Another week of MLS, we're getting towards the end of the season and points are becoming harder and harder to come by.
1. Shoot Out in Kansas City
Defense was optional in Kansas City this week as the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the west faced off in a game that eventually ended 4-3 in favor of Sporting KC. In a way, this is hardly surprising, both teams have had shaky defense all season but excellent offense; what's more, KC has more 4+ goal games than any team in the league besides Columbus Crew. Sporting KC might just sneak up on the top two in the league, with the win against #2 Vancouver they have 40 points in 22 games, their 1.82 pts per game is better than anyone in the league; with 4 games in hand Sporting KC could easily overtake LA as the top team in the west and could even take the Supporter's Shield if they keep this pace. Sporting has a pretty easy path forward too, they only have 2 games remaining against top 3 teams in either east or west, a showdown with Columbus a few weeks from now and they finish their season against LA.
2. Chicago and Philadelphia Was a Bad Choice
At some point, some executive somewhere said "Chicago vs Philadelphia in week 26 is going to be a match up people will watch", that executive was an idiot. Maybe it was some executive at Fox who thought that two big city teams must be good, maybe it was someone in MLS that thought both would be scrapping for a spot in the east; it doesn't matter because while the game was decently entertaining thanks ot 6 goals, it was also pointless. Chicago and Philly's 3-3 draw on Sunday, helped neither team in any way as both are still the basement dwellers of the east. What's more, even if one of them had won the game, it wouldn't have mattered, right now both teams are just competing not to be last.
3. The Sounders Shift Into Obadrive
Sorry, but the pun had to be made. Obafemi Martins came back into the Sounders line up after two months away on injury and the impact was immediate and clear, Martins picked up a brace and, were it not for a badly taken PK, would have had a hat trick. Shiny new designated player Nelson Valdez got a goal and an assist in the process too. Pretty much the entire team looked better with Martins back in the line up, even once Martins was on the bench their Brazilian midfielder Thomas added another goal to Orlando City's woe after scoring his first. The Sounders no longer have a shot at the Supporter's Shield, but with Martins in the line up they're unlikely to miss the playoffs and will be a dangerous team to face. For Orlando City, the disappointing result means they have an even steeper hill to climb if they don't want to miss the playoffs.
4. The West's Playoff Picture Crystalizes...
With this week's results in, the playoff picture is becoming much clearer for the previously chaotic west. As things stand now, it looks like LA, Vancouver and Sporting KC will all be fighting for that top spot (the smart money is on Sporting). Portland, Dallas and Seattle are all going to be fighting for position in the bottom half of the playoff picture. Pretty much everyone else in the west is out at this point though, Houston and San Jose have games in hand, but their recent form has been less than spectacular and they would need to see resurgent Seattle or solid Dallas drop a bunch of points. RSL looks to miss the playoffs for the first time in a long while with a shockingly bad defense despite trying to play a defensive counter-attacking style, their -11 goal differential is the worst in the west and their road goal differential is a terrible -16, worst in MLS. Colorado has, realistically, been out of the running for a playoff spot for a while, the only way Colorado has a shot at taking a spot is to win pretty much every single one of their remaining games, in a schedule sprinkled with top table teams.
5. ...While The East Gets Muddier
The west might be all but settled, but the east is a mess heading into the final weeks of MLS. The top spot in the east is almost certainly going to either DC United or the NYRB, but the rest is up in the air. Only 7 points and goal differential separate 3rd from 8th place in the east. Columbus and New England hold tenuously to the 3rd and 4th spots, but their neighbors to the north, Toronto and Montreal, both have games in hand; if they can convert those extra games into points, then almost certainly they'll be top of the heap for the single elimination round, and both teams have the sort of schedules that can very easily be turned into points, with very few top teams in the remainder of games. New teams Orlando City and NYCFC aren't too far off from the playoff spots though, Orlando is tied with Montreal on points and is only 7th due to goal differential and NYCFC is only 1 point out, but NYCFC may very well be out, their remaining schedule is littered with tough games. Philly and Chicago are done, as I noted above.