But we\u2019re going to start with one of the very best teams in the league, who still have a very big question to answer.<\/p>\n
The Union<\/a> are one of MLS\u2019s most reliably good outfits. They press, they scramble, they run, they compete. They batter you on set pieces, they punish your mistakes. It\u2019s why they are where they are in the standings, and it\u2019s why nobody should be all that surprised if, at the end of the year, they\u2019re the ones hoisting the Supporters\u2019 Shield.<\/p>\n So I\u2019m going to call Saturday\u2019s 1-1 draw<\/a> at Houston<\/a> a good road point for Philly. They, like everyone else, had a three-game week to deal with. They were coming off a pair of solid if not exactly spectacular home wins over the Red Bulls<\/a> and Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. They were resting some key players, and trying out some other not-so-key guys, and they were doing so with a trip to Texas to face a good (or good-adjacent, anyway) Dynamo team that has never been easy<\/a>.<\/p>\n And I think we saw most of the stuff that indicates why the Union are in the lead pack of five teams that\u2019s emerged in the Eastern Conference: their depth, their energy, the ability to disrupt teams with their press and turn that into chances. They also created constant danger on restarts \u2013 their goal came off a throw-in, and they were denied a late PK shout when the original call was overturned after a lengthy review.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the life of me, I\u2019m not sure, when somebody jumps first, makes a play on the ball unopposed, and somebody runs into him from the opposing team \u2013 we have leverage, we\u2019re jumping first,\u201d head coach Bradley Carnell said in the postgame. \u201cAll I saw was a real fair play on the ball. And our player gets run into, and the other player goes down holding his face.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the Union: they don\u2019t just live for those 50\/50s, they live amongst them. That is the game as they want to play it, and even if this night ended in frustration, more often than not, it\u2019s ended with Philly grabbing all three points.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the other stuff, though \u2013 the somewhat troubling stuff that\u2019s been on display since Tai Baribo<\/a> cooled off at the end of May \u2013 that was also on display:<\/p>\n That\u2019s a chance, man. That\u2019s your best player serving up a game-winner on a platter (there is no doubt now that Kai Wagner<\/a> is their best player<\/a>).<\/p>\n But it\u2019s now just 10 goals for Philly in nine games since they drew Inter Miami 3-3<\/a> on May 24. Baribo scored twice in that game, and has scored once in six appearances since. Mikael Uhre<\/a> has scored just twice all year. Bruno Damiani<\/a> looks the part and is always dangerous, but has just four goals on the season in 23 appearances. Not good enough from a record signing (I\u2019m still holding all my Damiani stock, to be clear; if he doesn\u2019t break out down the stretch here, he absolutely will next season).<\/p>\n With D\u00e1niel Gazdag<\/a> gone, none of the remaining midfielders have truly been goal-dangerous. Gazdag, as a matter of fact, is still tied for third on the team with two goals; he hasn\u2019t played for Philly since being traded to Columbus<\/a> on April 11.<\/p>\n Those are the negatives, the reasons to doubt. Here are the positives:<\/p>\n Philly are fourth in the East in expected goals, and sixth in actual goals. Over the course of the season, they\u2019ve been hitting their number almost exactly. But it\u2019s the same question this year that it\u2019s been every other year when it comes time for trophy talk: do they have enough talent, relative to the other teams in the hunt, to put them into the winner\u2019s circle? Wagner is their best player; he can serve \u2018em up, but he can\u2019t then knock \u2018em home, as well. Lately, nobody else has been able to either. Not consistently, anyway.<\/p>\n As for the Dynamo, it feels like a must-win on Friday when they host the Galaxy<\/a>, which is one of just four remaining home games they\u2019ve got. It\u2019s not like the rest of the West is running away or anything, but if they don\u2019t win this one, there\u2019s probably no soccer in Houston this November.