Messi and Suarez Shine in Miami FC's Playoff Debut

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00:00Let's talk MLS guys.

00:04First stop, inter-Miami with Leonel Messi, the Supporters' Shield winners taking on Atlanta

00:09United.

00:10This was very intense from the get-go.

00:12Miami took control with Luis Suarez scoring just two minutes in, and that's how you set

00:16the tone.

00:17Oh, that's definitely how you set the tone, Francisco.

00:20To say the least, Miami had a ridiculous 49 touches in Atlanta's box compared to Atlanta's

00:25just 11 in Miami's.

00:27So that right there says a lot.

00:29Brad Cousin was basically standing on his head to keep Atlanta out the entire game.

00:34And even though Saba Lobanije managed to equalize right before halftime, you could just feel

00:40Miami had more in the tank.

00:41They were good to go.

00:42The chemistry between Messi, Suarez, undeniable.

00:45As always, Miami in full control.

00:47Absolutely.

00:48And let's know this was Leonel Messi's very first playoff game.

00:51Now we're looking ahead to game two.

00:53Miami might drop a little bit deeper.

00:55I don't know.

00:56I mean, they have...

00:57They can do it in so many different ways, but Atlanta, obviously, with plenty of firepower.

01:03Now moving over to the West, the LA Galaxy making an absolute statement with a five-nil

01:07thrashing of Colorado.

01:08I had more hopes with Chris Harmes's side, but it wasn't even close, my friend.

01:12Not at all, Francisco.

01:14Even without Cole Bassett and Jorja Mihajlović, this wouldn't have been a tough match for

01:18the Rapids, right?

01:19This wouldn't have been a walk in the park.

01:21But the missing of those two was definitely the nail in the coffin.

01:24Colorado barely had a sniff at goal, finishing with an expected goal of just above zero.

01:29The Galaxy, they looked like the complete opposite.

01:31They were looking like they were having a training session out there.

01:34They were hanging out.

01:35I saw Ricky Pig having an espresso on the side.

01:38No, I'm joking.

01:39But really, Peck, Jorja Mihajlović, everyone, they came out in full swing, and it really

01:42showed.

01:43Let's go over to Orlando City handling business over Charlotte, a two-nil victory for them.

01:48So Orlando's been in a roll since Martin Ojeda moved to the 10 position, right?

01:52Oh, definitely.

01:53He made that tactical shift.

01:55Orlando's been playing with a lot more fluidity.

01:57Things are a lot more fluid, and it showed here.

01:59I mean, Charlotte just couldn't keep up.

02:01They were behind the whole game.

02:02Orlando's dribble success rate, 57.

02:04Charlotte, we're talking about 27 percent, so a big difference right there.

02:08Charlotte will need to rethink things for game two.

02:11They're going to be missing Pep Biel due to a red card, so they might sit even back more

02:15and play for the counter.

02:16Who knows?

02:17Will that be enough?

02:18Let's go to the black and gold, LAFC against the Vancouver Whitecaps, a game that last

02:23year we had the exact same series, but the first game was 5-2 in favor of LAFC.

02:28It was not even close.

02:29This time around, it seems that finally Vancouver got a grip, and, you know, they made it close.

02:34Yeah, they did.

02:35They sure did.

02:36They came out swinging, pressing high, creating chances.

02:39They even hit the woodwork twice in the second half.

02:41There's another number for you, two-time.

02:43I keep counting these things, but LAFC's class, it shone through when it really mattered.

02:48They got that crucial penalty, and it's those small margins, those are the things that really

02:54count and make that crucial difference in the playoffs.

02:57Let's switch over to the Eastern Conference, again with FC Cincinnati, Lucho Acosta and

03:01company edging out NYCFC with an important win.

03:05So Cincinnati was in control for this game.

03:07Big time.

03:08The expected goal battle, again, 3.9 to 0.4 to be exact, in Cincinnati's favor.

03:14More numbers.

03:15New York City's defense setup, it just didn't work, in my opinion.

03:20They parked the bus, but they couldn't really get things moving.

03:23And then again, I mean, Cincinnati just had the better player-makers, the better balance,

03:26and it really showed New York really needs to bring some offensive power in game two

03:31if they want to get things going here.

03:33They can't bring the same kind of energy.

03:34Yeah, you know, obviously they have Lucho Acosta, the MVP, but a guy that they're obviously

03:38missing, or they're supposed to be missing, is Brandon Vasquez, who went to Liga MX with

03:43Monterrey.

03:44It seems that Cincinnati has control over that game.

03:47So let's see what's also happening in the Pacific Northwest with Seattle and Houston

03:51going to penalties after a scoreless draw.

03:54Not the most exciting scoring, especially when we talk about some exciting players on

03:58both sides.

03:59Jordan Morris, Joao Paulo, how about Hector Herrera with Houston?

04:02But you know, we'll take it, and you know, a game that went all the way through without

04:07the utmost drama.

04:09Let's just say they played a cautious game.

04:10How about that?

04:11We'll keep things diplomatic here.

04:12Meats aside.

04:13And we kind of expected that.

04:14Houston kind of managed seven shots, none on target.

04:18But in the end, it came down to a penalty shootout, and you know, Seattle, they took

04:22it.

04:23They've been on a great defensive run, conceding only once in their last five.

04:27Game two is going to be all about who can break the deadlock first.

04:30So let's see if they spice things up in the next next round.

04:33Yeah, it's so different with the breeze in Seattle.

04:36Let's see how the weather is going to be in Houston.

04:38Always unpredictable for game two.

04:40I'm talking to a place, when you talk about weather, that was very miserable for the Mexico

04:44national team.

04:45They used to play those dos acero games, we're of course talking about Columbus, who went

04:50after the New York Red Bulls, a game that ended up with a minimal difference.

04:53Red Bulls, you know, did what they do best, disrupt and counter.

04:57Yeah, yeah.

04:58Classic Red Bull performance.

04:59Francisco, they only had 28 percent possession, but completely nullified Columbus's attack.

05:03They set up to frustrate.

05:05They got an early goal in, which obviously is going to always help.

05:08And then they hunkered down.

05:09They played defense and it's going to be interesting to see Columbus and how they can

05:14adjust for game two, because they were totally stifled in game one.

05:17So they got to do something different.

05:18Yeah, I know they're going to need to find gaps.

05:20I mean, there's so many expectations for Columbus.

05:22You're talking about a team that has gone to the final of the MLS Cup, of Champions

05:27Cup, etc.

05:28They're a team that would be favorites to win it all.

05:31Let's see if they are in the same level as Inter Miami, the heavy favorites to win it

05:36all this year.

05:37Then let's go to a team that closed well.

05:39The regular season beating Vancouver, Rialto Lake and Minnesota, a team that had an excellent

05:44second half after head coach Eric Gramsci.

05:46They also went head to head all the way to penalties.

05:49It was Minnesota United pulling through the loons, got that big first game.

05:53What a battle.

05:54Definitely.

05:55Both keepers definitely put on a show.

05:57McMath, St. Clair each made crucial saves to keep their teams alive.

06:01And after that intense penalty shootout, Minnesota came out on top as we saw game two is likely

06:06going to be another tight contest.

06:08I hope it's a nail biter like this one.

06:09Both teams are pretty cautious, but ready to pounce on any mistakes.

06:13So at this point, I mean, it's like anything can happen.

06:15I love that feeling.

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