New York Red Bulls roll to Round One
Elias Manoel’s hat trick led the way for New York as the Red Bulls romped over Charlotte in a 5-2 win. They’ll face first-seeded FC Cincinnati in a Round One Best-of-3 series.
Sporting KC survive San Jose
Tim Melia came up big in yet another penalty shootout as Sporting KC took down San Jose 4-2 in penalties. SKC will head to St. Louis for Round One.
Concacaf Champions Cup dates announced
The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup will begin in early February, the confederation announced Tuesday. The rebranded tournament has expanded to 27 teams and five rounds for 2024. The winner qualifies for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, joining the winners from the 2021-23 competitions (including Seattle Sounders FC). The 2024 Champions Cup has a home-and-away series from Round One through the Semifinals, ending with a single-leg Final on June 2. Nine MLS clubs have qualified.
Inter Miami confirm Martínez exit
Inter Miami have formally declined Josef Martínez's contract option. The former MVP spent just one year with the Herons. The move potentially makes way for Miami’s long-rumored signing of Luis Suárez.
Sign up for The Daily Kickoff in your inbox! The Daily Kickoff is more than an article – it can be delivered to your email account as well.
What happened?: The Red Bulls played their typical wide open style and put together a masterclass in attack in a postseason game just like we all expected…
Ok, fine, yesterday we wrote that the Red Bulls just needed somebody, anybody to score. It didn’t matter who. They just needed one goal.
Well, Elias Manoel obliged early and then decided it would be fun to do a couple more times, John Tolkin smoked a free kick into the top right corner, and Tom Barlow finished a clear-cut chance directly in front of goal in a 5-2 romp over Charlotte. Sure, yeah, why not.
So, did we learn anything?: We’ve been saying for a bit here to watch out for the Red Bulls if they made it into the playoffs. We meant that in a “Well, if they catch a break or two in attack” kind of way. We did not mean it in a “Well, if they score in bunches like we all expect them to” kind of way.
We basically watched New York catch up to their underlying numbers in real time last night. We’ve mentioned those numbers a ton lately, but it’s important to remember they were only two expected goals created behind Atlanta United this year. They were creating decent chances. They just needed someone to step up and a lot more luck. I would call a hat trick from Elias Manoel stepping up, and I would call five goals on 1.1 xG some serious luck.
If anyone deserved a break from the analytics gods this year, though, it's the Red Bulls. We shouldn’t expect them to score with every shot on target from here on out, but we can probably expect them to carry some momentum into Round One and be up for a fight.
Oh, and we also got a reminder that John Tolkin rules. All hail surefire 2023 People’s Best XI member John Tolkin.
What’s next?: The Red Bulls deserved some breaks and got them against a Charlotte team that’s struggled to defend this year. Charlotte looked totally disjointed at times last night. New York’s Round One opponent, FC Cincinnati, are far less likely to look totally disjointed defensively. The Red Bulls are going to need to be at their very best to take down the Supporters’ Shield winners.
All it takes is a couple of draws though. Two penalty shootout wins and you’re onto the next round with a huge upset in hand. It’s plausible. It’s hard to envision anyone running away from this Red Bulls team.
What happened?: For a long time, not much. It started to become clear relatively early that one team would accidentally score and open this up or we were going to penalties. Both teams came kind of sort of close to creating a high-probability chance or two off a deflection. But with the Quakes nestled in their own half and lacking an edge when they left it, scoring opportunities were hard to come by.
Still, there were moments where Sporting fans had to hold their breath. Cade Cowell’s looping run into SKC’s box late in the game nearly flipped this one on its head. But a Sporting defender blocked Cowell’s potentially dangerous attempt to keep the Quakes from challenging goalkeeper Tim Melia. In fact, San Jose didn’t put a shot on frame against Melia until the penalty shootout. Even then, Melia didn’t look too bothered.
Melia, possibly the best penalty shootout goalkeeper in the history of soccer, I’m not kidding, saved Cristian Espinoza’s opening attempt, watched Jackson Yueill sky the second and Sporting KC earned as comfortable a shootout win as they come. Melia is now 7-0 in his career in penalty shootouts.
So, did we learn anything?: It’s fair to worry a bit about Sporting KC being unable to find the net here, but they did put up 18 shots on the night. Not shots from great spots or anything, but still, shots. Considering the fact that the Quakes are probably the last team they’ll face this postseason ready and willing to sit as deep as they did, it's probably fair to call this a passed test rather than a disappointing performance.
Anyway, I need to apologize. We talked a few times about a potential SKC run in this thing and totally glossed over the fact that Tim Melia has dedicated his mind, body and soul from birth to being the greatest penalty shootout goalkeeper the world has ever and will ever know like one of those weirdly specific anime villains. That could be huge as we enter a best-of-three series where each tie is decided immediately by penalties.
What’s next?: Ooohhh boy. We had this matchup ranked first in our potential excitement rankings and we’re still feeling good about it. Sporting KC will face their in-state(ish) counterparts St. Louis CITY SC in Round One. The atmosphere for each game is going to be wild. The differing styles of each team are fascinating. And, don’t forget, we’re talking about the West’s highest point earner over the course of the season in St. Louis and the West’s highest point earner over the second half in Sporting KC. Buckle up.
MLS NEXT experience highlights USA roster for Indonesia 2023: Sixteen players with MLS NEXT experience made the US Under-17 national team’s 21-man roster for the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The competition is set for Nov. 10-Dec. 2 in Indonesia.
LAFC forward Bouanga named MLS Player of the Month: Dénis Bouanga’s sizzling stretch-drive form has earned the LAFC forward MLS Player of the Month presented by CELSIUS honors for October 2023. In the regular season's final month, Bouanga had six goals and one assist in four games to help him secure the Golden Boot presented by Audi, finishing the season with 20 goals.
- The New York Red Bulls made a statement in their Wild Card rout.
- Sporting KC booked a rivalry date with St. Louis CITY SC.
- Jonathan Sigal looked at one big question for the teams out of Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Orlando City's Duncan McGuire won the AT&T 5G Goal of the Matchday.
Good luck out there. Beware. You can only hold off Sir Minty. You cannot stop him.
