While most people were likely focused on the CanMNT friendly Saturday night, there was the classic big slate of MLS matches going on through the international break.

These weekends always act as some level of throwaways, as a decent portion of players from every team are away with their national teams. But there's always something to take away from seeing what your depth has to offer.

Here's what stuck out in MLS' matchday 28.

Something to be proud of

Speaking of depth, CF Montréal do not have a lot of it. Between the lower-budget roster, as well as a big portion of players departed internationally, there were just five substitutes – two of which were goalkeepers – on the Impact bench Saturday evening.

The club reportedly contacted MLS asking this game to be moved, but saw their request denied, meaning they simply had to suck it up and play.

Could this lack of substitutes be a result of Montréal not fielding an MLS Next Pro team, and therefore lack a place to pull players up for short-term contracts to fill a bench? Absolutely, but the players on the roster don't make those decisions, and are the ones most impacted by this situation.

As a desperate FC Cincinnati rolled into town needing three points in their playoff race, it would've been pretty easy for the shorthanded bleu-blanc-noir to roll over and add another loss to a 2026 MLS campaign to forget.

That fact was compounded after Brayan Ceballos limped to the dressing room in the 11th minute of play. With no natural centre-back replacement on the bench, it forced Philippe Eullaffroy into a change of system, bringing on Fabian Herbers as a third midfielder.

But they didn't give up. Daniel Ríos got on the board in the 25th minute, and after Cincy equalized in the second half, Prince Owusu found two goals in five minutes to push the home side to a 3-1 victory.

"It was probably our best performance of the season," Owusu said postgame. "We put in a solid, mature performance. It feels great to get this win in front of our fans."

In the end, that's all that really should be taken from this game. There's no sweeping tactical breakdown of how they did it; this was all heart, and a group showing their togetherness in a tough moment to bring a moment of light to a fairly dark season.

While the playoffs are likely out of reach, Montréal will look to channel this energy into the Canadian Championship final next month.

Set pieces and second balls in the box

DC United are not a very good team, but they're certainly annoying to play against.

They're big, direct and always look to win the second ball. While they certainly lack talent in some key parts of the pitch, they aren't a team that you can really play against in first gear. It's always going to be a dogfight.

Vancouver figured this out the hard way on Saturday. Both sides were missing a handful of key players internationally, and that helped foster a game environment that was a bit chippy and not always the most fluid, things that played into DC's style.

All three of the visitors' goals were about packing the box and getting it in the mixer for their big guys to cause chaos, or a winger to ghost back post into open space.

It's not pretty, but it was effective on the night. DC generated 21 shots and 2.8 xG on the night, both tallies being the most the Whitecaps have conceded in a single match by a fair distance in MLS play this season.

Obviously, missing guys like Ralph Priso, Andrés Cubas and Jeevan Badwal certainly helps with the lack of defensive stability. But, in general, United just came in with a very strict game plan, executed it well and were able to win the physical battles they desired.

Vancouver was much better going the other way. They exposed DC defensively a good number of times, with Bruno Caicedo really flying on the left wing, causing a ton of trouble for his opposing full-back in Silvan Hefti, who was left isolated far too often.

Thomas Müller continues to look back in great form after injury slowed him down a bit earlier this year, and Brian White's 17 goals now put him third in MLS. 

While this draw was frustrating defensively, it's probably fair to just chalk it up to an international break outlier.

The best vs. the rest

There's no team in MLS better than Nashville this season, who now sit 10 points clear atop the Supporters' Shield race, and are chasing the all-time single-season points record.

A shorthanded Toronto team proved no match for the 'Yotes on Saturday, who were in complete control of the game from minute one and never really looked uncomfortable at all.

TFC were without the vast majority of their back line, with Walker Zimmerman out suspended while Benjamín Kuscevic and Richie Laryea were gone internationally. 

Nashville's star-studded attack featuring the four-headed monster of Sam Surridge, Hany Mukhtar, Cristian Espinoza and Elias Saad is too much for most healthy and good teams, and was obviously way too much for Toronto's second-string back line to handle.

Alas, the final scoreline read 2-0, which honestly could've been more. The Reds now sit 13th in the East, four points back of the ninth and final postseason spot. October's schedule is Montréal, Orlando, Red Bull New York, Columbus and DC. They'll likely need 12 points from those games to make it.

The likelihood of that happening is probably pretty low.