Major League Soccer 2018

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Major League Soccer 2018
MLS crest logo CMYK gradient.svg
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 VenezuelaVenezuela 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 Canadian teams that only beat the Canadian play-offs would have been replaced by the statistically best US team of the 2017 and 2018 seasons.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
franchise Location Stadion capacity
Atlanta United United StatesUnited States Atlanta , Georgia Mercedes-Benz Stadium 42,500
Chicago Fire United StatesUnited States Bridgeview , Illinois Toyota Park 20,000
Colorado Rapids United StatesUnited States Commerce City , Colorado Dick's Sporting Goods Park 18,000
Columbus crew United StatesUnited States Columbus , Ohio Mapfre Stadium 20,145
DC United United StatesUnited States Washington, DC Audi Field 20,000
FC Dallas United StatesUnited States Frisco , Texas Toyota Stadium 20,500
Houston Dynamo United StatesUnited States Houston , Texas BBVA Compass Stadium 22,000
LA Galaxy United StatesUnited States Carson , California StubHub Center 27,000
Los Angeles FC United StatesUnited States Los Angeles , California Banc of California Stadium 22,000
Minnesota United United StatesUnited States Golden Valley , Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium 52,525
Montreal Impact CanadaCanada Montreal , Quebec Saputo Stadium 20,801
New England Revolution United StatesUnited States Foxborough , Massachusetts Gillette Stadium 22,385
New York City FC United StatesUnited States New York City , New York Yankee Stadium 33,444
New York Red Bulls United StatesUnited States Harrison , New Jersey Red Bull Arena 25,000
Orlando City United StatesUnited States Orlando , Florida Orlando City Stadium 25,500
Philadelphia Union United StatesUnited States Chester , Pennsylvania Talen Energy Stadium 18,500
Portland Timbers United StatesUnited States Portland , Oregon Providence Park 22,000
Real Salt Lake United StatesUnited States Sandy , Utah Rio Tinto Stadium 20,000
San Jose Earthquakes United StatesUnited States San Jose , California Avaya Stadium 18,000
Seattle Sounders United StatesUnited States Seattle , Washington CenturyLink Field 39,115
Sporting Kansas City United StatesUnited States Kansas City , Missouri Children's Mercy Park 18,500
Toronto FC CanadaCanada Toronto , Ontario BMO Field 30,991
Vancouver Whitecaps CanadaCanada Vancouver , British Columbia BC Place Stadium 21,000

Regular season

Tables

Eastern Conference

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. New York Red Bulls  34  22nd  5  7th 062:330 +29 71
 2. Atlanta United  34  21st  6th  7th 070:440 +26 69
 3. New York City FC  34  16  8th  10 059:450 +14 56
 4th DC United  34  14th  9  11 060:500 +10 51
 5. Columbus crew  34  14th  9  11 043:450  −2 51
 6th Philadelphia Union  34  15th  5  14th 049:500  −1 50
 7th Montreal Impact CAN  34  14th  4th  16 047:530  −6 46
 8th. New England Revolution  34  10  11  13 049:550  −6 41
 9. Toronto FC CAN  34  10  6th  18th 059:640  −5 36
10. Chicago Fire  34  8th  8th  18th 048:610 −13 32
11. Orlando City  34  8th  4th  22nd 043:740 −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 065:400 +25 62
 2. Seattle Sounders  34  18th  5  11 052:370 +15 59
 3. Los Angeles FC  34  16  9  9 068:520 +16 57
 4th FC Dallas  34  16  9  9 052:440  +8 57
 5. Portland Timbers  34  15th  9  10 054:480  +6 54
 6th Real Salt Lake  34  14th  7th  13 055:580  −3 49
 7th LA Galaxy  34  13  9  12 066:640  +2 48
 8th. Vancouver Whitecaps CAN  34  13  8th  13 054:670 −13 47
 9. Houston Dynamo  34  10  8th  16 058:580  ± 0 38
10. Minnesota United  34  11  3  20th 049:710 −22 36
11. Colorado Rapids  34  8th  7th  19th 036:630 −27 31
12. San Jose Earthquakes  34  4th  9  21st 049:710 −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
CAN Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact could not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League via Major League Soccer because the three teams come from Canada and the starting places were allocated by state. The three Canadian teams can only qualify for this competition through the Canadian Championship .

