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25th season of Major League Soccer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 Major League Soccer season was the 25th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally planned to end on October 4. The MLS Cup Playoffs were planned to begin later that month and would end with MLS Cup 2020 on November 7.
MLS's commemorative logo for its 25th season | |
| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Dates |
|
| MLS Cup | Columbus Crew SC (2nd title) |
| Supporters' Shield | Philadelphia Union (1st shield) |
| Champions League (United States) | Atlanta United FC Columbus Crew SC Philadelphia Union Portland Timbers |
| Champions League (Canada) | Toronto FC |
| Leagues Cup | New York City FC Orlando City SC Seattle Sounders FC Sporting Kansas City |
| Matches played | 291 |
| Goals scored | 826 (2.84 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Diego Rossi (14 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Joe Willis (9 shutouts) |
| Biggest home win | 6 goals: SEA 7–1 SJ (September 10) LAFC 6–0 VAN (September 23) |
| Biggest away win | 5 goals: RSL 0–5 COL (September 12) SJ 1–6 POR (September 19) |
| Highest scoring | 9 goals: LA 3–6 POR (October 7) |
| Longest winning run | 5 games: Portland Timbers (September 19 – October 11) Toronto FC (September 23 – October 11) Columbus Crew SC (November 8 – December 12) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 games: Orlando City SC (August 26 – October 18) |
| Longest winless run | 9 games: D.C. United (September 6 – October 14) |
| Longest losing run | 6 games: LA Galaxy (September 19 – October 14) |
| Highest attendance | 69,301 ATL 2–1 CIN (March 7) |
| Lowest attendance | 0 |
| Total attendance | 637,020[2] |
| Average attendance | 2,182[2] |
← 2019 2021 → | |
On March 12, 2020, the season entered a lengthy suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, following the cancellation of several matches.[3] On May 1, the league announced that players would be allowed to resume individual outdoor training at MLS facilities on May 6.[4] The COVID-19 pandemic was the first interruption of regular season play since the 2001 MLS season, in which many late regular season games were canceled due to the September 11 attacks. On June 10, MLS announced that a bracket format dubbed the "MLS is Back Tournament" would begin July 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World, and end with the final on August 11.[5] The tournament included 51 matches in 35 days and over 1,000 players and staff quarantined to a set of hotels at Walt Disney World;[6] it was eventually won by the Portland Timbers, who as a result earned a berth in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.[7] The regular season later resumed a day after the tournament finished, and concluded on November 8. The playoffs began on November 20 with MLS Cup 2020 now being played on December 12.[8]
The 2020 season saw the addition of two expansion clubs, Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC, which took Major League Soccer to 26 total teams. Nashville SC was initially placed in the Western Conference, for a 13–13 team balance, despite Nashville being to the east of the western most Eastern Conference team, Chicago Fire FC. However, after the MLS Is Back Tournament, COVID-19 difficulties led to MLS limiting teams to matches with teams in geographic proximity, and as a result Nashville was moved to the Eastern conference due to geography. This led to an imbalance, with 14 teams in the Eastern Conference and 12 in the Western Conference. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this season was planned to be the first MLS season in which each team did not play every other team at least once, but, due to the pandemic, the schedule was heavily modified and most teams only played other teams within a regional geographic bubble. During the regular season around September and toward the end of the season, COVID-19 cross-border restrictions imposed by the Canadian government forced the Canadian MLS teams to play home matches in the United States.
The Philadelphia Union won the Supporters' Shield on the final day of the regular season, the first major trophy in the club's history. Columbus Crew SC defeated defending champions Seattle Sounders FC in MLS Cup 2020 3–0 to win a second MLS Cup title, and their first since 2008.[9] The league's teams incurred an estimated financial loss of $1 billion due to lost ticket sales and additional costs. The 2020 season was the longest in MLS season, stretching 287 days.[6]
Two stadiums were renamed during the 2019–20 offseason:
An additional stadium was renamed prior to the 2020 postseason:
Expansion team Nashville SC began the season in the MLS Western Conference. As part of the announcement of the MLS is Back Tournament, MLS confirmed that for one season only, Nashville would transfer to the MLS Eastern Conference which thereby expanded to 14 teams for the season, with the Western Conference reduced to 12. Due to travel restrictions between US and Canada the three Canadian teams were relocated to temporary stadiums in the United States starting September 20.
Note: All teams use Adidas as kit manufacturer.
For the 2020 season, MLS allowed teams to sign sleeve sponsorship agreements for the left jersey sleeve; beginning with the MLS is Back Tournament, this was extended to both sleeves and club shorts in certain circumstances.[13]
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor | Sleeve and short sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United FC |  Stephen Glass (interim) |
 Jeff Larentowicz |
American Family Insurance | Piedmont Orthopedics, Truist, NAPA |
| Chicago Fire FC |  Raphaël Wicky |
 Francisco Calvo |
Motorola | Motorola, CIBC |
| FC Cincinnati |  Jaap Stam |
Kendall Waston |
Mercy Health | Cintas, First Financial Bank |
| Colorado Rapids | Robin Fraser |
 Jack Price |
Transamerica | WFG, Western Union |
| Columbus Crew SC | Caleb Porter |
 Jonathan Mensah |
Nationwide Children's Hospital | Scotts, OhioHealth |
| D.C. United | Chad Ashton (interim) |
Steve Birnbaum |
Leidos | Caesars Entertainment, Gainbridge, Events DC, EagleBank |
| FC Dallas | Luchi Gonzalez |
Reto Ziegler |
AdvoCare | AdvoCare |
| Houston Dynamo FC | Tab Ramos |
 Boniek García |
MD Anderson | Kroger, Coushatta Casino Resort |
| Inter Miami CF |  Diego Alonso |
Luis Robles |
— | Baptist Health |
| LA Galaxy | Dominic Kinnear (interim) |
 Jonathan dos Santos |
Herbalife | Herbalife, Dignity Health |
| Los Angeles FC | Bob Bradley |
Carlos Vela |
YouTube TV | Target |
| Minnesota United FC | Adrian Heath |
 Osvaldo Alonso |
Target | Bell Bank, Allianz |
| Montreal Impact |  Thierry Henry |
 Jukka Raitala |
Bank of Montreal | Saputo |
| Nashville SC | Gary Smith |
Dax McCarty |
Renasant Bank | Hyundai, Jackson |
| New England Revolution | Bruce Arena |
 Carles Gil |
UnitedHealth | Gillette, Santander |
| New York City FC |  Ronny Deila |
Alexander Ring |
Etihad Airways | AT&T, Ford |
| New York Red Bulls |  Gerhard Struber |
Sean Davis |
Red Bull | Yanmar |
| Orlando City SC |  Óscar Pareja |
 Nani |
Orlando Health | Exploria |
| Philadelphia Union | Jim Curtin |
Alejandro Bedoya |
Bimbo Bakeries USA | Thomas', Subaru |
| Portland Timbers |  Giovanni Savarese |
 Diego Valeri |
Alaska Airlines | KeyBank, AT&T |
| Real Salt Lake | Freddy Juarez |
Kyle Beckerman |
