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MLS Cup 2018
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MLS Cup 2018
MLS Cup 2018 was the 23rd edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on December 8, 2018. It was the final match of the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs and was contested by Atlanta United FC and the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta, in their second MLS season, qualified for the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and defeated New York City FC and Supporters' Shield winners New York Red Bulls in the playoffs. Portland qualified as the fifth seed in the Western Conference and defeated fourth-ranked FC Dallas, second-ranked Seattle Sounders FC, and first-ranked Sporting Kansas City to qualify for their second MLS Cup final.
Atlanta United won the match 2–0 for their first MLS Cup, before a crowd of 73,019. At the time, this was the largest single-match crowd in MLS history; the record was broken in 2022 when 74,479 people watched Charlotte FC's inaugural home match in 2022.
As MLS Cup winners, Atlanta United would have received an automatic berth to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, though they had already secured a berth through an alternate qualifying process. Atlanta hosted the 2019 Campeones Cup, which it won against Club América, the winner of the Mexican Campeón de Campeones.
The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2018 season was the 23rd in MLS history, and was contested by 23 teams in two conferences—the east and west. Each club played 34 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team in the same conference at least twice and teams in the other conference at least once. The playoffs, running from late October to early December, were contested between the top six clubs in each conference and included four rounds: a one-match knockout round for the lowest-seeded teams, two rounds of home-and-away series to determine the conference champions, and the one-match final.
The finalists, Atlanta United FC and the Portland Timbers, were both expansion teams that had played in the league for less than seven seasons. The two teams played each other once in the regular season, tying 1–1 in Atlanta on June 24. The match also marked the first time that two teams coached by managers from Latin America faced each other in the MLS Cup final; both managers had never previously reached an MLS Cup final. The defending MLS Cup champions, Toronto FC, failed to qualify for the 2018 playoffs, while runners-up Seattle Sounders FC were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by Portland.
Atlanta United FC entered the league as an expansion team in 2017 and appeared in their first MLS Cup final in their second season. The team became the first expansion team in eight years to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season, but were eliminated in the knockout round after losing to the Columbus Crew in a penalty shootout.
Atlanta started the season with a loss to the Houston Dynamo that was followed by a run of eight matches without a defeat that lasted until May. The team continued to win, particularly at home, and overtook both New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls in the Supporters' Shield rankings by the end of the summer. A loss to the Red Bulls in late September and Toronto FC on the final day of the regular season left Atlanta without a Supporters' Shield, finishing second in the Eastern Conference and second overall to the New York Red Bulls. Josef Martínez set a new league goal-scoring record, with 31 regular season goals, and was named to the MLS Best XI alongside teammate Miguel Almirón, who recorded 12 goals and 14 assists. Both players were also finalists for the league's most valuable player award, which Martínez won. Head coach Gerardo Martino was named MLS Coach of the Year and announced his plans in October to leave the club following the end of the season.
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MLS Cup 2018 AI simulator
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MLS Cup 2018
MLS Cup 2018 was the 23rd edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on December 8, 2018. It was the final match of the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs and was contested by Atlanta United FC and the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta, in their second MLS season, qualified for the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and defeated New York City FC and Supporters' Shield winners New York Red Bulls in the playoffs. Portland qualified as the fifth seed in the Western Conference and defeated fourth-ranked FC Dallas, second-ranked Seattle Sounders FC, and first-ranked Sporting Kansas City to qualify for their second MLS Cup final.
Atlanta United won the match 2–0 for their first MLS Cup, before a crowd of 73,019. At the time, this was the largest single-match crowd in MLS history; the record was broken in 2022 when 74,479 people watched Charlotte FC's inaugural home match in 2022.
As MLS Cup winners, Atlanta United would have received an automatic berth to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, though they had already secured a berth through an alternate qualifying process. Atlanta hosted the 2019 Campeones Cup, which it won against Club América, the winner of the Mexican Campeón de Campeones.
The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2018 season was the 23rd in MLS history, and was contested by 23 teams in two conferences—the east and west. Each club played 34 matches during the regular season from March to October, facing each team in the same conference at least twice and teams in the other conference at least once. The playoffs, running from late October to early December, were contested between the top six clubs in each conference and included four rounds: a one-match knockout round for the lowest-seeded teams, two rounds of home-and-away series to determine the conference champions, and the one-match final.
The finalists, Atlanta United FC and the Portland Timbers, were both expansion teams that had played in the league for less than seven seasons. The two teams played each other once in the regular season, tying 1–1 in Atlanta on June 24. The match also marked the first time that two teams coached by managers from Latin America faced each other in the MLS Cup final; both managers had never previously reached an MLS Cup final. The defending MLS Cup champions, Toronto FC, failed to qualify for the 2018 playoffs, while runners-up Seattle Sounders FC were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by Portland.
Atlanta United FC entered the league as an expansion team in 2017 and appeared in their first MLS Cup final in their second season. The team became the first expansion team in eight years to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season, but were eliminated in the knockout round after losing to the Columbus Crew in a penalty shootout.
Atlanta started the season with a loss to the Houston Dynamo that was followed by a run of eight matches without a defeat that lasted until May. The team continued to win, particularly at home, and overtook both New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls in the Supporters' Shield rankings by the end of the summer. A loss to the Red Bulls in late September and Toronto FC on the final day of the regular season left Atlanta without a Supporters' Shield, finishing second in the Eastern Conference and second overall to the New York Red Bulls. Josef Martínez set a new league goal-scoring record, with 31 regular season goals, and was named to the MLS Best XI alongside teammate Miguel Almirón, who recorded 12 goals and 14 assists. Both players were also finalists for the league's most valuable player award, which Martínez won. Head coach Gerardo Martino was named MLS Coach of the Year and announced his plans in October to leave the club following the end of the season.