I wasn't sure if I was going to like the new playoff format, but the games yesterday were awesome.
Loving this effort from the Union after Blake’s performance.This Philly-NYRB is another bonkers game.
Andre Blake did his best to give away the game for the Union, but now it's 3-3.
How about in the next game?Been really enjoying these games...kind of wish at least one road team wins though.
Who even knows. It's amazing that the playoff games have been so crazy and we haven't even seen the club that alternates between the Zlatan Show and being a total dumpster fire.How about in the next game?
I need to put Zlatan's name on alert on all my social media accounts for the lead-up.High fives all around in MLSHQ, as we're getting an LAFC vs. LA Galaxy playoff game
That was heartbreaking, but about what was expected from the Timbers. Their defense was just not that great this year.Went to bed and missed more insanity:
View: https://twitter.com/BrianSciaretta/status/1185746925754224641
That's awesome. Not the result obviously....That was heartbreaking, but about what was expected from the Timbers. Their defense was just not that great this year.
I drove to Salt Lake City for the match, it was about 60 hours total time for the trip, a bit over 20 hours of that was driving. Over 1500 miles.
I think it's fine for a first round of the playoffs, but I think the QFs and beyond should still be two-legged, just in the interests of the result reflecting the teams' underlying quality. Much harder (though obviously not impossible) for an inferior team to win a two-legged tie. And that would mean that a team who won the first round would be guaranteed to host a playoff game, whereas right now that's not the case.I wasn't sure if I was going to like the new playoff format, but the games yesterday were awesome.
I'm not so sure about this. Yes, a one-legged game is a smaller sample size and thus makes it more likely that an inferior team will win, but does that effect counterbalance the of effects of the inferior team playing on the road?I think it's fine for a first round of the playoffs, but I think the QFs and beyond should still be two-legged, just in the interests of the result reflecting the teams' underlying quality. Much harder (though obviously not impossible) for an inferior team to win a two-legged tie. And that would mean that a team who won the first round would be guaranteed to host a playoff game, whereas right now that's not the case.
Considering home teams vastly outperformed road teams in the regular season (1.82 and 1.28 points per game respectively), I don't believe this is accurate.Much harder (though obviously not impossible) for an inferior team to win a two-legged tie.
It's used to designate a club who has clinched a playoff spot in the official league standingsWhat's with the "X" before the twitter handles of some soccer accounts? Teams and fans.
https://twitter.com/NERevolution
https://twitter.com/NashvilleSC
So fans add it to their twitter handle as well?It's used to designate a club who has clinched a playoff spot in the official league standings
https://www.mlssoccer.com/standings
They'd still need to score more on aggregate. Having two legs just gives them a fair shake.Considering home teams vastly outperformed road teams in the regular season (1.82 and 1.28 points per game respectively), I don't believe this is accurate.
The MLS schedule is balanced; all clubs play each conference opponent twice and the opposite conference once, so I think "better seed" and "better club" are the same for most purposes. Obviously, home field advantage for the MLS Cup final may be determined by strength of schedule, but throughout league history it has always been a one-off event, never over two legs.They'd still need to score more on aggregate. Having two legs just gives them a fair shake.
If you just want the higher seed to win a disproportionate amount of the time, then sure, one-legged ties accomplish that more directly. But that wasn't what I was arguing for, in my mind the "better team" might not necessarily be the higher seed in all cases, in terms of how they're doing lately and given the unbalanced schedule.
Timbers supporters made a good showing as always. SLC is a good away day, this is the 3rd time I've been, once in the regular season, once for US Open Cup, and now Playoffs.That's awesome. Not the result obviously....
The playoffs have reinforced the notion that as spending on players has increased, more investment has gone into attackers than defenders.That game was crazy. Such poor defending on both sides.
It was a terrible challenge and, it turns out, he's sorry about it.The penalty that Matarrita conceded would have been shocking to see in a high school playoff game.