MLS First Kick: 5 takeaways from a wild opening day to the 2016 season

Major League Soccer was getting a little restless. The offseason, rife with an endless stream of transfer rumors, was dragging on. MLS fans yearned for competitive fixtures.

The opening day of the 2016 campaign delivered. And how.

All 20 teams took the pitch on Sunday. Beginning on the East Coast, where Tommy McNamara scored the first goal of the season, and ending out West with the star-studded LA Galaxy, the action came in droves.

Here's what you need to know from an entertaining opening day.

Giovinco picks up where he left off

In case you were wondering, Sebastian Giovinco is still the best player in North America.

The 29-year-old Italian, coming off a mesmerizing debut season in which he captured the league MVP award by scoring 22 goals and adding 16 assists, didn't waste any time in his attempt to surpass last year's totals.

Blanketed for much of Sunday's match against the New York Red Bulls by Gideon Baah, Giovinco did eventually break free, and was responsible for the two moments that decided the contest. The pint-sized attacker crafted and converted a penalty to open the scoring, and then teed up Marky Delgado for a late goal that solidified an impressive 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena.

He even gave us the best celebration of the (very) early campaign.

Related - VIDEO: Giovinco revs up Toronto FC's season with hilarious, unusual goal celebration

Much of the talk surrounding Toronto FC heading into the 2016 season has surrounded the team's astute effort to build a balanced squad - and with good reason, given the lopsided outfit of last year. But if Giovinco dominates in a manner similar to 2015, he'll once again be the star attraction for a team, and a league, that's increasingly fielding marquee names.

New York City FC, Chicago can't defend

File this as something we knew coming into the season: New York City FC and the Chicago Fire are bad defensively. Each side's ineptitude was on full display Sunday, as NYCFC opened its second MLS season with a back-and-forth 4-3 win over Veljko Paunovic's men.

For the neutral, it was glorious.

For loyal fans of each club, however, it highlighted the glaring issues that will plague their respective teams all season. Asking Andrea Pirlo and Mix Diskerud to do defensive work was, predictably, a disaster.

As for Chicago, well, yeah. A bad team in 2015 might be worse a year later.

If nothing else, at least there were a couple stunning goals.

Related - VIDEO: Tommy McNamara scores 1st goal of 2016 season with gorgeous curler

Neutral fans take notice: you won't be left wanting for entertainment if you decide to tune in when one of these two clubs is on the pitch.

Injuries already an issue

Kaka missed Orlando City's opening contest, a 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake, due to a thigh injury sustained in training this week. Frank Lampard, once again, is sidelined. Jozy Altidore is dealing with a hamstring problem.

And this was before a ball was even kicked.

Once the action began, one of the league's most exciting talents succumbed to injury, as FC Dallas winger Fabian Castillo pulled up in the latter stages of his side's 2-0 triumph over Philadelphia.

"In that last play when he went in front, he hurt his adductor," head coach Oscar Pareja was quoted as saying after the match. "But he will be fine. As I said, it's a muscular problem that can be healed soon. So we will have Fabian probably in the next two weeks. I don't want to over-elaborate on that, but the prognosis from the doctors is okay."

The 2016 campaign isn't even a full day old yet. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.

Portland gets the better of Columbus once again

Poor Columbus.

The Crew, who came up just short in last season's MLS Cup final, got a shot at some semblance of redemption Sunday, but promptly squandered it as goals from Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi gave the Portland Timbers a 2-1 win in a rematch of last year's championship match.

Related - Revenge rejected: Portland Timbers stomp Columbus Crew once more

The result rendered Federico Higuain's absurd bicycle kick, the best goal on a day chock-full of fantastic ones, entirely meaningless. The world can be so cruel.

Steven Gerrard should probably just retire

See for yourself.

There's no pressure in MLS though, so it's fine.

View every result from the opening day of the MLS season here.