<\/p>\n Orlando went to Foxborough on Saturday night in the midst of a four-game winless skid, trying desperately to pull out of a nose-dive threatening to undo what\u2019s been a really good season to this point.<\/p>\n They\u2019re fortunate they caught a Revs<\/a> side that\u2019s hit a full death spiral, with one win in their past 13 across all competitions entering the game. They have become a get-right game, and Orlando did indeed get right, with Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a> getting both goals as the Cats won 2-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Armchair Analyst special correspondent Calen Carr had a front-row seat for the call on Season Pass:<\/p>\n Orlando City are a curious case of having been better on the road (20 pts) than at home (18), indicating that despite their attacking talent they still seem more comfortable playing in a more defensive posture and hitting quickly through Ojeda, Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a> and Alex Freeman<\/a>. And while it\u2019s kept them from entering the top four (Doyle Edit: Top five!) conversation in a real way, it\u2019s proved effective.<\/p>\n This might feel like a familiar story (and a rather frustrating one) for Orlando City supporters, but with Freeman\u2019s continued emergence and Ojeda\u2019s leveling up (his pair of goals this weekend put him at 22 goal contributions for the year) make them arguably a better team than the one that last year fell flat at the final hurdle at home to make MLS Cup.<\/p>\n The other player who has changed things this year is 28-year-old Colombian orchestrator Eduard Atuesta<\/a> \u2013 a switch in player profiles in the same position from the more combative twin No. 6 combo of C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a> and Wilder Cartagena<\/a> (who ruptured his Achilles tendon in preseason). That pair provided plenty of work in the engine room, but often didn\u2019t have the progressive passing to put Ojeda & Co. in the best spots.<\/p>\n There may be no better example of this than the way Atuesta senses the soft spot in the Revs\u2019 midfield three to give himself enough time to literally wave Ojeda into the run before playing a perfectly clipped ball in behind New England for Orlando\u2019s first goal:<\/p>\n It was his seventh assist of the season (only behind Ojeda\u2019s team-leading 10) and ranks second (behind Ojeda again) on the team for progressive passes. It\u2019s added better balance and a second line of playmaking from deep. Interestingly, five of these seven assists have come away from home, which seems to reinforce my point that the team\u2019s lower shape has suited Atuesta\u2019s ability to spring others into space from deep. And while solutions are needed at home eventually, with Columbus away next week, I\u2019d expect more of the same.<\/p>\n Ok, Doyle again here. As the world\u2019s No. 1 Eddie Atuesta stan, I will co-sign everything Calen wrote. But I feel the need to point out what I feel is the biggest reason Orlando are not a threat to crack that top five:<\/p>\n I mentioned last week that Luis Muriel<\/a> hasn\u2019t scored in two months. You see why, right?<\/p>\n This is also an example of how\/why Orlando aren\u2019t as dangerous as they should be in possession, because sequences like that have to turn into shots, at the very least. A goalscoring 9 sniffs that out, and isn\u2019t two yards behind the play.<\/p>\n As for the Revs: Their overall expected goals differential is not good, but not a complete disaster.<\/p>\n What is, however, is their expected goals differential when the game is tied. They are third-worst in the league, ahead of only the Galaxy and Sporting KC<\/a>, and it shows on plays like the one above (the Ojeda goal, not the Muriel\u2026 whatever that was), where they\u2019re tentative and confused about who\u2019s responsible for getting pressure to the ball, as well as how and when to drop their line.<\/p>\n As such, they\u2019re playing from behind a ton. And while they\u2019re pretty good at that \u2013 top three in the league in xGD when trailing \u2013 \u201cwe\u2019re pretty good at chasing the game because we have to do it all the time!