2021 Major League Soccer season

Major League Soccer 2021
Season information
Dates	April 16 2021–November 7 2021 (regular season) November 20 – December 11 (playoffs)
Continental cup qualifiers
Champions League (United States)	New England Revolution Colorado Rapids Seattle Sounders FC New York City FC
Champions League (Canada)	CF Montréal
Leagues Cup	Sporting Kansas City Portland Timbers Philadelphia Union Nashville SC
Season statistics
Matches played	459
Goals scored	1282
Average	(0.00 per match)
Top goalscorer	Valentín Castellanos (19 goals)
Biggest home win	DC 7–1 TOR (July 3) NYC 6–0 DC (October 23)
Biggest away win	MIA 0–5 NE (July 21)
Highest scoring	MTL 5–4 CIN (July 17) CIN 3–6 NSH (October 27)
← 2020	2022 →

The 2021 Major League Soccer season was the 26th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2021 season includes the addition of Austin FC as an expansion club, which takes the league to 27 teams. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was originally scheduled to begin on April 3, 2021, as opposed to the normal late February or early March start. This was later pushed back to April 16, 2021, which is the latest ever start to an MLS season. The regular season will conclude on November 7, 2021. At the beginning of the season, COVID-19 cross-border restrictions imposed by the Canadian government has also made the Canadian teams to play their home matches in the United States from the start of the season, while also sharing stadiums with other American MLS teams. On July 14, MLS announced that a select Toronto FC and CF Montréal matches would be played in Canada while working with the Canadian Government on how the matches were to be held. Nearly a week later, the MLS announced that the Canadian teams will play home matches in Canada in August 2021.

The season culminated with the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs, which began on November 19, 2021, and concluded with MLS Cup 2021, which was played on December 11, 2021.

The Columbus Crew are the defending champions, having defeated Seattle Sounders FC in MLS Cup 2020, while the Philadelphia Union are the defending Supporters' Shield winners.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Main article: List of Major League Soccer stadiums

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Atlanta United FC	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	71,000
Austin FC	Q2 Stadium	20,500
Chicago Fire FC	Soldier Field	24,955
FC Cincinnati	TQL Stadium	26,000
Colorado Rapids	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	18,061
Columbus Crew	Lower.com Field	20,011
FC Dallas	Toyota Stadium	20,500
D.C. United	Audi Field	20,000
Houston Dynamo FC	BBVA Stadium	22,039
LA Galaxy	Dignity Health Sports Park	27,000
Los Angeles FC	Banc of California Stadium	22,000
Minnesota United FC	Allianz Field	19,400
Inter Miami CF	DRV PNK Stadium	18,000
CF Montréal	Saputo Stadium	19,619
Nashville SC	Nissan Stadium	60,000
New England Revolution	Gillette Stadium	20,000
New York City FC	Yankee Stadium	30,321
New York Red Bulls	Red Bull Arena	25,000
Orlando City SC	Exploria Stadium	25,500
Philadelphia Union	Subaru Park	18,500
Portland Timbers	Providence Park	25,218
Real Salt Lake	Rio Tinto Stadium	20,213
San Jose Earthquakes	PayPal Park	18,000
Seattle Sounders FC	Lumen Field	37,722
Sporting Kansas City	Children's Mercy Park	18,467
Toronto FC	BMO Field	28,351
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	BC Place	22,120