LifeVantage | KeyBank, Ford |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Matías Almeyda |
Chris Wondolowski |
Intermedia | Clover, Wells Fargo |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Brian Schmetzer |
Nicolás Lodeiro |
Zulily | WaFd Bank |
| Sporting Kansas City | Peter Vermes |
Matt Besler |
Ivy Funds | Compass Minerals |
| Toronto FC | Greg Vanney |
Michael Bradley |
Bank of Montreal | GE Appliances, Bank of Montreal |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC |  Marc Dos Santos |
Russell Teibert |
Bell Canada | GE Appliances |
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando City SC |  James O'Connor |
Fired | October 7, 2019[14] | Pre-season | Óscar Pareja |
December 4, 2019[15] |
| Houston Dynamo FC | Davy Arnaud |
End of interim period | October 24, 2019 | Tab Ramos |
October 25, 2019[16] | |
| Montreal Impact | Wílmer Cabrera |
Contract expired | October 24, 2019[17] | Thierry Henry |
November 14, 2019[18] | |
| New York City FC | Domènec Torrent |
Mutual consent | November 8, 2019[19] | Ronny Deila |
January 6, 2020[20] | |
| Chicago Fire FC |  Veljko Paunović |
Fired | November 13, 2019[21] | Raphaël Wicky |
December 27, 2019[22] | |
| FC Cincinnati | Ron Jans |
Resigned | February 18, 2020 | Yoann Damet (interim) |
February 18, 2020[23] | |
| Yoann Damet |
End of interim period | May 21, 2020 | 11th in East, 23rd overall | Jaap Stam |
May 21, 2020[24] | |
| Atlanta United FC | Frank de Boer |
Fired | July 24, 2020[25] | 7th in East, 14th overall | Stephen Glass (interim) |
July 27, 2020[26] |
| New York Red Bulls | Chris Armas |
Fired | September 4, 2020[27] | 7th in East, 12th overall |  Bradley Carnell (interim) |
September 5, 2020[28] |
| Bradley Carnell |
End of interim period | October 6, 2020 | 7th in East, 12th overall | Gerhard Struber |
October 6, 2020[29] | |
| D.C. United | Ben Olsen |
Fired | October 8, 2020[30] | 14th in East, 26th overall | Chad Ashton (interim) |
October 8, 2020[30] |
| LA Galaxy | Guillermo Barros Schelotto |
Fired | October 29, 2020[31] | 12th in West, 24th overall | Dominic Kinnear (interim) |
October 29, 2020[31] |
The 2020 regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally scheduled to conclude on October 4.[1] The league was originally divided into two conferences of 13 teams, with each playing a 34-game schedule with 17 each of home and away matches.[32] Each team would play their intra-conference opponents twice – once home and once away for a total of 24 matches – and one match against 10 of the members of the opposite conference.[32] The 2020 season was the first MLS season in which each team did not play every other team at least once.[32] Only two weeks of the original format were played before the COVID-19 pandemic put the season on hold.
The MLS is Back Tournament introduced three regular season matches in the group stage and the knockout stage that did not count towards regular season standings. After the tournament, the "first phase" of the regular schedule restart had teams playing in their home markets against only conference opponents for six matches with the intent of finishing a 23-match season. Some teams were allowed to play in front of a limited audience of spectators.[33] The exceptions in the first phase were that the Canadian clubs would play six matches between themselves due to prohibited travel to the United States and that FC Dallas and Nashville SC would play an additional three matches between themselves to make up for the fact that they could not play in the MLS is Back Tournament.[33][34]
On September 11, the league announced the "second phase" of the restart with three more matches for each team. In this phase, Canadian and U.S. teams once again played each other but only within their own geographic bubble. This phase included two away games and one (designated home) game at a neutral venue for each of the Canadian teams; with Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto hosting matches in Portland, Harrison, and Hartford, respectively.[35]
On October 17, following a decision by the ISC (Independent Supporters Council), it was announced that the Supporters' Shield would not be awarded to the best regular season team in 2020. In an official announcement, the Supporters' Shield Foundation stated, "After much consideration and discussion, the Supporters' Shield Foundation has decided to forego awarding the Supporters' Shield for the 2020 season. This is not an easy decision to make. With the inability for supporters to be in attendance and fill their stadiums with passion, however, we feel as though the current climate goes against the spirit of the Shield."[36] However, following backlash from members across the MLS community, on October 23 the foundation reversed the decision and reinstated the Shield.[37]
On October 29, the league announced that the final regular season standings and playoff qualification would be determined by points per game rather than by overall points. This was due to eight MLS clubs, all in the Western Conference, being unable to play all of their scheduled 23 regular season matches in time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven postponed matches were cancelled altogether in order for the playoffs to be able to start on the scheduled date.[38][39][40]
The regular season concluded with Decision Day on November 8, after which an expanded 18-team playoff began on November 20 and concluded with MLS Cup 2020 on December 12.[8][33] Eight teams from the Western Conference and six teams from the Eastern Conference automatically qualified for the playoffs; teams finishing in positions 7–10 in the Eastern Conference competed in a play-in round for the final two first round playoff spots.[41]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 47 | 2.04 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League[a] |
| 2 | Toronto FC[b] | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League[c] |
| 3 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League[d] |
| 4 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
| 5 | New York City FC | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 39 | 1.70 | |
| 6 | New York Red Bulls | 23 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 32 | 1.39 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 7 | Nashville SC[e] | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 32 | 1.39 | Qualification for the playoffs play-in round |
| 8 | New England Revolution | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 32 | 1.39 | |
| 9 | Montreal Impact[b] | 23 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 26 | 1.13 | |
| 10 | Inter Miami CF | 23 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 24 | 1.04 | |
| 11 | Chicago Fire FC | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | 1.00 | |
| 12 | Atlanta United FC | 23 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 22 | 0.96 | Qualification for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[f] |
| 13 | D.C. United | 23 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 14 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 36 | −24 | 16 | 0.70 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 39 | 1.86 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 39 | 1.77 | |
| 3 | Portland Timbers | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 39 | 1.70 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[a] |
