MLS
MLS Cup tie-breakers: What happens if there’s a tie in the 2024 MLS Cup?
LA Galaxy take on the New York Red Bulls at Dignity Health Sports Center on Saturday with a championship on the line.
The 2024 MLS Cup will be played on Saturday, December 7 with the champions of each conference going head-to-head to fight for the championship.
The New York Red Bulls were the first to book their place in the showpiece final, ending a 16-year wait for a second MLS Cup appearance. They will take on a LA Galaxy side looking to pick up a record sixth MLS championship.
The MLS Cup is the climax of the MLS season, with a championship on the line. If the scores are tied after 90 minutes an additional 30 minutes of extra-time will be played. If the two teams are still level, the champion will be decided with a penalty shootout.
Which team is better at penalties?
Penalty shootouts are a lottery, the old saying goes. In reality, however, penalties are replicable skills and teams with greater technical ability and big-game experience often have a better chance of winning.
The margins are fine and things like player fitness and in-stadium atmosphere can have a big impact on the outcome. However the Red Bulls will certainly feel boosted by their Round 1 victory over Columbus Crew, secured via a nail-baiting shootout win. In goalkeeper Carlos Coronel they have a real weapon in the shootout and will be confident of securing a famous victory if they can take the match the full distance.
“Carlos, massive moment stepped up, huge,” Red Bulls midfielder Daniel Edelman said of Coronel after the keeper made three consecutive saves against Columbus. “And those saves were everything and so vital to like, give me confidence, and to be able to know that I have Carlos’ backing, that he’s going to make the save.”
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