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Adidas as universal kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor	Sleeve and short sponsor
Atlanta United FC	Valentino, RobRob Valentino (interim)	Guzan, BradBrad Guzan	American Family Insurance	AT&T, Piedmont Orthopedics
Austin FC	Wolff, JoshJosh Wolff	Ring, AlexanderAlexander Ring	Yeti	Netspend
Chicago Fire FC	Wicky, RaphaëlRaphaël Wicky	Calvo, FranciscoFrancisco Calvo	Motorola	CIBC
FC Cincinnati	Stam, JaapJaap Stam	Acosta, LucianoLuciano Acosta	Mercy Health	Kroger
Colorado Rapids	Fraser, RobinRobin Fraser	Price, JackJack Price
Columbus Crew	Porter, CalebCaleb Porter	Mensah, JonathanJonathan Mensah	Nationwide	Scotts
D.C. United	Losada, HernánHernán Losada	Birnbaum, SteveSteve Birnbaum	Leidos	EagleBank
FC Dallas	Gonzalez, LuchiLuchi Gonzalez	Hedges, MattMatt Hedges	MTX Group	AdvoCare
Houston Dynamo FC	Ramos, TabTab Ramos	García, BoniekBoniek García	MD Anderson	Kroger, Coushatta Casino Resort
Inter Miami CF	Neville, PhilPhil Neville	Rotating		Baptist Health
LA Galaxy	Vanney, GregGreg Vanney	dos Santos, JonathanJonathan dos Santos	Herbalife	Honey
Los Angeles FC	Bradley, BobBob Bradley	Vela, CarlosCarlos Vela	Flex	Target, Postmates
Minnesota United FC	Heath, AdrianAdrian Heath	Alonso, OsvaldoOsvaldo Alonso	Target	Bell Bank
CF Montréal	Nancy, WilfriedWilfried Nancy	Piette, SamuelSamuel Piette	Bank of Montreal	Saputo, Frigo Cheese Heads
Nashville SC	Smith, GaryGary Smith	McCarty, DaxDax McCarty	Renasant Bank	Hyundai
New England Revolution	Arena, BruceBruce Arena	Gil, CarlesCarles Gil	UnitedHealth	Santander
New York City FC	Deila, RonnyRonny Deila	Johnson, SeanSean Johnson	Etihad Airways	Sol Cacao
New York Red Bulls	Struber, GerhardGerhard Struber	Davis, SeanSean Davis	Red Bull	Provident Bank
Orlando City SC	Pareja, ÓscarÓscar Pareja	, NaniNani	Orlando Health	Exploria
Philadelphia Union	Curtin, JimJim Curtin	Bedoya, AlejandroAlejandro Bedoya	Bimbo Bakeries USA	Subaru
Portland Timbers	Savarese, GiovanniGiovanni Savarese	Valeri, DiegoDiego Valeri	Alaska Airlines	TikTok
Real Salt Lake	Juarez, FreddyFreddy Juarez	Rusnák, AlbertAlbert Rusnák	LifeVantage	KeyBank, Ford
San Jose Earthquakes	Almeyda, MatíasMatías Almeyda	Wondolowski, ChrisChris Wondolowski	Intermedia	PayPal
Seattle Sounders FC	Schmetzer, BrianBrian Schmetzer	Lodeiro, NicolásNicolás Lodeiro	Zulily	Emerald Queen Casino
Sporting Kansas City	Vermes, PeterPeter Vermes	Russell, JohnnyJohnny Russell	Victory Project	Compass Minerals, Children's Mercy
Toronto FC	Pérez, JavierJavier Pérez (interim)	Bradley, MichaelMichael Bradley	Bank of Montreal	GE Appliances, Bank of Montreal
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Dos Santos, MarcMarc Dos Santos	Teibert, RussellRussell Teibert	Bell Canada	GE Appliances, Canadian Tire

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Toronto FC	Greg Vanney	Resigned	December 1, 2020	Pre-season	Chris Armas	January 13, 2021
D.C. United	Chad Ashton	End of interim period	December 12, 2020		Hernán Losada	January 18, 2021
LA Galaxy	Dominic Kinnear				Greg Vanney	January 5, 2021
Atlanta United FC	Stephen Glass		December 16, 2020		Gabriel Heinze	December 18, 2020
Inter Miami CF	Diego Alonso	Mutual consent	January 7, 2021		Phil Neville	January 18, 2021
CF Montréal	Thierry Henry	Resigned	February 25, 2021		Wilfried Nancy	March 8, 2021
Toronto FC	Chris Armas	Sacked	July 4, 2021	14th in East, 27th overall	Javier Pérez (interim)	July 4, 2021
Atlanta United	Gabriel Heinze		July 18, 2021	10th in East, 20th Overall	Rob Valentino (interim)	July 18, 2021

