Red Bulls eliminate NYCFC
New York Red Bulls struck early twice in the first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs edition of the Hudson River Derby, advancing past arch-rival New York City FC with a 2-0 victory in Saturday's Eastern Conference Semifinal at Citi Field.
Seattle (finally) take down LAFC
Seattle Sounders reached the Western Conference Final in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, completing a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over LAFC on Saturday at BMO Stadium.
Conference Semifinals continue today
The playoffs continue this afternoon, with Orlando City hosting Atlanta United at 3:30 pm ET (MLS Season Pass). After that, the LA Galaxy welcome Minnesota United at 6 pm ET (MLS Season Pass).
No higher seed is safe. Let’s talk it out.
Felipe Carballo hit one that kept rising until it hit the back of the net, and Dante Vanzeir added a second via set piece moments later to tilt the scales in New York Red Bulls’ favor for good. New York City FC created plenty of opportunities to get back in the game, but Carlos Coronel wouldn’t let them. New York is red again, and the Red Bulls will face the winner of Orlando City-Atlanta United for a shot at MLS Cup.
New York got the job done in exactly the way you would expect. They won 50-50 ball after 50-50 ball in NYCFC’s half and won a couple of pinball moments. If you win those moments where the ball is bouncing around with no real purpose on the Citi Field pitch, you normally have a great shot at winning the game.
The first moment came on Carballo’s goal. A goal kick from Coronel ended up near the top of the box and came out to Carballo, who, to his full credit, thumped the ever-living hell out of it. The second moment came on a corner that bounced around and fell to Vanzeir, who sent it home at the far post.
NYCFC were able to pile on chances after that but couldn’t find a breakthrough, creating 2.8 xG worth of chances but never got back in it. That’s just how things can go in a single-elimination playoff game. Tactics and all that are great, but sometimes you score a banger off a second ball, score a cluster goal off a corner, and that’s that.
That doesn’t change the fact something special is happening with this Red Bulls side. They’ve officially followed up their upset win over Columbus and are one game away from their first MLS Cup. The underlying numbers said they had this in them all year, but the underlying numbers said that last year, too. This time, the breaks are going their way, and they’re putting in the kind of high-intensity effort that can tilt the scale in your favor. It’s not pretty, but it’s effective. Right now, they sure seem like a team capable of breaking a curse.
Seattle did what they had to do. They dug in, muddied the game up, kept LAFC without a shot on goal in the first half, and then caught a break with a hilarious own goal that tied things up in the second. We said yesterday they would need a goal from literally anybody. We hadn’t considered it might be Maxime Chanot.
It helped, of course, that Stefan Frei decided to be the best 'keeper in the world for a night. He does that from time to time. It also helped that Jackson Ragen is an outstanding center back. And it also helped that Jordan Morris found a moment to absolutely thump the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time.
Overall, they executed the exact game plan necessary to pull off a win like this. It’s just what Seattle does, right? Now, they’re a win away from yet another MLS Cup.
A lot had rightfully been made of their 10-game winless run against LAFC. I’m willing to bet they’re (mostly) cool with trading those 10 games for the 2019 Conference Final and last night’s win. Or maybe it at least just dulls the pain considerably.
What more can you say, though? Seattle’s gonna Seattle. They’ve earned a ton of points since the halfway point of the season despite their clear flaws in attack. They’re the best defensive side in the league, and this group knows exactly how to get the job done in scenarios like this. It sure seems like a bad idea to pick against them at this point.
Welcome to Day 2. Home teams should be on high alert. Here’s what to keep an eye on.
What happened the last time these two met?
It feels like forever ago, but these two met on Decision Day. Orlando were playing for seeding, while Atlanta United were playing for their lives. Atlanta pulled out a 2-1 win and snuck into the playoffs. Orlando got the fourth seed, anyway. Now, they’ll have to pick up their first win against Atlanta this year for the right to host the Eastern Conference Final.
Who are the players to keep an eye on?
If Atlanta United sets up in the same 5-3-2 formation that carried them past Inter Miami, then the players to watch are Saba Lobjanidze and Ivan Angulo. Lobjanidze performed admirably in a brand-new position against Miami. His first stint at wingback went as well as it possibly could have. However, there were moments where he got caught out of position or caught unaware defensively.
That’s where Angulo comes in. If he can take advantage of those moments, then the speedy winger will have the ability to exploit space in behind that Miami were lacking in Round One. That’s a dangerous place to be for Atlanta.
The upset happens if…
Besides the scenario where they catch some early breaks and flip the game state in the same way the Red Bulls did last night, Atlanta need to find ways to attack in transition. That came easy against a Miami side that constantly played on a knife’s edge and had no real interest in setting a decent line. Orlando won’t be nearly as easy to play through. If the Lions limit Atlanta’s ability to attack at speed, there’s a decent chance they’ll be hosting New York next week.
Have these two met recently?
These two haven’t met since July 7. We have absolutely no frame of reference for how either side will perform against the other, largely because Minnesota United were a totally different team at that point in the season. They were the worst version of themselves and lost 2-1 that night. It would be a couple of months after that, but eventually, the Loons turned into one of the hottest teams in the league, thanks to the addition of striker Kelvin Yeboah.
Who are the players to keep an eye on?
I’d keep an eye on Yeboah. Seriously, he’s been a menace since arriving in MLS. Other than him, though, you should be familiar with the cast of characters here. The Galaxy will try to overwhelm Minnesota via their four-pronged attack of Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil, and Dejan Joveljic. Minnesota will do their best to hang on, and they’ll probably need goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair at his best to do it. You don’t have to overthink this one.
The upset happens if…
St. Clair does the job, Yeboah changes the game state, and the Loons have enough juice to slow down the Galaxy attack just enough. There should be space to counter if they do. And we know the Galaxy have had their struggles defensively. Minnesota will come across a couple of high-leverage moments in this one. All it takes is a little luck and quality to make those count.
If the Galaxy survive, though, their championship window is as wide as it could possibly be. Every other team that finished sixth or higher in the Supporters’ Shield is out of the playoffs. It’s just the Galaxy now. The pressure is all on them, for better or worse.
- The Red Bulls are dreaming of MLS Cup.
- Seattle finally put the LAFC “narrative to bed.”
Good luck out there. You’re due to break a streak.