\u201d is the soccer equivalent of \u201cother than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re 11th in the East, eight points below the playoff line, and have taken two of the last 24 points on offer. If they don\u2019t take all three at home vs. Montr\u00e9al on Friday, I don\u2019t see a possible path to the postseason.<\/p>\n 12. There was maybe a hint of schadenfreude around the league when Miami<\/a> got pummeled 3-0<\/a> at FC Cincinnati<\/a> midweek. Eight games in 32 days and the weariness was starting to show, right? Turns out they couldn\u2019t keep it up? Even Leo Messi<\/a> was suddenly mortal, as his string of five straight braces came to an end.<\/p>\n Turns out the beating just pissed \u2018em off. After Rocco R\u00edos Novo<\/a> (now starting for the injured \u00d3scar Ustari<\/a> – and injured Drake Callender<\/a> \u2013 as Miami\u2019s infirmary cadre has grown to a half-dozen) flapped at a corner to give RBNY a 1-0 lead, it was just a case of Miami finding the accelerator and jamming it down as far as it could go. It ended 5-1<\/a> to the visitors in Harrison; the Red Bulls had no chance.<\/p>\n Messi had a pair of assists, then got what\u2019s become his usual brace. I\u2019m giving Sergio Busquets<\/a> our Pass of the Week here:<\/p>\n That gap between RBNY\u2019s attackers and deeper midfielders has been there pretty consistently all season. Of course Messi and Busquets were going to capitalize.<\/p>\n That five-team group in the Eastern Conference starting to break away in the Shield race? The Herons are one of them, of course, and if they beat Cincy in a revenge match on Saturday then they probably become the favorites.<\/p>\n RBNY are down to 9th in the East, and fractionally 10th on PPG. They haven\u2019t missed the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs since 2009, and are in real danger of breaking that streak.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s trip to Chicago<\/a> is enormous. A true six-pointer.<\/p>\n 11. The Fire put together probably their best and most focused all-around defensive performance of the year in Saturday\u2019s 2-0 win<\/a> at Montr\u00e9al. It was a necessary salve after the disappointment of Wednesday night \u2013 they conceded late on a set piece in Atlanta<\/a>, which turned what should\u2019ve been a 2-1 win into a 2-2 draw<\/a>.<\/p>\n This was just their third clean sheet of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge thing to take from tonight, to show that we can keep clean sheets,\u201d said center back Jack Elliott<\/a>, who got his first goal for Chicago when he headed home a Philip Zinckernagel<\/a> corner in the 54th minute. \u201cI feel over the last few weeks, we haven’t necessarily given up a lot of chances, we\u2019ve just been caught at the wrong times and given up some goals in the wrong moments.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it shows tonight the strength and resilience in not really conceding too many big chances. I don\u2019t really remember any big chances against [tonight].\u201d<\/p>\n The good news: Chicago now play four of their next six at home. Season-defining stretch coming up.<\/p>\n 10. The only team in the league to take all nine points this week? Charlotte FC. The Crown started with a 2-0 win<\/a> vs. New York City FC<\/a>, followed it up with a tighter-than-it-should-have-been 2-1 win at home<\/a> over D.C. United<\/a> at midweek, and then scored three beautiful team goals (then had to hang on for dear life at the end) for a 3-2 win<\/a> at Atlanta this weekend.<\/p>\n Pep Biel<\/a> had a goal and two assists. Idan Toklomati<\/a> \u2013 please do not recruit over him, guys; he\u2019s your 9 \u2013 had another goal, giving him four in his past six games. And even Wilfried Zaha<\/a> got in on the action with a goal and an assist.<\/p>\n Toklomati\u2019s goals aren\u2019t fluky; he\u2019s an xG machine. But he\u2019s not just that, as his ability to drop into the left half-space and combine has allowed Zaha to get a little bit more involved, and has also let Biel stretch the field a little bit. On aggregate, he\u2019s getting his touches deeper into the midfield than Biel the past few games:<\/p>\n That\u2019s the touch map from the trip to Atlanta. Toklomati is No. 17, Biel No. 16, and it looked similar in the wins over NYCFC and D.C. Charlotte have unlocked something here after a long, rough spring.