The MLS playoffs are in full swing, with the final games of the first round wrapping up this weekend. As of Friday, four conference semifinal spots are set, with four first-round games left to determine the rest.
But as the remaining teams vie for the MLS Cup, the somewhat complicated initial round has sparked some complaints. With fans, players and coaches alike raising an eyebrow at the postseason structure, it raises the question: Does anyone like the 2024 MLS playoff format?
The current format was introduced in 2023, and consists of several rounds. After a wild-card round, the remaining 16 teams play in a best-of-three, home-away-home format for the first round. There, the teams move directly to penalty kicks in the event of a draw; in the later rounds, extra time is added as normal. The remaining rounds — conference semifinal, conference final and the MLS Cup Final — are all single-game elimination.
The two wild-card matches have been largely successful among fans — exciting, single-elimination matches between two teams fighting to get into the postseason field. This season’s wild-card round saw the Vancouver Whitecaps give Portland a memorable thrashing and Atlanta United take the win in penalties.
The problem lies with the first round — a lengthy, awkward structure that has had mixed results among fans and teams.
LAFC captain and USMNT star Aaron Long said that he didn’t like the best-of-three series after L.A.’s win against the Whitecaps on Oct. 27.
“We just don’t like the best of three. I think both other options are better. Most of the guys go that way,” Long said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I think most of the guys prefer whether it’s just home and away or just a single game.”
Los Angeles Galaxy coach Greg Vanney agreed with Long. “To be honest, I was always a big fan of the home and away and the aggregate score,” he said, via the Los Angeles Times.
Lack of aggregation
Previous iterations of the MLS playoffs had a home-and-away format, with two games per round and a winner based on aggregate score across both games. Aggregation, while complicated, creates a greater sense of balance: Every game you play relates directly to how far you make it. Under the current format, each game is played seemingly out of context.
Ahead of the first-round matches, multiple players and coaches expressed cynicism about the lack of aggregate scoring.
When asked about the playoff format on Oct. 25, Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith said he wasn’t super keen on the structure.
“I’m not sure about the system, I must admit,” Smith said, via Charlotte Soccer Show. “I think if it’s over too late and you win on goal differential, I think that should be it. The fact that you can go win 6-0 away and then draw at home and still not get through, it bothers me a little bit. But it is what it is.”
Smith said that the team would be practicing penalties throughout the playoffs, something that they didn’t focus on a lot during the regular season. But with games heading straight to PKs in the event of a tie, successful penalty kicks can be the difference between advancing or going home early.
Seattle Sounders captain and goalkeeper Stefan Frei also expressed some skepticism.
“You can lose the first game 5-0 and tie the next two games, win in PKs and you’re going through? I don’t like that,” Frei said on October 29, via Jeremiah Oshan of Sounder at Heart.
Penalty kicks ended up being critical for Frei and the Sounders, with both games against the Houston Dynamo going into a shootout. The higher-seeded Sounders ended up winning both shootouts — 0(5)-0(4) and 1(7)-1(6) — advancing to the conference semifinals as a result.
However, prior to the draw, there was offensive imbalance in both games: Houston had no shots on goal in the first game, and only one in the second. The result raised the question of whether the Dynamo attempted to win in regular time, or were just holding out for penalties for a chance to win — a strategy that other MLS teams have seemingly employed under this current format.
Extended playoff schedule
On Nov. 1, the Galaxy became the first team to advance to the conference semifinal round after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 — their second win of the round. The next day, Minnesota United became the second after defeating Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks. The two teams are set to meet up in the next round, but under the current schedule, that game will not happen until Nov. 23 at the earliest — more than three weeks after clinching that spot.
There are outside factors explaining why this playoff format will drag on so long. Perhaps most disruptive is a FIFA international window from Nov. 10-18. But the biggest factor is the sheer length of a three-week first round, with players traveling cross-country twice during that span.
With the current format, MLS teams will play anywhere from 25 to 33 total postseason matches; in 2022, teams played a total of 13 matches.
Even with the added games, a best-of-three does create chances for upsets: All four of the games this weekend are happening because the lower seed got a win at home in the second game of the series after losing on the road. Both of the MLS No. 1 seeds have their postseason on the line, with Inter Miami and LAFC both returning home for Game 3. But a home crowd for a win-or-go-home match is always an advantage, and it means an uphill battle for all four of the lower-seeded teams heading into this weekend.
Upsets can also be completed in two games — look at Minnesota knocking off Real Salt Lake, or the New York Red Bulls sending home defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew.
MLS is likely to stick with the format for now, but with the busy first-round structure being so unpopular, one has to wonder if it might be time to switch things around again.
But for now, all of these teams are gunning for that MLS Cup Final on Dec. 7 — even if the path to get there is more winding than they’d like.
