Eastern Conference: What we learned in Game 1 & what comes next | OneFootball

By Matthew Doyle

The Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs are underway! And for Round One, at least, we’re settling into a Best-of-3 grind in which we’ll see adjustments and counter-adjustments as underdogs try to pull off the upset and favorites try to hold serve and make it chalk.

With that in mind, let’s take a spin around the Eastern Conference and see what we saw in Game 1s.

INTER MIAMI CF 3-1 NASHVILLE SC

Game 1 in a nutshell: Nashville came out ultra-defensive after they got blasted in the second half of their Decision Day loss to the Herons, and thus let Leo Messi & Friends dictate terms.

This was all pretty one-sided, and I think the momentum chart and stats do a good job of telling the story:

One point I want to make is that while Miami are generally thought of as a pretty, high-possession team – they like to have the ball, and any time you’ve got Barça DNA in the engine room, you’re going to know how to string passes together – they’re actually at their best forcing turnovers and then getting out quickly into transition. Which is exactly how they scored their first goal in this one.

Head coach Javier Mascherano deserves some praise here. There’s nothing novel or overly sophisticated about what this team does; they simply have a good structure (most of the time), and everybody buys in. That then provides the platform for Messi, Luis Suárez, et al to make goals happen.

WATCH: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami dominate Nashville in Game 1

What to expect in Game 2

From Miami: There shouldn’t be any changes. They settled into a 4-2-3-1 down the stretch with Messi playing as a true No. 10 under Suárez, Tadeo Allende (who got the second goal in this one, which turned out to be the game-winner) on the right, and a secondary playmaker on the left.

That is good! That is balance. I know that Allende, in particular, can frustrate fans – he had one of the misses of the century in this one – but the way he stretches the field off-ball is absolutely necessary to make this work, and he’s developed some real synergy with Suárez in particular.

I think there will be a temptation, on Mascherano’s part, to drop one of the wingers (it was Allende and Baltasar Rodríguez for the first 70 minutes of Game 1) to add Yannick Bright in central midfield and push Rodrigo De Paul up into what would nominally be an attacking spot.

He shouldn’t do that, though. Keeping actual attackers out there forces Nashville’s fullbacks to stay deep and defend, and if they’re staying deep and defending, then the ‘Yotes really struggle with ball progression.

From Nashville: So on the one hand, you could argue that head coach B.J. Callaghan’s big personnel gamble in midfield – dropping Gastón Brugman and putting Bryan Acosta in at d-mid – paid off, as the ‘Yotes only conceded three goals instead of the five they coughed up on Decision Day.

On the other hand, you could say it didn’t, since Nashville simply couldn’t progress the ball. Acosta’s a destroyer, not an orchestrator, and with him pulling the strings, there was a massive dislocation between the midfield and the front line.

A few other things:

I’m guessing we’ll see Brugman in the XI from the start, and maybe Alex Muyl for Shaffelburg. I also expect Nashville to press like mad for the first 15-20 minutes.

What shouldn’t be lost in any of this is that they put Miami under real pressure once they switched to their typical 4-2-2-2 for the final 15 minutes, and deserved that late consolation goal. I think it’s a good bet we see them with that look from the start, even if doing so risks opening the game up and turning it into a shootout.

PHILADELPHIA UNION 2 (4) - 2 (2) CHICAGO FIRE FC

Game 1 in a nutshell: The Jonathan Bamba game!

Chicago's winger had one insane midfield dummy that turned into a 1-0 Philly lead, a soft giveaway that turned into a 2-0 Philly lead, scored a goal to bring it back to 2-1, and then assisted Jack Elliott’s screamer to make it 2-2 just before the full-time whistle blew.

Then the teams stepped up for the PK shootout and Bamba… somehow didn’t take one?

It was a perfectly “chaotic neutral” performance from the DP, and Philly – who pressed in their usual 4-2-2-2, but didn’t turn it into anything truly dangerous until the game’s final 25 minutes – obviously thrive in chaos. It’s their whole raison d’etre, and they’ll probably be satisfied with what they got out of Game 1 (with the PK shootout win being the most important part).

