for Seattle in the 65th minute but his goal was ruled out for offside, while substitute Handwalla Bwana hit the crossbar before Tony Alfaro was sent off late.
Not to be overshadowed by their newest city rivals, the LA Galaxy saw off Portland Timbers 2-1 at Stubhub Center.
Two goals in as many first-half minutes from new signing Ola Kamara and Romain Alessandrini set the tone in Carson, where Portland's Sebastian Blanco reduced the deficit with 24 minutes remaining.
goals. minutes. #LAvPOR #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/Rqp1DXyrqx
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 5, 2018
New York flexed its muscle with an impressive 2-0 win at Sporting Kansas City.
Captain David Villa set up Maximiliano Moralez for the opener just past the half-hour mark before Jesus Medina doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half.
New York ended the match with 10 men following a red card to Maxime Chanot, who denied an obvious goal scoring opportunity after a video review.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the Montreal Impact 2-1 in the all-Canadian affair, with new signing Kei Kamara and teenage star Alphonso Davies doing the damage for the Whitecaps .
It was the first MLS goal for 17-year-old Davies, who has already attracted the interest of the likes of Manchester United.