LAFC to host 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs game against Real Salt Lake

Los Angeles Football Club finished the 2018 MLS regular season as the 3rd-place team in the Western Conference, following a 2-1 defeat at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.

They will face Real Salt Lake in the Knockout Round of the playoffs on either Wednesday or Thursday night at Banc of California Stadium. Details will be out shortly on that game. Game is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.

LAFC avoided playing their El Trafico rivals, the LA Galaxy, because the Houston Dynamo came from behind to beat the Galaxy 3-2 on Sunday at StubHub Center. That means the Galaxy won’t make the playoffs at all, and RSL maintained their weak grasp on 6th place in the West, despite finishing play last week as the odd-numbered team in the league, to clinch a spot in the postseason.

LAFC and RSL played twice during the regular season. The first came in LAFC’s second-ever game way back in March, which turned out to be a 5-1 romp over a hapless RSL in Utah. Diego Rossi had a role in all five goals in that match, one of the most productive performances for any player in MLS history.

The second meeting was a 2-0 home win for LAFC in mid-August. It was a Wednesday game, it snapped a five-game winless skid for LAFC, and Christian Ramirez scored a brace, his only goals for the black-and-gold to date.

So there you have it. LAFC will be on short rest, and will have to play an extra game if they end up making a deep run, but those are the breaks and their seeding for the Knockout Round looks to be a favorable match-up. Of course, the playoffs are a different beast than the playoffs, so expect RSL to be well up for it, as they try to upset the expansion side to open the playoffs.

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