How’s that for elegant? Minnesota United took down St. Louis CITY SC in an emphatic 3-0 win tonight, shaking off the midweek rust in the best way possible. Rested legs picked up right where they left off, putting in one of the club’s most dominant performances during Head Coach Eric Ramsay’s time in Minnesota.

Your Loons resumed business as usual this evening, putting out the same lineup that took down Miami last weekend. A fairly even opening 15 minutes saw both teams settling into the match, with half-chances and near-misses showing that either side was capable of finding a foothold in this one. Some early heroics from Dayne St. Clair kept the scoresheet even, giving the rest of the squad the time they needed to grow into this one.

The standout efforts of Nicolás Romero helped to transfer St. Clair’s energy to the rest of the pitch, as the young center back was covering space extremely well, reading the game and stepping into dangerous areas to shut down St. Louis’ best attempts. With his leadership from the back, the Loons settled into a midblock of sorts, enabling them to win the ball high and exploit the spaces left in between the visitor’s lines. Just after the half-hour mark, the discipline paid off.

Joaquín Pereyra’s 33rd-minute corner looped to the head of Romero just beyond the penalty spot, where he headed it down to the feet of Tani Oluwaseyi inside the six. The Loons’ leading goal scorer added to his 2025 tally, settling the ball quickly before opting for an audacious backheel that split two CITY defenders and left Roman Burki shaking his head.

With the lead in hand, the Black and Blue only got better from there. They actually led the possession battle at half, keeping 50.6% of the ball and outpassing their opponents 212 to 190. Both keepers showed out well in the first 45, but once the floodgates opened in front of Burki, they didn’t shut.

The home side came out of the half firing, as Carlos Harvey sent another long-range shot just wide to alert St. Louis of what was to come. Some absolutely beautiful passing sequences between the 50th and 65th minutes saw the Loons play more effectively in possession than they have all season long, with seamless interplay allowing them to carve open their opponents with ease.

A sloppy bit of play from the visitors just after the hour-mark saw Anthony Markanich win the ball high, where he found the feet of Robin Lod in the middle of the pitch. The Loons spread quickly, giving the Finnish playmaker plenty of passes to choose from. He opted to thread a through-ball to Oluwaseyi’s feet, whose subsequent layoff to Pereyra at the top of the box was the kind of target-man play that coaches dream of seeing from their strikers. Pereyra stepped up to the plate and fired a pinpoint shot into the left side of the net, leaving Burki no chance and doubling the lead.

While the game felt done and dusted, the Loons weren’t finished yet. In the 78th minute, Pereyra started pulling strings again, sending a curling cross to the back-post run of substitute Julian Gressel. The newest Loon scored his first goal for the Black and Blue to bring the lead up to three before celebrating with his family in a beautiful moment. What a way to wrap things up?

Late subs Sang Bin Jeong, Kelvin Yeboah, Hoyeon Jung, and Owen Gene brought an energy to the closing stages of the match that effectively snuffed out any remaining fight left in the visitors, nearly adding a fourth before it was all said and done.

Quality passing, movement, and service set the Loons apart tonight, allowing them to take advantage of the very open 4-3-3 that St. Louis played. The hosts smothered CITY whenever they had possession, didn’t give up any space without a fight, and defended as a unit once more. While they’ve shown themselves to be a stronger first half team in games past, the Loons just kept growing and getting better as time ticked past in tonight’s contest. They managed 20 shots (7 on target), surpassing their average of just over 12 shots per game.

With their eighth goal from a set piece, their seventh clean sheet, and another superb defensive performance, Minnesota United got back on the right track in dominant fashion tonight, bringing their season point total up to 25, just four points back from the Supporters’ Shield leaders, Philadelphia. They’ll be back in action this Wednesday against none other than … St. Louis CITY! Catch the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on May 21 at 7:30, right back here at Allianz Field.