| 4 | Minnesota United FC | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 34 | 1.62 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 28 | 1.56 | |
| 6 | FC Dallas | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 34 | 1.55 | |
| 7 | Los Angeles FC | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 32 | 1.45 | |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 30 | 1.30 | |
| 9 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC[b] | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 27 | 1.17 | |
| 10 | LA Galaxy | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 11 | Real Salt Lake | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 12 | Houston Dynamo | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | 0.91 |
The leading team in this table wins the Supporters' Shield.[44]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Union (S) | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 47 | 2.04 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[a] |
| 2 | Toronto FC (V) | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[b] |
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 39 | 1.86 | 2021 Leagues Cup[c] |
| 4 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[d] |
| 5 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 Leagues Cup[e] |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders FC | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 39 | 1.77 | 2021 Leagues Cup[f] |
| 7 | New York City FC | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 39 | 1.70 | 2021 Leagues Cup[g] |
| 8 | Portland Timbers (M) | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 39 | 1.70 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[h] |
| 9 | Minnesota United FC | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 34 | 1.62 | |
| 10 | Colorado Rapids | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 28 | 1.56 | |
| 11 | FC Dallas | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 34 | 1.55 | |
| 12 | Los Angeles FC | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 32 | 1.45 | |
| 13 | New York Red Bulls | 23 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 32 | 1.39 | |
| 14 | Nashville SC | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 32 | 1.39 | |
| 15 | New England Revolution | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 32 | 1.39 | |
| 16 | San Jose Earthquakes | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 30 | 1.30 | |
| 17 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 27 | 1.17 | |
| 18 | Montreal Impact | 23 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 26 | 1.13 | |
| 19 | Inter Miami CF | 23 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 24 | 1.04 | |
| 20 | LA Galaxy | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 21 | Real Salt Lake | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 22 | Chicago Fire FC | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | 1.00 | |
| 23 | Atlanta United FC (U) | 23 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 22 | 0.96 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League[i] |
| 24 | D.C. United | 23 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 25 | Houston Dynamo | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 26 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 36 | −24 | 16 | 0.70 |
| Color key: Home • Away • Neutral • Win • Loss • Draw • Canceled | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Match | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ||
| Atlanta United FC (ATL) | NSH | CIN | NY | CIN | CLB | NSH | ORL | MIA | ORL | MIA | NSH | MIA | DAL | CHI | DC | ORL | NY | MIA | TOR | DC | ORL | CIN | CLB | |
| 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | ||
| Chicago Fire FC (CHI) | SEA | NE | SEA | SJ | VAN | CLB | CIN | NYC | CIN | NE | CLB | ORL | HOU | ATL | MTL | SKC | DC | SKC | NY | PHI | NSH | MIN | NYC | |
| 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | ||
| FC Cincinnati (CIN) | NY | ATL | CLB | ATL | NY | DC | CHI | CLB | CHI | CLB | NYC | NY | PHI | NYC | MIN | PHI | TOR | CLB | DC | MIN | SKC | ATL | MIA | |
| 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | ||
| Colorado Rapids (COL) | DC | ORL | RSL | SKC | MIN | RSL | SKC | SJ | HOU | RSL | DAL | LA | SJ | LFC | LA | SEA | RSL | SKC | SKC | MIN | SEA | POR | HOU | |
| 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 5–0 | CAN | CAN | CAN | CAN | CAN | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| Columbus Crew SC (CLB) | NYC | SEA | CIN | NY | ATL | CHI | NYC | CIN | PHI | CIN | CHI | NSH | MIN | TOR | DAL | MTL | CIN | NYC | HOU | DC | PHI | ORL | ATL | |
| 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | ||
| FC Dallas (DAL) | PHI | MTL | NSH | NSH | HOU | MIN | SKC | MIN | HOU | COL | SKC | ATL | ORL | CLB | HOU | MIN | SKC | NSH | RSL | MIA | HOU | NSH | MIN | |
| 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | CAN | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | ||
| D.C. United (DC) | COL | MIA | TOR | NE | MTL | CIN | NE | PHI | NY | NYC | NY | TOR | NSH | NE | ATL | NYC | CHI | PHI | CIN | ATL | CLB | NE | MTL | |
| 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2–3 | ||
| Houston Dynamo FC (HOU) | LA | SKC | LFC | POR | LA | DAL | SKC | MIN | SKC | COL | DAL | MIN | CHI | NSH | SKC | DAL | MIA | NSH | MIN | CLB | LFC | DAL | COL | |
| 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | ||
| Los Angeles FC (LFC) | MIA | PHI | HOU | LA | POR | LA | SEA | SJ | LA | RSL | POR | SEA | VAN | SJ | RSL | COL | SEA | VAN | POR | LA | HOU | SJ | POR | |
| 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 6–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | CAN | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | ||
| LA Galaxy (LA) | HOU | VAN | POR | LFC | HOU | LFC | SJ | POR | LFC | SJ | COL | RSL | SEA | SJ | POR | COL | SJ | VAN | LFC | POR | RSL | SEA | VAN | |
| 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–6 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–6 | CAN | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | ||
| Inter Miami CF (MIA) | LFC | DC | ORL | PHI | NYC | ORL | NSH | ATL | NSH | ATL | ORL | ATL | NY | PHI | NYC | NY | HOU | ATL | MTL | ORL | DAL | TOR | CIN | |
| 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | ||
| Minnesota United FC (MIN) | POR | SJ | SKC | RSL | COL | SKC | DAL | HOU | RSL | DAL | SKC | HOU | CLB | RSL | CIN | NSH | DAL | HOU | CIN | COL | SKC | CHI | DAL | |
| 3–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | CAN | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | CAN | 2–2 | 3–0 | ||
| Montreal Impact (MTL) | NE | DAL | NE | TOR | DC | VAN | TOR | TOR | TOR | VAN | VAN | PHI | NE | NY | CHI | CLB | PHI | NE | MIA | NYC | NSH | ORL | DC | |
| 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | ||
| Nashville SC (NSH) | ATL | POR | DAL | DAL | ATL | ORL | MIA | ORL | MIA | ATL | CLB | DC | HOU | NE | MIN | SKC | HOU | DAL | NE | MTL | CHI | DAL | ORL | |
| 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | ||
| New England Revolution (NE) | MTL | CHI | MTL | DC | TOR | PHI | DC | NY | NYC | CHI | PHI | NYC | MTL | DC | NSH | TOR | NYC | MTL | PHI | NSH | NY | DC | PHI | |
| 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 0–2 | ||
| New York City FC (NYC) | CLB | TOR | PHI | ORL | MIA | NY | CLB | CHI | NE | DC | CIN | NE | TOR | CIN | MIA | DC | NE | ORL | CLB | MTL | TOR | NY | CHI | |
