Major League Soccer 2018
Major League Soccer 2018 | |
master | Atlanta United (1st title) |
Teams | 23 |
Games | 391 + 17 play-off games |
Gates | 1,299 (ø 3.18 per game) |
spectator | 8,553,245 (ø 20,964 per game) |
Top scorer | Josef Martínez ( Atlanta United ), 31 goals (Regular Season) |
← Major League Soccer 2017 | |
The 23rd major league soccer season began on March 3, 2018 with the regular season . This ended on October 28th, after which the play-offs were played from October 31st, which culminated on December 8th with the final of the MLS Cup. There were 23 teams in the league, 20 of them from the United States and three from Canada . Defending champion of the MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield was Toronto FC .
During the soccer World Cup 2018 , the game was suspended for nine days.
Changes compared to the 2017 season
- The Los Angeles FC took part in the Major League Soccer as 23 franchise.
- DC United played its first season at Audi Field , a football stadium.
- Due to a mode reform of the CONCACAF Champions League , the winners of the MLS Cups 2017 and 2018 as well as the US Open Cup 2018 qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2019 , as did the statistically best team of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Canadian teams that only beat the Canadian play-offs would have been replaced by the statistically best US team of the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Season course
The newly founded Los Angeles FC reached the MLS Cup Play-offs Knockout Round in its first season with 3rd place in the Western Conference and 5th place in the overall table of the season. As the team with the best points of the 2018 season, the New York Red Bulls received the Supporters' Shield for the third time and qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League . In addition, they beat by 71 points the previous season record of Toronto FC from the preseason . Houston Dynamo , on the other hand, won the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the first time , and Toronto FC was successful in the Canadian Championship for the seventh time . Atlanta United delivered the best result of the 2018 & 2019 seasons with a total of 124 points.
With his 28th of a total of 31 hits in the regular season, the Venezuelan Josef Martínez of Atlanta United cracked a 22-year-old goal record. In December 2018, Martínez was also elected MVP for the regular season with 48% of the vote , followed by Miguel Almirón (15%) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (12%). Atlanta won their first MLS Cup with a 2-0 final against the Portland Timbers .
Participating teams
In the 2018 season, 23 franchises took part in Major League Soccer. 20 of the 23 franchises were located in the United States and three in Canada . The teams marked with a blue dot on the map shared by the Mississippi River played in the Western, those marked with a red dot in the Eastern Conference.
Major League Soccer 2018 hometowns |
Regular season
Tables
Eastern Conference
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 22nd | 5 | 7th | 62:33 | +29 | 71 |
2. | Atlanta United | 34 | 21st | 6th | 7th | 70:44 | +26 | 69 |
3. | New York City FC | 34 | 16 | 8th | 10 | 59:45 | +14 | 56 |
4th | DC United | 34 | 14th | 9 | 11 | 60:50 | +10 | 51 |
5. | Columbus crew | 34 | 14th | 9 | 11 | 43:45 | −2 | 51 |
6th | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15th | 5 | 14th | 49:50 | −1 | 50 |
7th | Montreal Impact CAN | 34 | 14th | 4th | 16 | 47:53 | −6 | 46 |
8th. | New England Revolution | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 49:55 | −6 | 41 |
9. | Toronto FC CAN | 34 | 10 | 6th | 18th | 59:64 | −5 | 36 |
10. | Chicago Fire | 34 | 8th | 8th | 18th | 48:61 | −13 | 32 |
11. | Orlando City | 34 | 8th | 4th | 22nd | 43:74 | −31 | 28 |
Status: End of the regular season |
Western Conference
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18th | 8th | 8th | 65:40 | +25 | 62 |
2. | Seattle Sounders | 34 | 18th | 5 | 11 | 52:37 | +15 | 59 |
3. | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68:52 | +16 | 57 |
4th | FC Dallas | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 52:44 | +8 | 57 |
5. | Portland Timbers | 34 | 15th | 9 | 10 | 54:48 | +6 | 54 |
6th | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14th | 7th | 13 | 55:58 | −3 | 49 |
7th | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66:64 | +2 | 48 |
8th. | Vancouver Whitecaps CAN | 34 | 13 | 8th | 13 | 54:67 | −13 | 47 |
9. | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 10 | 8th | 16 | 58:58 | ± 0 | 38 |
10. | Minnesota United | 34 | 11 | 3 | 20th | 49:71 | −22 | 36 |
11. | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 8th | 7th | 19th | 36:63 | −27 | 31 |
12. | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 4th | 9 | 21st | 49:71 | −22 | 21st |
Status: End of the regular season |
After the regular season: | |
