Save for Charlotte FC, who lost to fifth-seeded New York City FC by one goal in the first game, there have been no upsets so far in Round 1 of the 2025 Major League Soccer playoffs, as most of the top seeds are one win away from advancing to the conference semi-finals.
The top seeds in the East and West – the Philadelphia Union and San Diego FC – took down the Chicago Fire and Portland Timbers in the first game, and the Major League Soccer 2025 odds expect them to win the second game to progress to the next round.
Elsewhere, Inter Miami continue to assert their mastery of Nashville with another blowout victory, while FC Cincinnati narrowly defeated the 2023 Major League Soccer champions, Columbus Crew. The Vancouver Whitecaps demolished FC Dallas, while Minnesota United secured a penalty shootout win over the Seattle Sounders, and LAFC will face Austin FC tomorrow.
Here’s the SBOTOP recap of the ongoing Major League Soccer playoffs.
Inter Miami poised to advance after another Messi masterclass
It’s been all smiles in South Beach, as Inter Miami recently handed extensions to Lionel Messi and Yannick Bright. Both players are under contract with the Herons until 2028, following their help in securing yet another postseason appearance.
Messi rewarded Inter Miami’s faith in him by winning this season’s Golden Boot award, and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner reminded us of his world-class credentials this past week. After scoring a hat-trick in Inter Miami’s 5-2 win over Nashville on Decision Day, Messi made more Major League Soccer 2025 highlights, as he found the back of the net twice in the first game of their first-round series last Saturday.
The Argentine international scored the first goal of the 3-1 victory via a header off of Luis Suarez’s pass in the 19th minute. Messi also had a hand in Tadeo Allende’s 62nd-minute goal by finding Ian Fray, who sprayed the ball to Allende into the penalty box. Messi capped off his brace in the sixth minute of added time, as he tapped the ball in after Joe Willis’ fumble near the goal line. After going down by three goals, Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar scored a consolation goal to prevent a shutout loss.
Believe it or not, the Herons are four victories away from winning their first-ever Major League Soccer crown.
Philadelphia Union escape gritty Chicago Fire
The Philadelphia Union returned to winning ways after dropping their Decision Day game against Charlotte last week, as they won the first game of their first-round series against the Chicago Fire, who are here after defeating Orlando City in the wild-card match.
After a drab first half, Indiana Vassilev and Milan Iloski scored two goals between the 70th and 75th minutes to give Bradley Carnell’s side a two-goal edge. But just when they thought they had a sure win, the Chicago Fire fought back. Jonathan Bamba and Jack Elliott scored two late goals, and the team held on despite being reduced to 10 men after Sergio Oregel picked up a straight red in stoppage time.
Mikael Uhre and Jack Elliott missed their penalties, while Frankie Westfield, Brian Gutierrez, Milan Iloski, and Hugo Cuypers converted theirs. However, the turning point came when Joel Waterman hit the crossbar before Jesus Bueno sealed the deal for Philly with a cool finish.
With the victory, the Philadelphia Union can wrap up the three-game series with a Saturday win at Chicago. They’ve outscored the Fire 7-2 in three victories this season. Chicago won the Supporters’ Shield as the team with the best record in the league, and they’re gunning to capture their first Major League Soccer Cup.
San Diego FC hit major playoff milestone
San Diego FC qualified for the Major League Soccer playoffs in just two years of existence, and they recently secured their first playoff victory on Sunday with a 2-1 result over the Portland Timbers. SDFC remain unbeaten against Portland in three matches this season.
Onni Valakari opened the scoring in the 23rd minute by tapping the ball into the back of the net, following a rebound off Manu Duah’s miss. SDFC struck again in the 30th minute when league MVP candidate Anders Dreyer hit a header after a brilliant link-up play with Luca Bombino.
Portland did not lie down, however, as Kristoffer Velde scored during the 36th minute on a counterattack. The Timbers were desperate for an equaliser, but instead were reduced to 10 men when Jimer Fory received his second yellow card in the 66th minute.
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