Though MLS Cup 2018 is scheduled for Dec. 8, US national team midfielder turned TV analyst Maurice Edu thinks the league’s true clash of titans is happening this week.
Fans of Western Conference finalists Sporting Kansas City and the Portland Timbers might not like to hear it. But Edu called the Eastern Conference Championship clash between the New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United “the real championship game” during MLSsoccer.com’s pregame show on Sunday.
“There's so many storylines. You have the No. 1 team vs the second-place team, you have the coaching rivalry, you have the age-old tale of ‘offense wins games, defense wins championships,’” said Edu near the show’s outset, “and you have an all-star team packed with Atlanta’s offense with Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez and then you have the defensive backline that Red Bull had this season.
“It’s an unbelievable matchup and for me, this is the real championship game. I wish it could’ve played out that way, but obviously [with] East vs. West, impossible.”
RBNY and the Five Stripes were fairly clearly the league’s top two teams during the regular season, racing one another for the Supporters’ Shield over the season’s second half and finishing in first and second place, respectively, in the overall MLS standings.
The Red Bulls edged ATLUTD to the Shield on Decision Day presented by AT&T, and now the Five Stripes are keen to gain a measure of revenge in their postseason clash. The series winner will not only advance to the MLS Cup final, but host that game as well.
