- FC Cincinnati needs four more wins to win the MLS Cup.
- Why the playoff format has changed.
- Pat Noonan and FC Cincinnati players weigh in on the new format.
FC Cincinnati won his first playoff game of 2023 convincingly and normally, this would mean the team would be one step closer to the MLS Cup championship. In 2023, that’s not the case and FCC only did half its job in the first round.
This year, the first round is an original best-of-three series that has proven difficult for some fans to follow. This was also the subject of much criticism from fans and media covering the league.
Here’s a look at the new playoff format, why it exists and how it’s perceived with the playoffs underway.
FC Cincinnati needs four more playoff wins
FC Cincinnati’s victory over the New York Red Bulls at TQL Stadium put FCC in control of the new first-round series in which both teams host a match, no ties can occur and the aggregate score does not decide of the winner.
The Red Bulls will host Game 2 on Saturday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Cincinnati can end the series and advance with a victory. If the match is tied after 90 minutes, penalty shootouts will determine the winner and, if New York manages to level the series, FCC will host the deciding third game on November 11 at TQL Stadium.
If FCC manages to survive the first round, they will then advance to the knockout stage of the MLS Cup Playoffs. the conference semifinals, finals, and MLS Cup final are all single-elimination.
FC Cincinnati needs four more wins to win the MLS Cup via one more win in the first round and one in each of the subsequent rounds.
Unfortunately, FC Cincinnati’s big victory on Sunday does not yet constitute a real achievement, and there is still work to be done in the first round.
“Well, we don’t deserve to continue (yet) because we only won one and you have to win two,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said after the team’s victory. Sunday. “That’s the approach taken for this first series. Yes, there has been a lot of discussion around the format but everyone has to deal with the same format.”
Why this change to simple elimination?
Perhaps MLS and its clubs were leaving too much money on the table with its concise and efficient single-elimination playoff tournament. It is widely believed that part of the reason for changing the first round format and expanding the playoff field from seven to nine teams was commercially motivated.
The increase in first-round matches has created more content for broadcast rights holder Apple, which is nearing the end of its first full season under a 10-year deal to produce and broadcast matches from MLS.
In the past, the league has used the overall home-and-away score to determine which team advances, and this is a more common construct in world soccer.
The baseball-style three-game set isn’t new either. MLS used it in the 2002 playoffs and quickly abandoned the format. But he’s back and he’s been pretty widely criticized.
“Last year’s playoffs, which ended with LAFC beating the Union on penalties, was one of the most exciting playoff tournaments in league history. So why Did MLS tinker with something that obviously wasn’t broken?” wrote Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times in an opinion piece on the playoff format.
“There is no valid reason for competition for Major League Soccer’s Latest Playoff Setup “—one of too many in the league’s 28-year history—to have a best-of-three first round and single games for the rest,” wrote Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer in his own article. opinion on the subject. “The real reasons for the invention are commercial, and the league has barely hidden them.”
What do FC Cincinnati players think of the best-of-three series?
Win or lose, the playoff format was going to become a topic of conversation in FC Cincinnati’s open locker room after Sunday’s game. The fact that the club won the competition made it easier for everyone involved to broach the subject. No matter what they thought, FCC players knew they had the upper hand in the playoff series.
For the most part, they were in tune with the sentiments Noonan expressed, but they also recognized the unfamiliar nature of the new playoff format.
“It’s the first game of the playoffs, so we wanted to start strong, but it was definitely a different feeling than some (knockout) games, for sure,” FC Cincinnati center back Matt Miazga said.
FC Cincinnati captain Luciano Acosta, who had no comment when asked about the playoff format during a news conference Friday, said he and teammate Junior Moreno were discussing the format before Sunday’s competition.
“It doesn’t give the biggest advantage to the team that won the Supporters’ Shield, but those are the rules,” Acosta said. “We play by the rules and I think we showed all season that we were ready for anything, so we were prepared for this game.”