Overall table 2018

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. New York Red Bulls  34  22nd  5  7th 062:330 +29 71
 2. Atlanta United  34  21st  6th  7th 070:440 +26 69
 3. Sporting Kansas City  34  18th  8th  8th 065:400 +25 62
 4th Seattle Sounders  34  18th  5  11 052:370 +15 59
 5. Los Angeles FC  34  16  9  9 068:520 +16 57
 6th FC Dallas  34  16  9  9 052:440  +8 57
 7th New York City FC  34  16  8th  10 059:450 +14 56
 8th. Portland Timbers  34  15th  9  10 054:480  +6 54
 9. DC United  34  14th  9  11 060:500 +10 51
10. Columbus crew  34  14th  9  11 043:450  −2 51
11. Philadelphia Union  34  15th  5  14th 049:500  −1 50
12. Real Salt Lake  34  14th  7th  13 055:580  −3 49
13. LA Galaxy  34  13  9  12 066:640  +2 48
14th Vancouver Whitecaps CAN  34  13  8th  13 054:670 −13 47
15th Montreal Impact CAN  34  14th  4th  16 047:530  −6 46
16. New England Revolution  34  10  11  13 049:550  −6 41
17th Houston Dynamo  34  10  8th  16 058:580  ± 0 38
18th Minnesota United  34  11  3  20th 049:710 −22 36
19th Toronto FC CAN  34  10  6th  18th 059:640  −5 36
20th Chicago Fire  34  8th  8th  18th 048:610 −13 32
21st Colorado Rapids  34  8th  7th  19th 036:630 −27 31
22nd Orlando City  34  8th  4th  22nd 042:740 −32 28
23. San Jose Earthquakes  34  4th  9  21st 049:710 −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: 840 +56 124
 2. New York Red Bulls  68  36  13  19th 115: 800 +35 121
 3. New York City FC  68  32  17th  19th 115: 880 +27 113
 4th Seattle Sounders  68  32  16  20th 104: 760 +28 112
 5. Sporting Kansas City  68  30th  21st  17th 105: 690 +36 111
 6th Portland Timbers  68  30th  17th  21st 114: 980 +16 107
 7th Columbus crew  68  30th  15th  23 096:940  +2 105
 8th. FC Dallas  68  27  22nd  19th 100: 920  +8 103
 9. Real Salt Lake  68  27  13  28 104: 113  −9 94
10. Philadelphia Union  68  26th  14th  28 099:970  +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  31 091: 110 −19 83
15th LA Galaxy  68  21st  17th  30th 111: 131 −20 80
16. Minnesota United  68  21st  9  38 097: 141 −44 72
17th Orlando City  68  18th  13  37 082: 132 −50 67
18th San Jose Earthquakes  68  17th  16  35 084: 126 −42 67
19th Colorado Rapids  68  17th  13  38 067: 114 −47 64
20th Los Angeles FC  34  16  9  9 068:520 +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. VenezuelaVenezuela Josef Martínez Atlanta United 31
2. SwedenSweden Zlatan Ibrahimović LA Galaxy 22nd
3. EnglandEngland Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls 20th
4th ColombiaColombia Mauro Manotas Houston Dynamo 19th
United StatesUnited States Gyasi Zardes Columbus crew
6th ArgentinaArgentina Ignacio Piatti Montreal Impact 16
7th HungaryHungary Nemanja Nikolics Chicago Fire 15th
8th. Sierra LeoneSierra Leone Kei Kamara Vancouver Whitecaps 14th
NorwayNorway Ola Kamara LA Galaxy
SpainSpain 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
Atlanta United
December 8, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. EST in Atlanta , Georgia ( Mercedes-Benz Stadium )
Result: 2: 0 (1: 0)
Spectators: 73,019
Referee: Alan KellyIrelandIreland
Match report
Portland Timbers
Lineup Atlanta United versus Portland Timbers
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(C)Captain of the crew
ArgentinaArgentina 		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(C)Captain of the crew
VenezuelaVenezuela
goal1-0 Martínez (39th)
goal2-0 Escobar (54th)
yellow cards McCann (90 + 4.) yellow cards 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

  1. ↑ MLS releases full 2018 schedule, including shorter World Cup break , ESPN . January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018. 
  2. ↑ MLS clubs have resolution over qualifying for future CCL after format change. In: si.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018 .
  3. ↑ New York Red Bulls set MLS points record, win 3rd Supporters' Shield , mlssoccer.com, accessed on October 29, 2018 (English)
  4. ↑ Football Atlantas Martinez breaks goal record in the MLS , moz.de, accessed on October 29, 2018
  5. ↑ Atlantas Martínez elected MVP of the MLS season - Almirón & Ibrahimovic to follow , transfermarkt.de, accessed on December 6, 2018
  6. ↑ a b Standings. In: mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer, accessed October 29, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b Supporters Shield. In: mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer, accessed October 29, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Major League Soccer 2018 - Goalscorers. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Retrieved October 31, 2018 .

Web links