FC Dallas beat Austin FC 2-1 in MLS, using a compact 3-4-2-1 shape and a more direct attacking approach to overcome the hosts’ control of possession. Austin’s 3-4-3 system secured 65% of the ball, but Dallas produced the greater attacking volume, recording 15 shots to nine and six efforts on target to four. The visitors also finished with 0.96 xG, compared with Austin’s 0.51, reflecting their ability to turn limited possession into more frequent shooting opportunities. Petar Musa scored one of Dallas’s goals, while Ervin Torres supplied Austin’s only goal, giving the home side a route back into a contest shaped by contrasting approaches. The goalkeepers also influenced the margins: Dallas’s keeper saved 75% of the shots on target faced and registered 0.43 goals saved above expected, while Austin’s goalkeeper posted a 66.67% save rate against six efforts on target. Dallas therefore combined disciplined work without the ball with enough threat in transition to punish Austin, whose territorial advantage did not translate into an equivalent level of chance quality. Dallas claimed the Texas bragging rights with an efficient away win.