The Galaxy have been out of the postseason for so long that the playoff format has completely changed since their last visit.
That statement is completely true. But it’s also a bit unfair, because the only constant in the MLS playoffs is change.
The format used by the competition this year is the third since 2018 and the tenth in the 29-year history of the competition. It’s also by far the most confusing. For starters, 18 of the league’s 29 teams made the postseason, meaning MLS played an eight-month, 34-game regular season and eliminated only 11 teams.
Only the NBA, which allows 20 of 30 teams into the postseason, has a lower bar.
Then there is the format itself. For the second year in a row, the tournament started with single wild-card games in each conference, followed by best-of-three series in the first round, in which ties go straight to penalty kicks. The final three rounds – the conference semifinals, the finals and the MLS Cup final – will all be single matches, with extra time added if necessary.
Do you see the circle that doesn’t belong?
For much of its history, MLS used a two-leg home-and-away format for the early rounds of the playoffs, with the winner advancing based on total goals or single-match knockout rounds. These are well-known formats that are used in championships all over the world. The cumbersome best-of-three format, on the other hand, fits like a square peg in a round hole.
“I don’t like it,” LAFC captain Aaron Long said after his team opened the best-of-three series against Vancouver with a 2-1 win Sunday. “We just don’t like the best of three. I think both other options are better. Most guys go that way.”
Read more: The Galaxy vs. LAFC playoff showdown would be a dream come true for MLS
Galaxy coach Greg Vanney agreed.
“To be honest, I was always a big fan of the home and away games and the overall score,” he said.
With good reason. Following last Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids in their play-off opener – which matched the most one-sided play-off result in the franchise’s storied history – the Galaxy would face an upset in the second game Friday in the suburb of Denver must lose by six goals to prevent them from advancing. to the next round under the old format.
The Galaxy have never lost a match by six goals.
But instead of being rewarded for the dominant performance in Game 1, the Galaxy will see that score wiped out under the new format and the teams will even start in Game 2.
Read more: LAFC weathers a shaky start to beat Vancouver in the MLS Cup playoff opener
“This game is behind us now and whatever we did today doesn’t affect the next one,” Vanney said. “It is what it is. I liked it [the old format] because I felt like as a coach there were always different scenarios and nuances that you always had to prepare for and consider. But in the best-of-three you take this one and now we have it [one] game to win.”
Same for LAFC. Instead of carrying a one-goal difference into Sunday’s game in Vancouver, the teams will reset, leaving the Whitecaps needing just a win at any score to force a decisive third game.
“For us, the best approach is always to try to win every game,” said LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo, who also hates the new format but has been cautious about sharing that opinion.
MLS said the new format was intended to favor the higher-ranked team, making upsets more difficult. And in the first year it worked, with only one setback in the first round.
But Vanney makes a good point about the different scenarios. If the aggregate score still counted, the Rapids would have a lot to play for, even after trailing 3-0 early in the second half on Saturday. Keep the score close, add a late away goal and Colorado would be in a good position to advance.
Instead, the Rapids seemed to lose interest and never bothered to take a shot on goal, knowing that it didn’t matter what they did as the only thing that would carry over to Friday was the result. It’s as if MLS gave Colorado a mulligan and the way the game was played suffered as a result.
Read more: Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig lead Galaxy to big win in play-off opener
“It always had a purpose and meaning to the game, no matter what happened,” Vanney said of the overall score. “There is always a scenario where someone has to leave after the match. Someone has to push the attack and you have to defend too, because you can’t just concede a bunch of goals.
‘Today it will be three, four, five [goals]they may think: ‘well, we have another match at home, and this doesn’t really matter anymore’.”
Another problem with the schedule is, well, the schedule. With the MLS playoffs interrupted by a FIFA international break, whichever team wins the first two matches of the first round will get a three-week rest period between the first and second rounds. While that may sound like a perk, it isn’t; After playing a game (or more) almost every week for eight months, a long break at this point can disrupt a team’s rhythm.
Take the New England Revolution, who three years ago had the best regular-season record in the modern MLS era. Under a different playoff format that earned New England a first-round bye, which was further extended by an international break, and after a three-week hiatus, the Revolution were eliminated from the playoffs on penalties in their first game .
For those who, like Vanney, aren’t fans of the current playoff format, history offers this consolation: Be patient, because chances are, things are about to change.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
