Atlanta Forces Game 3 vs. Messi & Miami | MLS Playoff Reactions!

What's up everybody? It's Taylor Twelman from Major League Soccer and Apple TV. The MLS Cup playoffs is usually a place full of surprises and a place where you can expect the unexpected. Other than the LA Galaxy where they easily took care of the Colorado Rapids in two games. But how about Minnesota United? They took care of Real Salt Lake in two games and now those two teams will meet in 22 days. But we've had a ton of drama and particularly in the east where the lower seed teams putting pressure on the teams that had better regular seasons. FC Cincinnati, Orlando City, Inter Miami all need to win a game three at home before the international break. But we've also had upsets. So how did we get here exactly? Twelman's takes. So let's go. See this is an election week and I thought the entire conversation would be about the new president of the United States. By the way if you haven't yet voted please go out and do so. But in the MLS world it is about the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew falling short and I mean well short of their goals and expectation levels. Some had deemed this team the best team in MLS history which at the time I thought was ridiculous especially when Inter Miami in the same season were setting records. But 2024 for the Columbus Crew will be the year of what could have been. CONCACAF Champions Cup finalists. Then they lose the Supporters Shield at home. Campeones Cup at home and they only leave 2024 with one trophy the League's Cup. Now this is a massive offseason for the Columbus Crew and their ownership group. Kuchar Hernandez and Wilford Nancy draw interest from around the globe and they need to fix that back line where simple mistakes led to their demise. A demise that was finished by none other than the New York Red Bulls. A team that had won only three games since June 8th in MLS. A team that defended for their lives, they needed luck on their side, posts, goalposts, crossbars, camera angles, Savar couldn't intervene and then homegrown Daniel Edelman finished it off with a deciding penalty. But it was actually his tackle on Mohamed Farsi that stole the show for me. How fitting is it for a team that used to rely on stars like Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and others. They now rely on the local school boys who achieved their dreams. Well done Daniel and well done New York Red Bulls. Lionel Messi has played 90 minutes in 17 games in MLS this year if you include the playoffs. He's only lost two of those games, both to Atlanta United. And we're not talking about the Atlanta United of old with Miguel Amarone and Joseph Martinez. We're talking about a team that barely got in the playoffs because DC United fell flat on their face in the last game of the season at home. This version of enter Miami set the single season record for most points in a regular season yet they now need a win in a do-or-die game against Atlanta? How is that possible? Did they get their chances in game two? Yes. Were they given goals from Atlanta? Yes. But Saturday will not be remembered for the game. It will be remembered for the experience because that was Mercedes-Benz of old. The old time when Miami's manager Tata Martino took Joseph Martinez and Miguel Amarone to winning MLS Cup in 2018. And how fitting that the game ended on a strike like Martinez and Amarone. John De Silva. 68,000 will leave and remember that night because of the experience. Because they had a little case of deja vu. Now do I expect a different Miami to show up? Absolutely. Enter Miami at home? Dominant. They only lost three times in 21 games in all competitions. They scored 55 goals in those games. 30 of those scored by their two MVB candidates Suarez and Messi. Now those two will be they will have to be at their best. And in these circumstances there are not two players who have been there and done that better in MLS than the two friends from Barcelona. But it's only one game and it's why we love sports. Because anything can happen. Saturday night November 9th will it be the 40-year-old captain Brad Guzan playing the game of his life or the 37-year-old greatest of all time Lionel Messi exceeding the level of expectation in the pressure moments the way he's done his entire career. A can't miss game in South Florida. And staying with the theme of number one scenes being put to the test with a third decisive game LAFC may have had their worst performance in three years under Steve Trondolo. From the opening whistle they were flat. Didn't seem to have an answer for Vancouver Whitecaps which you could argue had their top three best performances ever in their MLS history. But it shouldn't be that much of a surprise because I felt Vancouver deserved more out of the first game in LA. Ryan Gould is just different. So much so that if he was playing anywhere else in the league he'd get more respect. Six goal contributions in playoffs that's more than anyone else. And it actually could have been more with his crosses leading to the two own goals from the LAFC defenders. You throw in that with the form of Andres Cubas then who knows what the Whitecaps can do. Could they do what the Red Bulls did to Columbus? I think they can. But this is more about LAFC and Olivier Giroud. He's played over 730 minutes in MLS play. Doesn't have a goal yet which is wild considering LAFC had won five straight when he started until this loss in the playoffs. He has scored in two finals though. League's Cup and Open Cup. But they're going to need him to be more of a goal threat if they want to win MLS Cup or even short term wise beat Vancouver in game three. There's no denying where the talent advantage lies in this one. But it's more about the moment. LAFC had beaten Vancouver four straight times. But now there is a seed planted that they may not be as invincible as many had thought. Game three for LAFC will be Friday night at 11 p.m. Eastern on the MLS season pass on Apple TV. That will then be followed by a triple header on Saturday. Cincinnati hosts New York City at 4 p.m. Orlando hosts Charlotte at 6 p.m. Then the big one. Miami, Messi, Suarez take on Atlanta United at 8 p.m. Eastern right there on Apple TV. And also this week on Offside on Apple Podcasts, I talk with Felipe Cardenas of The Athletic who is at the bends for that dramatic game two win of Atlanta United and has some information on their coaching center.