| 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5−2 | 4–3 | ||
| New York Red Bulls (NY) | CIN | RSL | ATL | CLB | CIN | NYC | PHI | NE | DC | PHI | DC | CIN | MIA | MTL | ORL | MIA | ATL | TOR | ORL | CHI | NE | NYC | TOR | |
| 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 2–1 | ||
| Orlando City SC (ORL) | RSL | COL | MIA | NYC | PHI | MIA | NSH | ATL | NSH | ATL | MIA | CHI | SKC | DAL | NY | ATL | NYC | NY | MIA | ATL | MTL | CLB | NSH | |
| 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | ||
| Philadelphia Union (PHI) | DAL | LFC | NYC | MIA | ORL | NE | NY | DC | CLB | NY | NE | MTL | CIN | MIA | TOR | CIN | MTL | DC | NE | TOR | CHI | CLB | NE | |
| 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | ||
| Portland Timbers (POR) | MIN | NSH | LA | HOU | LFC | SEA | RSL | LA | SEA | LFC | SJ | SJ | SEA | VAN | LA | SJ | RSL | LFC | SEA | LA | VAN | COL | LFC | |
| 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 4–4 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | ||
| Real Salt Lake (RSL) | ORL | NY | COL | MIN | SKC | COL | POR | SEA | MIN | LFC | COL | VAN | LA | MIN | LFC | SEA | VAN | POR | COL | DAL | SJ | LA | SKC | |
| 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | CAN | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes (SJ) | TOR | MIN | SEA | VAN | CHI | LA | LFC | COL | SEA | LA | POR | POR | COL | LFC | LA | VAN | POR | LA | SEA | VAN | RSL | LFC | SEA | |
| 2–2 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–7 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–4 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC (SEA) | CHI | CLB | SJ | CHI | VAN | POR | LFC | RSL | POR | SJ | LFC | POR | LA | VAN | RSL | LFC | COL | SJ | POR | VAN | COL | LA | SJ | |
| 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 7–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | CAN | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City (SKC) | VAN | HOU | MIN | COL | RSL | MIN | HOU | DAL | HOU | MIN | DAL | ORL | COL | HOU | CHI | NSH | DAL | CHI | COL | COL | CIN | MIN | RSL | |
| 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | CAN | 4–0 | 1–0 | CAN | 2–0 | ||
| Toronto FC (TOR) | SJ | NYC | DC | MTL | NE | VAN | VAN | MTL | MTL | VAN | MTL | DC | NYC | CLB | PHI | NE | CIN | NY | ATL | PHI | NYC | MIA | NY | |
| 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC (VAN) | SKC | LA | SJ | SEA | CHI | TOR | TOR | MTL | TOR | MTL | MTL | RSL | LFC | POR | SEA | SJ | RSL | LFC | LA | SJ | SEA | POR | LA | |
| 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | ||
| First round November 21–22, 24 | Conference semifinals November 29, December 1–3 | Conference finals December 6–7 | MLS Cup December 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia Union | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | New England Revolution | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | New England Revolution | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Orlando City SC | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Orlando City SC (p) | 1 (6) | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | New York City FC | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | New England Revolution | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Columbus Crew SC | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Columbus Crew SC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | New York Red Bulls | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Columbus Crew SC (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Nashville SC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto FC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Nashville SC (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Columbus Crew SC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Sporting Kansas City (p) | 3 (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 3 (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Minnesota United FC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Minnesota United FC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Colorado Rapids | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Minnesota United FC | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland Timbers | 1 (7) | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | FC Dallas (p) | 1 (8) | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | FC Dallas | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Los Angeles FC | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Note: The higher-seeded team hosted matches in the first three rounds. The team with the better regular season record hosted the final.
Source: 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket
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Due to the pandemic, some games early in the season were played with low attendance, and games later in the season were played without fans, or with artificially reduced attendance. Individual teams could set their own attendance limits based on their local, regional and state regulations during the pandemic.[46]
Games without fans are not counted in averages or games played.
| Pos. | Team | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta United FC | 3 | 81,580 | 69,301 | 6,130 | 27,193 |
| 2 | Nashville SC | 6 | 77,552 | 59,069 | 3,478 | 12,925 |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 73,206 | 40,126 | 33,080 | 36,603 |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 10 | 55,274 | 16,219 | 222 | 5,527 |
| 5 | Portland Timbers | 2 | 50,736 | 25,518 | 25,218 | 25,368 |
| 6 | Real Salt Lake | 9 | 48,012 | 18,093 | 2,770 | 5,335 |
| 7 | Los Angeles FC | 2 | 44,233 | 22,121 | 22,112 | 22,117 |
| 8 | D.C. United | 2 | 34,115 | 17,183 | 16,932 | 17,058 |
| 9 | Houston Dynamo FC | 7 | 34,003 | 22,039 | 1,328 | 4,858 |
| 10 | San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 30,223 | 18,000 | 12,223 | 15,112 |
| 11 | Orlando City SC | 2 | 28,530 | 25,527 | 3,003 | 14,265 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 2 | 27,565 | 26,171 | 1,394 | 13,783 |
| 13 | LA Galaxy | 1 | 26,382 | 26,382 | 26,382 | 26,382 |
| 14 | Columbus Crew SC | 7 | 26,329 | 17,473 | 1,500 | 3,761 |
| 15 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 | 22,120 | 22,120 | 22,120 | 22,120 |
| 16 | Montreal Impact | 4 | 21,506 | 21,006 | 250 | 5,439 |
| 17 | Sporting Kansas City | 1 | 21,188 | 21,188 | 21,188 | 21,188 |
| 18 | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 15,703 | 15,703 | 15,703 | 15,703 |
| 19 | New England Revolution | 1 | 15,289 | 15,289 | 15,289 | 15,289 |
| 20 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 13,062 | 13,062 | 13,062 | 13,062 |
| 21 | Philadelphia Union | 1 | 2,775 | 2,775 | 2,775 | 2,775 |
| 22 | Inter Miami CF | 1 | 2,216 | 2,216 | 2,216 | 2,216 |
| 23 | Chicago Fire FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FC Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Minnesota United FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | New York City FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | Total | 68 | 751,599 | 69,301 | 222 | 14,913 |
Note: Several additional matches had fans in attendance, but official figures have not yet been reported: Sporting Kansas City (8 home matches), Orlando City (8), FC Dallas (2), Philadelphia Union (3), Real Salt Lake (1), and Inter Miami CF (1).