I suspect Chicago head coach Gregg Berhalter will feel the same way. Unlike the two regular-season meetings between these teams, the Fire didn’t look outclassed. Even without Philip Zinckernagel, who was a late injury scratch.

WATCH: Late drama! Philadelphia outlast Chicago in Game 1

What to expect in Game 2

From Philly: More of the same – the Supporters' Shield winners have a game model that they’re very committed to, as they should be. Their best chance in any game they play is to dictate the tempo by running the game completely off the tracks and making sure there is no tempo. Chaotic neutral, remember?

Now, I expect at least one change: Frankie Westfield brings more on-ball quality than Nathan Harriel, and there will be moments when 1) Philly need to actually string some passes around, and 2) Fire left back/wingback Andrew Gutman pushes forward on the overlap and gets caught out. When that happens, you want your right back to be able to hit the last pass.

The other personnel question is up top, where Mikael Uhre (playing some of the best ball of his Union career over the past month) could get in for either Tai Baribo or Bruno Damiani. He changed the game once he got on.

The only reason Uhre didn’t start in Game 1 was that he’d picked up a muscle injury of some sort. If he’s good enough to go for an hour in Game 2, I’d expect that hour to be from the opening whistle.

From Chicago: Well, no Sergio Oregel for one. He got baited into a very soft and utterly unnecessary red card by Kai Wagner after Wagner and Brian Gutiérrez got into a little dust-up immediately following Elliott’s equalizer.

Tough moment from Oregel, but I liked the instinct. It was Gutiérrez, who only came on in the 73rd minute, who’d taken the game by the scruff and really matched Philly's intensity. Standing up for him in that moment was the right call and sent the right message.

Understand that Chicago had played pretty well to that point, but when you meet a team like the Union, you need to do more than “play well.” You need to – and I’m afraid I’m going to sound like Jürgen Klinsmann here, but so be it – play with “personality.” Gutiérrez obviously has a gigantic, fearless personality.

Which brings us to the obvious Game 2 change: Gutiérrez has to start. And while that might not be ideal in the 3-4-2-1 Berhalter wants to play, there’s really no way to justify keeping him off the pitch. If it is going to be the 3-4-2-1 from the start, then drop Bamba and play Guti inside-left; if it’s the 4-3-3, then obviously play him as a free 8.

The other big personnel question is, obviously, Zinckernagel. I thought Maren Haile-Selassie was really good filling in for the Dane, though obviously there was a significant difference in terms of end product.

If Zinckernagel is good to go, he will obviously play as much as possible.

FC CINCINNATI 1-0 COLUMBUS CREW

Game 1 in a nutshell: I think you could argue that the Crew’s weakness (lack of a cutting edge since Wessam Abou Ali got hurt) and Cincy’s strength (final-third quality, this time in the form of goalscorer Kévin Denkey) told the whole story. And if you wanted to put it that way, I wouldn’t argue too much.

But I would also say that Cincy’s big weakness all year wasn’t really a weakness in this one. What I mean is they defended quite well from the front and were organized through midfield, which meant Columbus never really kicked things into gear and started controlling the game with the ball. It wasn’t a perfect performance from the hosts, but it was their best against an actually good team in a long, long while, and it was certainly their best against the Crew.

Remember: this team (Cincy, I mean; not Columbus) finished the year with a negative expected goals differential at -6.9. They haven’t won games by controlling them; they’ve won games by having more quality in both boxes.

Well, that wasn’t really the case here as Cincy doubled up the Crew on both shots (12-6) and xGD (1.6-0.8). They weren’t a ton better than the visitors, but they were better. And then when the moment came to win it, they had the talent to make it count.

WATCH: Denkey, Cincinnati down Crew in Game 1 of Hell is Real clash

What to expect in Game 2

From Cincy: Given how well the Garys played, I can’t imagine head coach Pat Noonan wanting to make any changes. Yes, that means another start for Yuya Kubo at left wingback. And while that limits the type of service they can generate from that spot – Kubo constantly found space in behind, but because he’s very right-footed, he wasn’t able to swing in a useful cross – there’s no better option ready to step in as Luca Orellano recovers fitness.