<\/p>\n Atlanta are now 13 points below the playoff line. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve got a playoff push in them.<\/p>\n 9. The Crew took care of business with a 2-1 home win<\/a> over D.C. United, which was most notable for Gazdag finally getting off the schneid and scoring his first Columbus goal (he still has more goals for the Union than the Crew this year). Naturally, it came from the spot.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel had the PK, and it’s not easy when you [won] the PK to take the PK. Diego [Rossi] right away said to Daniel, \u2018Yeah, take it,\u2019 because usually this is Diego,\u201d head coach Wilfried Nancy said afterward. \u201cEverybody was happy, happy for him, obviously, because he needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Do the floodgates open for Gazdag now? I wouldn\u2019t be surprised; his movement remains really good \u2013 Nancy pointed out how often he was finding space behind the defense \u2013 and he\u2019s combining well. He\u2019s just got the yips in front of goal.<\/p>\n The Crew, like Miami, bounced back from a 3-0 midweek thrashing<\/a> (Columbus took theirs in Nashville<\/a>). Like Miami, I expect them to keep winning down the stretch, though unlike Miami, I still wonder if their match-winners are good enough.<\/p>\n 8. NYCFC continued their Jekyll-and-Hyde season with a 1-1 draw<\/a> at Sporting KC, which followed a mid-week win at Orlando, which followed last weekend\u2019s 2-0 loss at Charlotte.<\/p>\n I\u2019m assuming their new DP No. 10<\/a>, Nicol\u00e1s Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau<\/a>, will be available this weekend, since the summer window officially opens on Thursday. Maybe he can bring some consistency to an attack that\u2019s lacked it for what seems like years.<\/p>\n 7. Nashville\u2019s attack left the door open against Toronto<\/a>, squandering one good chance after another once Sam Surridge<\/a> made it 1-0 just before the half hour. But the defense slammed it shut and kept the shutout without Joe Willis<\/a> ever having to make a save.<\/p>\n This was, obviously, a game of lesser importance than their 3-0 midweek demolition of the Crew, which was one of the handful of best performances in team history. Surridge scored in that one, too, and it shouldn\u2019t go underappreciated just how spectacular a season he\u2019s having:<\/p>\n Of games between the five-team East pack I\u2019ve been talking about throughout this column, the \u2018Yotes have the second-best record (3W-2L-1D), behind only Miami (4W-1L-1D). One of the few West teams that look capable of crashing that party has been San Diego, which is where Nashville will head on Friday for some late night Viernes de Futbol.<\/p>\n As for the Reds\u2026 just play the kids from here on out. They\u2019re not making the playoffs anyway, and 2025 minutes for Lazar Stefanovi\u0107<\/a> have long-term potential upside that 2025 minutes for Kevin Long<\/a> do not.<\/p>\n 6. That San Diego side ended up starting maybe the least experienced backline I\u2019ve ever seen in MLS, with a pair of teenagers (Oscar Verhoeven<\/a> at right back; Luca Bombino<\/a> at left back) at fullback, and a pair of rookies (Ian Pilcher<\/a> and Manu Duah<\/a> \u2013 who is actually a midfielder) at center back on Saturday night in a 1-1 draw<\/a> with Vancouver. Combined age: 80 years old.<\/p>\n The result managed to be fortunate: the \u2018Caps missed a bunch of good chances to make it 2-0, and Pilcher found a late equalizer after Bombino squibbed a shot at the top of the box.<\/p>\n The result managed to be unfortunate: Vancouver\u2019s goal came from a Duah own goal after a great save from Pablo Sisniega<\/a>.<\/p>\n That Sisniega save was off one of two wickedly disguised shots from \u00c9dier Ocampo<\/a> late in the first half:<\/p>\n Both of those come more quickly, and with more power than you\u2019d think given Ocampo\u2019s body shape. He is a weapon, and one of the issues Vancouver have had over the past six weeks is they haven\u2019t been able to get on the ball enough to give him space coming forward.