Regular season
| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Week | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta United FC | 2–1 | FC Cincinnati | 69,301 | March 7, 2020 | 2 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| 2 | Nashville SC | 1–2 | Atlanta United FC | 59,069 | February 29, 2020 | 1 | Nissan Stadium |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | Chicago Fire FC | 40,126 | March 1, 2020 | 1 | CenturyLink Field |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1–1 | Columbus Crew SC | 33,080 | March 7, 2020 | 2 | CenturyLink Field |
| 5 | LA Galaxy | 0–1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 26,382 | March 7, 2020 | 2 | Dignity Health Sports Park |
| 6 | Toronto FC | 1–0 | New York City FC | 26,171 | March 7, 2020 | 2 | BMO Field |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 0–0 | Real Salt Lake | 25,527 | February 29, 2020 | 1 | Exploria Stadium |
| 8 | Portland Timbers | 1–0 | Nashville SC | 25,518 | March 8, 2020 | 2 | Providence Park |
| 9 | Portland Timbers | 0–0 | Minnesota United FC | 25,218 | February 29, 2020 | 1 | Providence Park |
| 10 | Los Angeles FC | 1–0 | Inter Miami CF | 22,121 | March 1, 2020 | 1 | Banc of California Stadium |
Following the resumption of league play, some teams played either behind closed doors or with limited capacity based on local and state regulations.
| Team | Spectators | Limitations | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United | Some | All home matches from August 15, 2020, to September 30, 2020, played without spectators. Matches from October 1, 2020, onward capped at 15% capacity. | |
| Chicago Fire | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Colorado Rapids | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Columbus Crew | Some | Regular season matches played without spectators, some playoff matches played at 7.5% capacity. | |
| D.C. United | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| FC Cincinnati | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| FC Dallas | All | Capped at 10% at the resumption of league play, increased to 25% effective September 1, 2020. | |
| Houston Dynamo | Some | Some matches played without spectators, some matches with 12% capacity limit. | |
| LA Galaxy | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Los Angeles FC | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Inter Miami | Some | All home matches from August 15, 2020, to October 15, 2020, played without spectators. Matches from October 16, 2020, onward capped at 15% capacity. | |
| Minnesota United | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Montreal Impact | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey due to travel restrictions. Matches were played without spectators. | |
| Nashville SC | Some | All home matches from August 15, 2020, to September 30, 2020, played without spectators. Matches from October 1, 2020, onward capped at 5% capacity. | |
| New England Revolution | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| New York City FC | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| New York Red Bulls | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Orlando City | All | Capped at 20% at the resumption of league play, increased to 25% effective October 1, 2020. | |
| Philadelphia Union | Some | All home matches from August 15, 2020, to October 31, 2020, played without spectators. Matches from November 1, 2020, onward capped at 18% capacity. | |
| Portland Timbers | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Real Salt Lake | All | Capped at 20% at the resumption of league play, remained at 20% for the rest of the season. | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Seattle Sounders | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played without spectators. | |
| Sporting Kansas City | All | Capped at 10% at the resumption of league play, increased to 15% effective November 15, 2020. | |
| Toronto FC | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut due to travel restrictions. Matches were played without spectators. | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | None | All home matches from August 15, 2020, onward played at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon due to travel restrictions. Matches were played without spectators. | |
Goals
|
Assists
|
|
| Rank | Player | Club | Shutouts[50] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Willis |
Nashville SC | 9 |
| 2 |  Andre Blake |
Philadelphia Union | 8 |
| 3 | Sean Johnson |
New York City FC | 7 |
| Jimmy Maurer |
FC Dallas | ||
| Tim Melia |
Sporting Kansas City | ||
 Eloy Room |
Columbus Crew SC | ||
| 7 | Stefan Frei |
Seattle Sounders FC | 6 |
| Brad Guzan |
Atlanta United FC | ||
| Dayne St. Clair |
Minnesota United FC | ||
| Matt Turner |
New England Revolution | ||
| Quentin Westberg |
Toronto FC |
| Player | For | Against | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayo Akinola |
Toronto FC | Montreal Impact | 4−3 | July 16 |
| Diego Rossi4 |
Los Angeles FC | LA Galaxy | 6−2 | July 18 |
| Santiago Mosquera |
FC Dallas | Colorado Rapids | 4–1 | September 16 |
 Sergio Santos |
Philadelphia Union | Toronto FC | 5−0 | October 24 |
| Valentín Castellanos |
New York City FC | New York Red Bulls | 5−2 | November 1 |
4 Scored 4 goals
| Month | Player | Club | Stats | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | Daryl Dike |
Orlando City SC | 5 GP, 6 G, 2 A | [51] |
| September | Alejandro Pozuelo |
Toronto FC | 6 GP, 4 G, 2 A | [52] |
| October & November | Valentín Castellanos |
New York City FC | 8 GP, 6 G, 3 A | [53] |
| Team of the Week | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Bench | Coach |
| 1 [54][55] |
Vermeer (LAFC) |
Alanís (SJ) Struna (HOU) Duncan (NY) |
Valot (NY) Molino (MIN) Kinda (SKC) Finlay (MIN) |
Morris (SEA) Pavón (LA) Vela (LAFC) |
Robles (MIA) Segura (LAFC) T. Santos (DAL) Price (COL) Barco (ATL) Zelarayán (CLB) Urruti (MTL) |
Robin Fraser (COL) |
| 2 [56][57] |
Blake (PHI) |
 Adnan (VAN) Brillant (DC) Opara (MIN) Rosenberry (COL) |
Barco (ATL) G. Martínez (ATL) Greguš (MIN) Kinda (SKC) |
