Good Morning footy fans,

There’s now over 2,200 of you reading this every week. LFG! MLS season is wrapping up so there’s plenty to get to. Dig in…

• 🏆️ Conference Finals Recap

• 🇺🇸 Champions League Heroes

• 🏆️ MLS Cup Preview

• 🇺🇸 Non-European Nations Compared

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

Conference Finals Recap

Two 1-0 games decided the MLS Cup matchup. And now we have the first LA vs New York Cup final in league history. Here’s how the Conference Finals went down…

In the first 85 minutes of the Western Conference final, the Seattle Sounders stymied the potent Galaxy attack. It was the first time all postseason that the “Killa P’s” of Pec, Paintsil, and Puig were held in check. Things were lining up for the Sounders to steal one late. Then a poor defensive giveaway from Alex Roldan led to a quick counterattack. Riqui Puig slotted a ball through to Dejan Joveljic who scored his 20th goal of the season. And with that, the Galaxy return to the MLS Cup for the first time in a decade. A day later we’d learn that Riqui Puig played the remaining 30 minutes of the game and delivered the game winning assist on a torn ACL. His performance was one of the gutsiest I’ve ever seen on a pitch. It’s truly heartbreaking that he won’t be able to play in the Cup final.

The Sounders season ends without a trophy. But few expected them to make this type of playoff run after their slow start. They have one of the league’s best young players in Obed Vargas and will get a healthy Pedro de la Vega for a full season next year. This team will be back here soon.

The New York Red Bulls become the lowest seed ever (7) to make an MLS Cup final after downing Orlando City. Like they had all season, the Red Bulls ceded possession to their opponent, allowing Orlando to control 60.1% of the ball. They were organized defensively and opportunistic in the final third. Centerback Andres Reyes headed home the winner off of a gorgeous delivery from John Tolkin.

As for Orlando, if there was any year for them to win the Cup it was this year. Columbus, Cincinnati, and Miami will be back with a vengeance next season. It’s gut wrenching for a postseason that lined up so perfectly for them.

Champions League Heroes

I still remember years ago when we’d have one USMNT player debut in a Champions League match and the whole US soccer community would go wild. Oh, how far we’ve come.

Multiple Americans are now playing in the worlds biggest club competition on a weekly basis. Last week three Americans scored goals in a Champions League game —Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, and Malik Tillman.

Two of those three, Tillman and Pepi, single handedly helped PSV become the first team to ever win a Champions League game in regular time after trailing by two goals in the 86th minute. Tillman scored a brace and then Pepi added the winner to pull off the comeback. Tillman’s brace was the first by an American in Champions League history, one form a free kick and the other an absolute blast (below). He currently leads the the Champions League in most key passes, ahead of Raphinha, Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, and Phil Foden. All of whom are some of the worlds most coveted young players. Tillman also made the Champs League team of the week for the second time in a row.

Unsurprisingly more transfer rumors circulated with Manchester United, Tottenham, and Aston Villa reportedly interested. A big January move could be coming for the 22 year-old 👀 

MLS Cup Preview

Two of the league’s original franchises will face off in LA on Saturday. One team is looking to extend their league record to a 6th MLS Cup. The other is looking for its first in franchise history.

After winning 2 of their last 20 games of the season including Leagues Cup, the Red Bulls have pulled off one of the most improbable runs in MLS history. Being on the road hasn’t seemed to affect them either as they’re 3-0 away from home this postseason with zero goals allowed. Now they’ll face a Galaxy attack that is two goals shy of breaking the record for most goals in a single postseason and is 16W-0L-4D at home across all competitions this season.

But of course, they’ll be without their best player and man that runs the whole show… Riqui Puig. The Galaxy were 3W-1D-1L without Puig this season and definitely have the fire power to win without him, although his impact cannot be understated. His complete scouting report is insane. He’s arguably been the best player in MLS not named Messi.

The LA Galaxy (-300) are heavy favorites to take home the hardware but New York (+210) have played the underdog role so well all postseason. This ones going to be incredible. The cheapest tickets are $1,000. Ahhh I can’t wait 🍿 

Non-European Nations Compared

This chart shows the goals scored by non-European nations in the Top 5 European leagues this season.

Brazil and Argentina lead by a wide margin (shocker!). Followed by four African nations and Japan. The US comes in 9th place led mostly by Christian Pulisic’s efforts in Serie A.

Goal of the Week

A GOLAZO from a Chicago Fire Academy product to send Wake Forrest to the Elite Eight!!

Meme of the Week

The real NY vs LA matchup

Quick Hits

• 2024 MLS Best XI Released (Link)

• All 32 teams for the 2025 Club World Cup (Link)

• Minnesota United sign Tani Oluwaseyi to contract extension (Link)

• 5 players nominated for US Soccer Male Player of the Year (Link)

• Charlotte FC set to sign midfielder Baye Coulibaly for $2M (Link)

• Nick Rimando inducted into National Soccer Hall of Fame (Link)

• FC Cincinnati pick up purchase option for Luca Orellano (Link)

• San Jose Earthquakes acquire 3 players from the Revolution (Link)

• Christian Pulisic nominated for the FIFA Best XI in the midfield (Link)

This edition took 6+ hours to create — do us a solid and give some constructive feedback below 👊 

Max & Mason