<\/p>\n Still, the \u2018Caps finished their five-game road trip with a very respectable 2W-2L-1D tally, and now have seven of their final 11 games at home. And while they had to bid adieu to Pedro Vite<\/a> this week, the good news is they\u2019re reportedly about to sign his replacement<\/a> in Peruvian winger Kenji Cabrera, and the extra good news is Ryan Gauld<\/a> finally seems to be nearing a return to full training<\/a>.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s the case, then hopefully a return to game action won\u2019t be far off.<\/p>\n 5. While my knock on Philly and Columbus all year has been their lack of top-end talent, my line on FC Cincinnati is that they are where they are only because of their top-end talent. Mostly that\u2019s meant Evander<\/a> (currently third on my Landon Donovan MLS MVP ballot), K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> (injured this week, and out for a month) and Roman Celentano<\/a>.<\/p>\n That has mostly not meant Luca Orellano<\/a>, who entered Saturday\u2019s trip to Utah with just one goal all year, but who has started to come out of his slump since being moved permanently back out to wingback in the middle of June.<\/p>\n And now he\u2019s a match-winner, too:<\/p>\n That was it from their 1-0 win<\/a> at RSL<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Garys are a weird team: the underlying numbers have been screaming warning signs since Matchday 1, and until recently they were overperforming those numbers even more than what Miami did last season, or famous regression-to-the-mean teams like St. Louis<\/a> (2023) and Austin<\/a> (2022) earlier this decade.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it breaks down by game state:<\/p>\n Cincy are dead last xGD when trailing. I do think it speaks to a lack of overall balance and cohesion. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s reason to panic, but it\u2019s something Pat Noonan needs to solve, even if they\u2019re currently atop the Shield standings.<\/p>\n RSL \u2013 10th on points in the West, but 9th on PPG \u2013 are still in decent shape given their remaining schedule. Saturday\u2019s visit from San Jose<\/a> is absolutely massive.<\/p>\n 4. Omir Fernandez got his first goal for the Timbers<\/a> on the club\u2019s 50th anniversary, ghosting to the back post at the death to rescue a point via a 1-1 home draw<\/a> against Minnesota.<\/a> An appropriate capper to a game that began in front of maybe the most spectacular tifos I\u2019ve ever seen in this league:<\/p>\n (I saw this shared on social media, but could not find the original post. Someone ping whoever posted it for me!)<\/p>\n Portland had almost 65% possession, and they did a good job of turning that into good shots: 15 of them, from all phases of play.<\/p>\n “I thought it was one of our best performances of the season,\u201d head coach Phil Neville said in the postgame. \u201cI thought that night summed up what we are as a city and a football club.”<\/p>\n He also lamented the fact the Loons took a 1-0 lead in the first place on a set piece, which 1) is Minnesota\u2019s M.O., and 2) is starting to be a worry for the Timbers. Their defensive success during the first half of the season was in large part from limiting the damage on restarts, but they\u2019ve now conceded four goals off of set pieces in their past five games. It\u2019s starting to slip.<\/p>\n The Loons are still staring down the barrel of the same worry they\u2019ve had all year: closing out games. They\u2019ve now got a -7 goal differential from the 70th minute onwards, and have dropped 13 points from winning positions. For the year they manage to have just 32% of the ball when leading, with a hilarious 28% field tilt.<\/p>\n This is a very good team with a very obvious flaw they need to remedy. I\u2019m not saying they should go out there and be Columbus or San Diego with the ball, but they\u2019ve got to figure out how to take at least a little sting out of the game when opponents are desperate.