Participation in the MLS Cup Play-offs Conference-Semifinal | |
Participation in the MLS Cup Play-offs Knockout Round |
Overall table 2018
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 22nd | 5 | 7th | 62:33 | +29 | 71 |
2. | Atlanta United | 34 | 21st | 6th | 7th | 70:44 | +26 | 69 |
3. | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18th | 8th | 8th | 65:40 | +25 | 62 |
4th | Seattle Sounders | 34 | 18th | 5 | 11 | 52:37 | +15 | 59 |
5. | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68:52 | +16 | 57 |
6th | FC Dallas | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 52:44 | +8 | 57 |
7th | New York City FC | 34 | 16 | 8th | 10 | 59:45 | +14 | 56 |
8th. | Portland Timbers | 34 | 15th | 9 | 10 | 54:48 | +6 | 54 |
9. | DC United | 34 | 14th | 9 | 11 | 60:50 | +10 | 51 |
10. | Columbus crew | 34 | 14th | 9 | 11 | 43:45 | −2 | 51 |
11. | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15th | 5 | 14th | 49:50 | −1 | 50 |
12. | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14th | 7th | 13 | 55:58 | −3 | 49 |
13. | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66:64 | +2 | 48 |
14th | Vancouver Whitecaps CAN | 34 | 13 | 8th | 13 | 54:67 | −13 | 47 |
15th | Montreal Impact CAN | 34 | 14th | 4th | 16 | 47:53 | −6 | 46 |
16. | New England Revolution | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 49:55 | −6 | 41 |
17th | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 10 | 8th | 16 | 58:58 | ± 0 | 38 |
18th | Minnesota United | 34 | 11 | 3 | 20th | 49:71 | −22 | 36 |
19th | Toronto FC CAN | 34 | 10 | 6th | 18th | 59:64 | −5 | 36 |
20th | Chicago Fire | 34 | 8th | 8th | 18th | 48:61 | −13 | 32 |
21st | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 8th | 7th | 19th | 36:63 | −27 | 31 |
22nd | Orlando City | 34 | 8th | 4th | 22nd | 42:74 | −32 | 28 |
23. | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 4th | 9 | 21st | 49:71 | −22 | 21st |
Status: End of the regular season |
After the season: | |
Participation in the CONCACAF Champions League 2019 |
Overall table 2017 & 2018
only US teams are listed in this table
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Atlanta United | 68 | 36 | 16 | 16 | 140: 84 | +56 | 124 |
2. | New York Red Bulls | 68 | 36 | 13 | 19th | 115: 80 | +35 | 121 |
3. | New York City FC | 68 | 32 | 17th | 19th | 115: 88 | +27 | 113 |
4th | Seattle Sounders | 68 | 32 | 16 | 20th | 104: 76 | +28 | 112 |
5. | Sporting Kansas City | 68 | 30th | 21st | 17th | 105: 69 | +36 | 111 |
6th | Portland Timbers | 68 | 30th | 17th | 21st | 114: 98 | +16 | 107 |
7th | Columbus crew | 68 | 30th | 15th | 23 | 96:94 | +2 | 105 |
8th. | FC Dallas | 68 | 27 | 22nd | 19th | 100: 92 | +8 | 103 |
9. | Real Salt Lake | 68 | 27 | 13 | 28 | 104: 113 | −9 | 94 |
10. | Philadelphia Union | 68 | 26th | 14th | 28 | 99:97 | +2 | 92 |
11. | Houston Dynamo | 68 | 23 | 19th | 26th | 115: 103 | +12 | 88 |
12. | Chicago Fire | 68 | 24 | 15th | 29 | 106: 105 | +1 | 87 |
13. | New England Revolution | 68 | 23 | 17th | 28 | 102: 116 | −14 | 86 |
14th | DC United | 68 | 23 | 14th | 31 | 91: 110 | −19 | 83 |
15th | LA Galaxy | 68 | 21st | 17th | 30th | 111: 131 | −20 | 80 |
16. | Minnesota United | 68 | 21st | 9 | 38 | 97: 141 | −44 | 72 |
17th | Orlando City | 68 | 18th | 13 | 37 | 82: 132 | −50 | 67 |
18th | San Jose Earthquakes | 68 | 17th | 16 | 35 | 84: 126 | −42 | 67 |
19th | Colorado Rapids | 68 | 17th | 13 | 38 | 67: 114 | −47 | 64 |
20th | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68:52 | +16 | 57 |
Status: End of the regular season |
After the season: | |
Participation in the CONCACAF Champions League 2019 |
Goal scorers
The following list contains the ranking of the regular season scorers . In the event of a tie, the goal scorers are sorted in alphabetical order (last name or artist name).
rank | player | society | Gates |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Josef Martínez | Atlanta United | 31 |
2. | Zlatan Ibrahimović | LA Galaxy | 22nd |
3. | Bradley Wright-Phillips | New York Red Bulls | 20th |
4th | Mauro Manotas | Houston Dynamo | 19th |
Gyasi Zardes | Columbus crew | ||
6th | Ignacio Piatti | Montreal Impact | 16 |
7th | Nemanja Nikolics | Chicago Fire | 15th |
8th. | Kei Kamara | Vancouver Whitecaps | 14th |
Ola Kamara | LA Galaxy | ||
David Villa | New York City FC |
Status: End of the regular season
MLS Cup play-offs
The MLS Cup Play-offs 2018 began with the games of the Knockout Round on October 31, 2018. The placement in the respective conference table from the regular season is given in brackets. The lower-ranking winning teams met the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City, which had already qualified for the conference semifinals, and the higher-ranking teams met Atlanta United and the Seattle Sounders . The team of the two MLS Cup finalists with the higher placement in the overall table for the 2018 season had home rights in the final.