 Achara (TOR) Pulido (SKC) |
Clark (POR) Župarić (POR) Glesnes (PHI) Artur (CLB) T. Santos (DAL) Aaronson (PHI) Ricketts (VAN) |
Peter Vermes (SKC) |
| MLS is Back – Round 1 [58] |
Blake (PHI) |
Brillant (DC) Glad (RSL) Duncan (NY) |
Rodríguez (HOU) Nagbe (CLB) Zelarayán (CLB) Molino (MIN) |
Zardes (CLB) Akinola (TOR) Bou (NE) |
Guzan (ATL) Blanco (POR) McKenzie (PHI) Yueill (SJ) Pozuelo (TOR) Gil (NE) Rossi (LAFC) |
Caleb Porter (CLB) |
| MLS is Back – Round 2 [59] |
 Gallese (ORL) |
Laryea (TOR) Pineda (CHI) Mensah (CLB) |
Pozuelo (TOR) Nagbe (CLB) Aaronson (PHI) Mueller (ORL) |
Rossi (LAFC) Ebobisse (POR) Akinola (TOR) |
MacMath (RSL) Mabiala (POR) Herrera (RSL) Rosell (ORL) Alonso (MIN) Zelarayán (CLB) Amaya (CIN) |
Óscar Pareja (ORL) |
| MLS is Back – Round 3 [60] |
Turner (NE) |
Lima (SJ) McKenzie (PHI) Watson (CIN) Tinnerholm (NYC) |
Morris (SEA) Vera (HOU) Finlay (MIN) Reyna (VAN) |
Ebobisse (POR) Pulido (SKC) |
Blake (PHI) Veselinović (VAN) Alonso (MIN) Nagbe (CLB) Kubo (CIN) Tajouri-Shradi (NYC) Lewis (COL) |
Jaap Stam (CIN) |
| 6 [61][62] |
Turner (NE) |
Kessler (NE) Hedges (DAL) Duncan (NY) |
Araujo (LA) Chang (RSL) Nagbe (CLB) G. Martínez (ATL) Pavón (LA) |
Ruidíaz (SEA) Piatti (TOR) |
Maurer (DAL) Onuoha (RSL) Pozuelo (TOR) Monteiro (PHI) Busio (SKC) Etienne (CLB) Carranza (MIA) |
Freddy Juarez (RSL) |
| 7 & 8 [63][64] |
Turner (NE) |
Tinnerholm (NYC) Van der Werff (CIN) Moutinho (ORL) |
Picault (DAL) Urso (ORL) Ring (NYC) Morris (SEA) |
Mueller (ORL) Przybyłko (PHI) Baird (RSL) |
Gallese (ORL) Pineda (CHI) Lletget (LA) Pozuelo (TOR) Lappalainen (MTL) Quintero (HOU) Dike (ORL) |
Óscar Pareja (ORL) |
| 9 [65][66] |
 Diop (MTL) |
Camacho (MTL) Pines (DC) Watson (CIN) |
 Gerso (SKC) Corona (LA) Pavón (LA) |
Quintero (HOU) Lassiter (HOU) Rossi (LAFC) |
Seitz (DC) González Pírez (MIA) Zelarayán (CLB) Leal (NSH) Elis (HOU) Héber (NYC) Sorga (DC) |
Tab Ramos (HOU) |
| 10 [67][68] |
Bingham (LA) |
Adnan (VAN) Glesnes (PHI) Matarrita (NYC) |
Lod (MIN) Williamson (POR) Lletget (LA) Molino (MIN) |
Bunbury (NE) Zardes (CLB) Pavón (LA) |
Hasal (VAN) Brillant (DC) Baldisimo (VAN) Aaronson (PHI) Elis (HOU) Jahn (ATL) Bassett (COL) |
Jim Curtin (PHI) |
| 11 [69][70] |
Meara (NY) |
Tinnerholm (NYC) Abubakar (COL) McKenzie (PHI) |
Jones (SEA) Fontana (PHI) McCarty (NSH) Morris (SEA) |
 Rubio (COL) Zardes (CLB) Ruidíaz (SEA) |
Zobeck (DAL) Long (NY) Kaye (LAFC) Morgan (MIA) Molino (MIN) Namli (COL) Quioto (MTL) |
Gary Smith (NSH) |
| 12 [71][72] |
Gallese (ORL) |
Hagglund (CIN) Chanot (NYC) Mensah (CLB) |
Valeri (POR) Medunjanin (CIN) Lodeiro (SEA) Mosquera (DAL) |
Przybyłko (PHI) Montero (VAN) Jara (DAL) |
Johnson (NYC) McKenzie (PHI) D. Chará (POR) Russell (SKC) Nani (ORL) Shea (MIA) Bassett (COL) |
Marc Dos Santos (VAN) |
| 13 [73][74] |
Clark (POR) |
Calvo (CHI) Meza (ATL) Kessler (NE) Bornstein (CHI) |
Santos (CLB) Zelarayán (CLB) Bassett (COL) Medrán (CHI) Nani (ORL) |
Wright-Phillips (LAFC) |
Bono (TOR) Pettersson (CIN) Glesnes (PHI) Price (COL) Godoy (NSH) Herbers (CHI) Kaye (LAFC) |
Raphaël Wicky (CHI) |
| 14 [75][76] |
Putna (RSL) |
Laryea (TOR) Tinnerholm (NYC) Duncan (NY) |
C. Roldan (SEA) Yueill (SJ) Mitriță (NYC) Morris (SEA) |
Bou (NE) Barlow (NY) Przybyłko (PHI) |
Shuttleworth (CHI) Ziegler (DAL) Fontana (PHI) Herbers (CHI) Pereyra (ORL) Mora (POR) Ríos (NSH) |
Greg Vanney (TOR) |
| 15 [77][78] |
Willis (NSH) |
Tinnerholm (NYC) Kessler (NE) López (SJ) |
Lennon (ATL) João Paulo (SEA) Mitriță (NYC) Pozuelo (TOR) Gallagher (ATL) |
Pulido (SKC) Rossi (LAFC) |
St. Clair (MIN) Hollingshead (DAL) Morgan (MIA) Urso (ORL) Pereyra (ORL) C. Roldan (SEA) Wright-Phillips (LAFC) |
Óscar Pareja (ORL) |
| 16 [79][80] |
Guzan (ATL) |
Struna (HOU) Yeimar (SEA) Reid (SKC) |
Tajouri-Shradi (NYC) Ilsinho (PHI) Lodeiro (SEA) Y. Chará (POR) |
Ebobisse (POR) G. Higuaín (MIA) Bojan (MTL) |
Bono (TOR) Elliott (PHI) Marie (SJ) Parks (NYC) Espinoza (SJ) Akinola (TOR) Mora (POR) |
Thierry Henry (MTL) |
| 17 [81][82] |
Clark (POR) |
Nerwinski (VAN) McKenzie (PHI) Zavaleta (TOR) Harvey (LAFC) |
Clark (NY) Ilsinho (PHI) Nguyen (NE) Medrán (CHI) Musovski (LAFC) |
Niezgoda (POR) |
Shuttleworth (CHI) Zimmerman (NSH) D. Chará (POR) Russell (SKC) Morgan (MIA) Cavallini (VAN) Mullins (TOR) |
Bob Bradley (LAFC) |
| 18 [83][84] |
Rowe (ORL) |
Lima (SJ) Hagglund (CIN) Adnan (VAN) |
Clark (NY) Ricaurte (DAL) Parks (NYC) Kreilach (RSL) |
Buksa (NE) Cavallini (VAN) Mukhtar (NSH) |
Guzan (ATL) Parker (NY) Ruan (ORL) Asad (DC) Fierro (SJ) Montero (VAN) G. Higuaín (MIA) |
Freddy Juarez (RSL) |
| 19 [85][86] |
Tarbell (CLB) |
Odoi-Atsem (DCU) Pines (DCU) Bornstein (CHI) |
Finlay (MIN) Bojan (MTL) Kinda (SKC) Piatti (TOR) |
White (NY) Mora (POR) Koreniuk (LA) |
St. Clair (MIN) Lima (SJ) Laryea (TOR) Mihailovic (CHI) Artur (CLB) Santos (CLB) Torres (LAFC) |
Thierry Henry (MTL) |
| 20 [87][88] |
Blake (PHI) |
Canouse (DCU) Zimmerman (NSH) González Pírez (MIA) Wagner (PHI) |
D. Chará (POR) Moralez (NYC) Leal (NSH) |
Musovski (LAFC) Pulido (SKC) Santos (PHI) |
Maurer (DAL) Adnan (VAN) Fontàs (SKC) Morgan (MIA) Martínez (PHI) Przybyłko (PHI) Schoenfeld (MIN) |
Jim Curtin (PHI) |
| 21 [89][90] |
Maurer (DAL) |
Reynolds (DAL) Long (NY) Hollingshead (DAL) |
Gressel (DCU) Leal (NSH) Reynoso (MIN) Y. Chará (POR) |
Ruidíaz (SEA) Wondolowski (SJO) Dike (ORL) |
Vermeer (LAFC) Segura (LAFC) Medina (NYC) Espinoza (SKC) Przybyłko (PHI) Rossi (LAFC) Niezgoda (POR) |
Chad Ashton (DCU) |
| 22 [91][92] |
Room (CLB) |
González (LA) Zimmerman (NSH) Vines (COL) |
Buchanan (NE) Pereyra (ORL) Ricaurte (DAL) Picault (DAL) |
Shinyashiki (COL) Castellanos (NYC) Bunbury (NE) |
Gallese (ORL) Laryea (TOR) Pineda (CHI) Ring (NYC) Artur (CLB) Moreno (ATL) Y. Chará (POR) |
Robin Fraser (COL) |
| 23 [93] |
Willis (NSH) |
 Métanire (MIN) Hedges (DAL) Pineda (CHI) Vines (COL) |
Espinoza (SJ) Judson (SJ) Pereyra (ORL) T. Santos (DAL) Hollingshead (DAL) |
Berić (CHI) |
St. Clair (MIN) Wilson (COL) Acosta (COL) Lodeiro (SEA) Mueller (ORL) Hernández (LA) Wondolowski (SJ) |
Matías Almeyda (SJ) |
| 24 [94][95] |
Bush (VAN) |
Mensah (CLB) Glesnes (PHI) Reid (SKC) |
Mukhtar (NSH) Martínez (PHI) Reynoso (MIN) Molino (MIN) |