<\/p>\n 3. Sounders **fans had been calling for**<\/a> Pedro de la Vega<\/a> to get a look on the left wing for months, and Brian Schmetzer finally caved, giving the DP the start there \u2013 his first-ever for the Sounders<\/a> in his natural spot \u2013 on Saturday night at home against the Quakes. De la Vega rewarded his coach with a man-of-the-match performance, logging a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of time to think about the lineup and Pedro has played his way into consideration on the left,\u201d Schemtzer said afterward, in what was perhaps a bit of understatement. I mean:<\/p>\n That was the good news for Seattle. The bad news is Jordan Morris<\/a> is out indefinitely again, and will need surgery on his AC joint after being upended by San Jose goalkeeper Daniel<\/a> (I thought it was a clean play; so did Schmetzer) while trying to run down a through ball in the first half.<\/p>\n That opened the door for Danny Musovski<\/a> to come on and bag two goals, but it also probably puts some urgency into Seattle\u2019s hunt for a U22 No. 9 to add to the depth chart.<\/p>\n San Jose have now won just once in eight. They\u2019re not losing a lot \u2013 this is just their third since April \u2013 but with how hard their remaining schedule is, things are getting a little bit grim.<\/p>\n 2. Another El Tr\u00e1fico, another wild game with great goals, big mistakes and late heroics. This time, the last word was had by Galaxy center back Maya Yoshida<\/a>, who snuck into the box six-and-a-half minutes into second-half stoppage to head home the equalizer in what became a 3-3 draw<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese games are always crazy, so, in a rivalry game or any game you never give up,\u201d LA head coach Greg Vanney said in the postgame. \u201cThese games specifically have always had a way to have some crazy in them. Didn’t disappoint there at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n The equalizer was not at all undeserved, as the Galaxy have been playing pretty decent soccer for a month now (2W-2L-3D in their past seven), and rallied back from two separate two-goal deficits in this one.<\/p>\n LAFC<\/a> are unbeaten in four, but head into Friday\u2019s matchup with Portland without Aaron Long<\/a> (done for the year after tearing his Achilles\u2019<\/a> last week) and Eddie Segura<\/a> (picked up a late red card vs. the Galaxy).<\/p>\n They\u2019re going to have to scramble.<\/p>\n 1. And finally, our Face of the Week goes to Sam Sarver<\/a>, who is so \u201cGoonies\u201d Quakes coded it\u2019s almost impossible he came through the Crew academy and now plays for FC Dallas<\/a>:<\/p>\n This was not a late winner. This was a late penalty he drew to make it 3-0 Dallas<\/a> over visiting St. Louis, which is how it finished. I love the enthusiasm.<\/p>\n A four-point week kept Dallas\u2019s faint playoff hopes alive, and it\u2019s probably worth noting all four points came without the services of Lucho Acosta<\/a>. He missed Wednesday\u2019s incredibly important draw at San Jose serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation, and then missed Saturday for what the team described as personal reasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n Argentina\u2019s transfer window closes Wednesday. Just sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But we\u2019re going to start with one of the very best teams in the league, who still have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[8769,22341,22342,22343,22344,22345,22346,22347,22348,22349,21220,22350,22351,22352,6868,22353,403,99],"class_list":["post-25488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-armchair-analyst-matt-doyle","tag-atlvsclt-07-19-2025","tag-clbvsdc-07-19-2025","tag-dalvsstl-07-19-2025","tag-houvsphi-07-19-2025","tag-lafcvsla-07-19-2025","tag-mtlvschi-07-19-2025","tag-nevsorl-07-19-2025","tag-nshvstor-07-19-2025","tag-porvsmin-07-19-2025","tag-rbnyvsmia-07-19-2025","tag-rslvscin-07-19-2025","tag-sdvsvan-07-19-2025","tag-seavssj-07-19-2025","tag-sendtonews","tag-skcvsnyc-07-19-2025","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThey are second in the East and third in the league in expected goal differential. This is a really good team with a proven game model.<\/p>\n
\nThe bad news: Chicago are just 2W-4L-4D at home this season.<\/p>\n
\nThey\u2019re 18th when it\u2019s tied.
\nThey\u2019re 14th when ahead.<\/p>\n