Angels Links: MLS Cup Playoffs kick off with goals galore

New York Red Bulls crush Chicago Fire 4-0, Vancouver maul San Jose 5-0

Though they haven’t reached MLS Cup in their recent run, the New York Red Bulls do have a lot of playoff experience, while the Chicago Fire haven’t made the playoffs since 2012. It showed in their game on Wednesday night, with the Red Bulls were all over the Chicago Fire winning 4-0. The big guns all scored for the Red Bulls, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, and Gonzalo Veron, with Daniel Royer scoring as well. The New York Red Bulls now move on to face Toronto FC, which should be a fascinating series. In the late game, the Vancouver Whitecaps smashed the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0. The Whitecaps killed the Quakes on set pieces, scoring on a corner kick and a free kick, and then when the Earthquakes pushed forward to try and get back in the game, the Whitecaps were able to take advantage of all the space the Quakes left at the back. Vancouver will now play the Seattle Sounders in the next round of the playoffs.

West Ham stun Tottenham in the Carabao Cup

These two London sides came into the match on two different trajectories. Tottenham have enjoyed a great start of the season, and are just coming off a dominant win over Liverpool. Meanwhile, West Ham have struggled to start the season, and rumors have been swirling around that they are going to fire their manager Slaven Bilic. Which made it all the more remarkable that West Ham came back and won the game. Well that and the fact that Tottenham went up two goals early in the match. But West Ham rallied, with a brace by Andre Ayew and the game winner by Angelo Ogbonna. This is a huge win for West Ham, and given this is a tournament that most of the big teams rest their star players, this is probably a tournament that West Ham feel they can win.

Third-division team welcomed Borussia Dortmund with terrifying display

This was also domestic cup week in Germany, and it saw Borussia Dortmund were set to play at 3rd division German team FC Magdeburg. German football fans are known for their passion, and the Magdeburg fans welcomed Dortmund with a fiery banner in the form of Jigsaw from the Saw movies, and a slogan that spelled out “You think it’s over yet the game has just begun.” Dortmund prevailed in the match, but the real winners of this were the FC Magdeburg fans for their creative and creepy display.

Last Call at RFK

This Sunday D.C. United said goodbye to their home since the beginning of MLS, RFK stadium. RFK has been the sight of some great events, NASL games featuring the likes of Pele and Johan Cruyff, World Cup games, and the home of DC United, the first dynasty in MLS. RFK is old and rundown and not at all modern, but it does have a kind of charm to it that goes beyond just the history. Pablo Mauer and Charles Boehm have a great piece on MLSSoccer.com about the history and the people who made RFK special.

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