Quioto (MTL) Montero (VAN) Castellanos (NYC) |
Meara (NY) Ambrose (MIA) Morgan (MIA) Monteiro (PHI) Lodeiro (SEA) Valeri (POR) Rubio (COL) |
Jim Curtin (PHI) |
| Goal of the Week | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Player | Club | Ref |
| 1 | Emerson Hyndman |
Atlanta United FC | [96] |
| MLS is Back – Round 1 | Lucas Zelarayán |
Columbus Crew SC | [97] |
| MLS is Back – Round 2 | Frankie Amaya |
FC Cincinnati | [98] |
| MLS is Back – Round 3 | Gerso Fernandes |
Sporting Kansas City | [99] |
| 6 | Pity Martínez |
Atlanta United FC | [100] |
| 7 & 8 | Raúl Ruidíaz |
Seattle Sounders FC | [101] |
| 9 | Pablo Ruíz |
Real Salt Lake | [102] |
| 10 | Sebastian Lletget |
LA Galaxy | [103] |
| 11 | Anthony Fontana |
Philadelphia Union | [104] |
| 12 | Haris Medunjanin |
FC Cincinnati | [105] |
| 14 | Richie Laryea |
Toronto FC | [106] |
| 15 | Brooks Lennon |
Atlanta United FC | [107] |
| 16 | Gonzalo Higuaín |
Inter Miami CF | [108] |
| 17 | Erik Hurtado |
Sporting Kansas City | [109] |
| 18 | Mark McKenzie |
Philadelphia Union | [110] |
| 19 | Bojan |
Montreal Impact | [111] |
| 20 | Ali Adnan |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | [112] |
| 21 | Andy Polo |
Portland Timbers | [113] |
| 22 | Keegan Rosenberry |
Colorado Rapids | [114] |
| 23 | Benji Michel |
Orlando City SC | [115] |
| 24 | Mikey Ambrose |
Inter Miami CF | [116] |
| Award | Winner (club) | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC) | [117] |
| Defender of the Year | Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC) | [118] |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union) | [119] |
| Coach of the Year | Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union) | [120] |
| Young Player of the Year[121] | Diego Rossi (Los Angeles FC) | [122] |
| Newcomer of the Year | Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew SC) | [123] |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Bradley Wright-Phillips (Los Angeles FC) | [124] |
| Golden Boot | Diego Rossi (Los Angeles FC) | [125] |
| Humanitarian of the Year | Black Players for Change (Various) | [126] |
| Referee of the Year | Ismail Elfath | [127] |
| Assistant Referee of the Year | Kathryn Nesbitt | [128] |
| Goal of the Year | Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew SC) | [129] |
| Save of the Year | Eloy Room (Columbus Crew SC) | [130] |
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Blake, Philadelphia |
Mark McKenzie, Philadelphia Jonathan Mensah, Columbus Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC |
Brenden Aaronson, Philadelphia Diego Chará, Portland Nicolás Lodeiro, Seattle Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto FC |
Jordan Morris, Seattle Diego Rossi, LAFC Raúl Ruidíaz, Seattle |
[131] |
On February 6, 2020, MLS and the MLS Players Association agreed to a new five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which will last through the 2024 season.[132] The primary issues negotiated were increased player spending, expanded free agency, and more charter travel.[132]
The new collective bargaining agreement saw the league increase player spending to around $11.6 million per club by 2024, with both senior and reserve minimum salaries receiving increases throughout the deal as well as player bonuses for winning games and tournaments.[132][133] The league also reduced Targeted Allocation Money by redistributing it into General Allocation Money.[132] In addition, the players would earn a share in any increases in the league's new media deal in 2023.[132]
The Players Association also negotiated a significantly lower threshold for free agency, which was previously set at 28 years of age with eight years of service time in the league. Under the new agreement, the free agency requirement for players was set at 24 years of age, with five years of service time.[133] The number of charter flights allowed for each team was increased from four legs to eight one-way trips in 2020, with future allowances up to 16 one-way trips by 2024.[133] Each MLS team was also required to charter flights for all MLS Cup Playoffs matches and CONCACAF Champions League matches.[133]
| Year | Salary budget | Standard minimum salary | Reserve minimum | DP threshold | General Allocation Money per team | Targeted Allocation Money per team | Total spending bar per team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $4,900,000 | $81,375 | $63,547 | $612,500 | $1,525,000 | $2,800,000 | $9,225,000 |
| 2021 | $5,210,000 | $85,444 | $67,360 | $651,250 | $1,900,000 | $2,720,000 | $9,830,000 |
| 2022 | $5,470,000 | $89,716 | $71,401 | $683,750 | $2,585,000 | $2,400,000 | $10,455,000 |
| 2023 | $5,950,000 | $104,000 | $80,622 | $743,750 | $2,830,000 | $2,225,000 | $11,055,000 |
| 2024 | $6,425,000 | $109,200 | $85,502 | $803,125 | $3,093,000 | $2,125,000 | $11,643,000 |
At the MLS SuperDraft in January every year, Major League Soccer teams select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the league.[134] The first two rounds of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 9, 2020, and, unlike previous drafts, was held without a major event ceremony and was instead streamed on Twitter via ESPN.[134] The third and fourth rounds were held via conference call on January 13.[134]
Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC, as expansion clubs, held the first two spots in the SuperDraft.[134] Clemson Tigers forward Robbie Robinson was selected with the first-overall pick by Inter Miami.[135]
The allocation ranking was the mechanism used to determine which MLS club had first priority to acquire a player who was in the MLS allocation list. The MLS allocation list contained select U.S. national team players and players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000. The allocations were ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2019 season, taking playoff performance into account.[136]
Once the club used its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it dropped to the bottom of the list. A ranking could be traded provided that part of the compensation received in return was another club's ranking. At all times each club was assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS season.