Knockout round
- Eastern Conference
The games took place on October 31 and November 1, 2018.
Result | ||
---|---|---|
New York City FC [3] | 3: 1 (2: 0) | Philadelphia Union [6] |
DC United [4] | 2: 3 n.e. (2: 2, 1: 1, 1: 1) | Columbus Crew [5] |
- Western Conference
The games took place on October 31 and November 1, 2018.
Result | ||
---|---|---|
FC Dallas [4] | 1: 2 (0: 1) | Portland Timbers [5] |
Los Angeles FC [3] | 2: 3 (1: 1) | Real Salt Lake [6] |
Conference semifinals
- Eastern Conference
The games took place on November 4th and 11th, 2018.
total | First leg | Return leg | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
New York City FC [3] | 1: 4 | Atlanta United [2] | 0: 1 (0: 1) | 1: 3 (1: 2) |
Columbus Crew [5] | 1: 3 | New York Red Bulls [1] | 1: 0 (0: 0) | 0: 3 (0: 1) |
- Western Conference
The games took place on November 4th and 8th (Portland - Seattle) and November 4th and 11th (RSL - SKC).
total | First leg | Return leg | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Portland Timbers [5] | 4: 2 n.e. | Seattle Sounders [2] | 2: 1 (2: 1) | 2: 3 a.d. (1: 2, 0: 0) |
Real Salt Lake [6] | 3: 5 | Sporting Kansas City [1] | 1: 1 (0: 0) | 2: 4 (0: 2) |
Conference finals
The games took place on November 25 and 29, 2018.
- Eastern Conference
total | First leg | Return leg | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta United [2] | 3: 1 | New York Red Bulls [1] | 3: 0 (1: 0) | 0: 1 (0: 0) |
- Western Conference
total | First leg | Return leg | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Portland Timbers [5] | 3: 2 | Sporting Kansas City [1] | 0-0 | 3: 2 (0: 1) |
MLS Cup Final
Since Atlanta United (2nd) did better than the Portland Timbers (8th) in the overall table, the game took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta , Georgia .
Atlanta United | Portland Timbers | Lineup | |||||||
|
|||||||||
Brad Guzan - Leandro González Pírez , Michael Parkhurst , Jeff Larentowicz - Greg Garza (90 + 2nd Chris McCann ), Franco Escobar , Julian Gressel , Eric Remedi , Darlington Nagbe - Miguel Almirón (90 + 1st Ezequiel Barco ), Josef Martínez ( 76. Héctor Villalba ) Coach: Gerardo Martino |
Jeff Attinella - Zarek Valentin , Larrys Mabiala , Liam Ridgewell , Jorge Villafaña - Diego Chará , David Guzmán (82nd Alvas Powell ), Diego Valeri - Andy Polo (68th Dairon Asprilla ), Sebastián Blanco , Jeremy Ebobisse (59th Lucas Melano ) Coach: Giovanni Savarese |
||||||||
1-0 Martínez (39th) 2-0 Escobar (54th) |
|||||||||
McCann (90 + 4.) | Chará (80.) | ||||||||
Player of the Match: Josef Martínez |
National cup competitions
Main article: Lamar Hunt US Open Cup 2018
Main article: Canadian Championship 2018
The 20 US MLS teams took part in the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup , while the three Canadian MLS teams contested the 2018 Canadian Championship . The two tournaments are the cup rounds of the USA and Canada, which are played in the knockout system. The winners, Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC, qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League .
International competitions
At the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018 the Seattle Sounders FC took (as the winner of MLS Cup 2016), FC Dallas (as winner of the Supporters' Shield and the US Open Cup in 2016), the New York Red Bulls (as the winner of the MLS Eastern Conference 2016) and the Colorado Rapids (finalist of the MLS Supporters' Shield). Toronto FC qualified as winners of the Canadian Championship in 2016 and 2017. Toronto finally had to admit defeat in the final Deportivo Guadalajara.
The winners of the 2017 and 2018 US Open Cups , Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo, qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League . The winner of the Canadian Championship 2018 , Toronto FC, will play internationally again as the fifth team . In addition, the New York Red Bulls qualified as statistically the second best team in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, as the MLS Cup winner and the best team of both seasons, Atlanta United, had already qualified.
Individual evidence
- ↑ MLS releases full 2018 schedule, including shorter World Cup break , ESPN . January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ↑ MLS clubs have resolution over qualifying for future CCL after format change. In: si.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018 .
- ↑ New York Red Bulls set MLS points record, win 3rd Supporters' Shield , mlssoccer.com, accessed on October 29, 2018 (English)
- ↑ Football Atlantas Martinez breaks goal record in the MLS , moz.de, accessed on October 29, 2018
- ↑ Atlantas Martínez elected MVP of the MLS season - Almirón & Ibrahimovic to follow , transfermarkt.de, accessed on December 6, 2018
- ↑ a b Standings. In: mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer, accessed October 29, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Supporters Shield. In: mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer, accessed October 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Major League Soccer 2018 - Goalscorers. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Retrieved October 31, 2018 .