On a wet and cold evening in Houston, FC Dallas opened the 2025 season with a big 2-1 victory over rivals Houston Dynamo.

Petar Musa had a goal and an assist in the Texas Derby win. Anderson Julio also opened up his scoring account with his new club.

The Dynamo took the lead 18 minutes into the match as Jack McGlynn played a long ball wide to Griffin Dorsey, who then whipped in a quick cross into the penalty area where Ezequiel Ponce was there to jump over Sebastien Ibeagha to head it on to Ameni Bassi who headed it into the goal from inches away.

Ten minutes into the second half, Dallas capitalized on a bad pass in the back by Houston defender Ethan Bartlow and keeper Andrew Tarbell. Bartlow attempted to play the ball back to Tarbell but Musa picked it off in the middle of the penalty box and immediately took a shot to tie the game up.

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The Dynamo nearly grabbed the lead back in the 72nd minute on a shot from distance by McGlynn. The Dynamo's big addition from the winter trade market got the ball about 25 yards out and fired a shot that beat Maarten Paes but hit the post and then was cleared out.

Four minutes later, Dallas gained the lead thanks to a counter attack goal from Julio. Musa played won the ball in his defensive end and then played a long ball over the Houston defense to Julio who took a couple of touches to beat the Houston defense before firing a shot into an open net.

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Instant Reaction: This game was a lot more open than I was anticipating, but the defense giving up an early goal shows just how far away we're at still from this group being on the same page.

The response in the second half was a lot better by the group. Musa was practically gifted a goal and then his set up to Julio is something we haven't seen from this group in a while. Having a guy like Julio in the attack, with his speed, is indeed a game changer.

About the Subs: Pedrinho was the first to come in around the 62nd minute for Bernard Kamungo. Five minutes later Tsiki Ntsabeleng came on for Ramiro Benetti after he picked up his first yellow card of the season. The final two subs came on with about ten minutes to go, Logan Farrington and Patrickson Delgado came on for Lucho Acost and Julio.

Man of the Match: A goal and an assist from Musa makes this an easy pick.

What’s next for FC Dallas: We’ll be back out on the road again next weekend, as FCD takes on the Colorado Rapids.