| Original ranking |
Current ranking |
Club | Date allocation used (Rank on that date) |
Player signed | Previous club | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 1 | Los Angeles FC[A] | [137] | |||
| 2 | 2 | Inter Miami CF | ||||
| 3 | 3 | FC Cincinnati | ||||
| 4 | 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | ||||
| 5 | 5 | Orlando City SC | ||||
| 6 | 6 | Sporting Kansas City | ||||
| 7 | 7 | Columbus Crew SC | ||||
| 8 | 8 | Houston Dynamo FC | ||||
| 9 | 9 | Montreal Impact | ||||
| 10 | 10 | Chicago Fire FC | ||||
| 11 | 11 | Colorado Rapids | ||||
| 12 | 12 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||||
| 13 | 13 | New England Revolution | ||||
| 14 | 14 | FC Dallas | ||||
| 15 | 15 | New York Red Bulls | ||||
| 16 | 16 | Portland Timbers | ||||
| 17 | 17 | D.C. United | ||||
| 18 | 18 | Minnesota United FC | ||||
| 19 | 19 | LA Galaxy | ||||
| 20 | 20 | Real Salt Lake | ||||
| 21 | 21 | Philadelphia Union | ||||
| 22 | 22 | New York City FC | ||||
| 23 | 23 | Atlanta United FC | ||||
| 1 | 24 | Nashville SC[A] | [137] | |||
| 25 | 25 | Toronto FC | ||||
| 26 | 26 | Seattle Sounders FC |
To prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 occurring during the season, a bracket tournament, dubbed the "MLS is Back Tournament", was announced on June 10. The tournament took place behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, with the regular season slated to begin following the tournament. The group stage of the tournament counted towards the regular season. MLS announced its plan to restart the 2020 season with all 26 MLS clubs competing in the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida beginning July 8. The tournament, which was played without fans in attendance, provided.a compelling way for MLS to resume its 25th season. On July 6, FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament due to ten players and one staff member of the club testing positive for COVID-19,[138] after their opening match was initially postponed.[139] On July 9, Nashville SC were also withdrawn from the tournament after nine players of the club tested positive for the virus,[140] after their opening match was initially postponed.[141]
Each team played three group stage matches, and those results counted in the 2020 MLS regular season standings. After 16 consecutive days of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group along with the four best third-place finishers, moved on to the knockout stage. The knockout stage included a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the championship match which took place on August 11. Matches tied at the end of regulation in the knockout phase proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out.
As MLS is Back Tournament winners, the Portland Timbers earned a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. They replaced the berth previously awarded to the MLS regular season points leader in the conference opposite of the Supporters’ Shield winner.
In addition to matches that counted in the regular season standings and the Champions League berth, players had the opportunity to earn additional bonuses as part of a $1.1 million prize pool.
| Group A (East) | Group B (West) | Group C (East) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Source: MLS[142] |
Source: MLS[142] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group D (West) | Group E (East) | Group F (West) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: MLS[142] |
Source: MLS[142] |
Source: MLS[142] |
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| July 25 | ||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Union | 1 | |||||||||||||
| July 30 | ||||||||||||||
| New England Revolution | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Union | 3 | |||||||||||||
| July 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Sporting Kansas City | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Sporting Kansas City | 0 (3) | |||||||||||||
| August 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 (1) | |||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Union | 1 | |||||||||||||
| July 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Portland Timbers | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Toronto FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| August 1 | ||||||||||||||
| New York City FC | 3 | |||||||||||||
| New York City FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| July 28 | ||||||||||||||
| Portland Timbers | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Portland Timbers | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||
| August 11 | ||||||||||||||
| FC Cincinnati | 1 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Portland Timbers | 2 | |||||||||||||
| July 25 | ||||||||||||||
| Orlando City SC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Orlando City SC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| July 31 | ||||||||||||||
| Montreal Impact | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Orlando City SC | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||
| July 27 | ||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles FC | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| August 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles FC | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Orlando City SC | 3 | |||||||||||||
| July 27 | ||||||||||||||
| Minnesota United FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 5 | |||||||||||||
| August 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Real Salt Lake | 2 | |||||||||||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1 | |||||||||||||
| July 28 | ||||||||||||||
| Minnesota United FC | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Columbus Crew SC | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||
| Minnesota United FC | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||
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