And look, I don’t have any issues with “Play it again, Sam” being the tactical blueprint of the day. Cincy spent the entire year getting stretched, but it barely happened in this one. That keeps the floor for any performance nice and high, and then it’s up to the match-winners to raise the ceiling.

Feels like an Evander moment is coming, to be completely honest.

From Columbus: We know that Wilfried Nancy has complete faith in his game model, and I think he’s right to. The Crew aren't really built to play any other way, and even in a match like this one, in which they were second-best, the game was still there for the taking until almost the 80th minute.

The question is, how do they get that final-third quality they need?

The answer should be trying both Dániel Gazdag (I know, I know) and Taha Habroune from the start. Hugo Picard might come good eventually, but he’s got no goals or assists in 600-plus all-competition minutes this year. He's offered little in the attack:

Gazdag hasn’t been great, but he’s been better than that. And while Habroune is more of a connector or orchestrator than a pure playmaker, his IQ in terms of finding spaces on the field and then comfort on the ball in traffic actually compromised Cincy’s shape a little bit. That could have the knock-on effect of freeing Diego Rossi (and Gazdag) to drift into high-leverage spots off the ball.

Baked into all this is that Lassi Lappalainen is actually a really good card to play off the bench. He’s more dangerous as a super-sub than as a starter.

One other note: This is quite possibly Darlington Nagbe’s final professional match, so I would be very surprised if Columbus came out with anything less than full-throttle intensity.

CHARLOTTE FC 0-1 NEW YORK CITY FC

Game 1 in a nutshell: NYCFC clearly decided to push the issue in the first half, doing everything they could to get out to a lead because they knew the hosts – with their game model, and without their two best creators in Wilfried Zaha (suspended) and Pep Biel (injured) – aren't the type of team that can play from behind.

And so they carried the game via possession, but also by pressing the hell out of Charlotte’s midfield. A very obvious pressing trigger was “any time Djibril Diani touches the ball,” and they definitely generated some chances off of that.

But it was by winning a second ball that they found paydirt:

The idea, throughout all of this, was that the game could (maybe even would?) be won via a single moment. And honestly, what a moment it was!

The Pigeons didn’t precisely drop their lines after that, but they were much more conservative with their wingers, and the fullbacks basically didn’t overlap anymore. It looked like a classic back four.

Makes sense, right? The one thing you can’t do against Charlotte is get caught out; everything else is manageable.

WATCH: Alonso Martínez wonder goal fires NYCFC past Charlotte

What to expect in Game 2

From Charlotte: First off, they’ve got to set the tone with their own pressing and just generally playing on the front foot. There was none of that in this one until about the final 20 minutes, and even going back to last year, they were mostly passive in their three playoff games against Orlando.

Second is they’ve got to figure out how to make the game wider. It never really felt like NYCFC’s fullbacks had to come out toward – let alone to – the touchlines, which meant that even when they were pushed into their own end, the backline had plenty of numbers in the box to deal with any sort of service. Nobody got dislodged, nobody got behind the play, nobody had to chase runners on or off the ball. It was all very comfortable.

Getting Zaha back into the XI (he will replace Liel Abada, who was ineffective) is likely to be the only change, and the best version of Zaha can help. He can beat defenders off the dribble even from a standstill, and obviously he’s still got the ability to deliver the final ball.

They need a big performance from him.

From NYCFC: I was pretty shocked that Pascal Jansen opted to play Kevin O’Toole at left wing (he’s a fullback) from the start. It seemed unnecessarily conservative and almost retrograde.

But it worked. O’Toole stayed high and wide, pinning Charlotte right back Nathan Byrne. It was a smart, calculated risk on the road.

At home I’d expect one of the wingers (probably Hannes Wolf, who should be 100% next week… right?) to start, and for the Pigeons to focus on just carrying play with the ball in search of a multi-goal lead.

Is there a danger in that they’d give Charlotte room to counter? Of course. But I think the greater danger is for them to go away from who they are entirely.

They’ve got a chance to end this series on their own terms. They should try to take it.