Regular season

Format

Each team will play 34 matches, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Due to the difference in the number of teams in each conference, each conference has its own schedule construction format:

• All 14 Eastern Conference teams will play six regional Eastern Conference opponents three times and the remaining seven Eastern Conference opponents twice. Each of them will also play two cross conference games against different opponents.
• 11 out of the 13 Western Conference teams will play eight regional Western Conference opponents three times and the remaining four Western Conference opponents twice. Each of them will also play two cross conference games against different opponents.
• The remaining 2 teams from Western Conference will play seven Western Conference opponents three times and the remaining five Western Conference opponents twice. Each of them will also play three cross conference games against different opponents.

Tiebreakers

The tie-breaker will be used in this order: Points Total wins Total goal differential Total goals scored Fewer disciplinary points Away goal differential Away goals scored Home goals differential Home goals scored Coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)

Disciplinary points are decided as follows: Foul (1 point) Technical area warning (2 points) Yellow card (3 points) Second yellow card (7 points) Straight red card (7 points) Coach dismissal (7 points) Any supplemental discipline (8 points)

Conference standings

Eastern Conference

Main article: Eastern Conference (MLS)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	New England Revolution	34	22	5	7	65	41	+24	71	Qualification for the Playoffs Conference semifinals and CONCACAF Champions League
2	Philadelphia Union	34	14	8	12	48	35	+13	50	Qualification for the Playoffs first round and Leagues Cup
3	Nashville SC	34	12	4	18	55	33	+22	40
4	New York City	34	14	11	9	56	36	+20	53	Qualification for the Playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League
5	Atlanta United	34	13	9	12	45	37	+8	48	Qualification for the Playoffs first round
6	Orlando City	34	13	9	12	50	48	+2	48
7	New York Red Bulls	34	13	12	9	39	33	+6	51
8	D.C. United	34	14	15	5	56	54	+2	57
9	Columbus Crew	34	13	13	8	46	45	+1	52
10	CF Montréal	34	12	12	10	46	44	+2	48	CONCACAF Champions League
11	Inter Miami	34	12	17	5	36	53	−17	53
12	Chicago Fire	34	9	18	7	36	54	−18	45
13	Toronto	34	6	18	10	39	66	−27	36
14	FC Cincinnati	34	4	22	8	37	74	−37	34

Source: 2021 Major League Soccer Eastern Conference
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament

Western Conference

Main article: Western Conference (MLS)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Colorado Rapids	34	17	7	10	51	35	+16	58	Qualification for the Playoffs Conference semifinals and CONCACAF Champions League
2	Seattle Sounders	34	17	8	9	53	33	+20	59	Qualification for the Playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League
3	Sporting Kansas City	34	17	10	7	58	40	+18	61	Qualification for the Playoffs first round and Leagues Cup
4	Portland Timbers	34	17	13	4	56	52	+4	64
5	Minnesota United	34	13	11	10	42	44	−2	50	Qualification for the Playoffs first round
6	Vancouver Whitecaps	34	12	9	13	45	45	0	45
7	Real Salt Lake	34	14	14	6	55	54	+1	56
8	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	50	54	−4	51
9	Los Angeles	34	12	13	9	53	51	+2	49
10	San Jose Earthquakes	34	10	13	11	46	54	−8	43
11	FC Dallas	34	7	15	12	47	56	−9	36
12	Austin FC	34	9	21	4	35	56	−21	48
13	Houston Dynamo	34	6	16	12	36	54	−18	34

Source: 2021 Major League Soccer Western Conference
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament

Overall table

The leading team in this table wins the Supporters' Shield.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New England Revolution (S)	34	22	5	7	65	41	+24	73	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League
2	Colorado Rapids	34	17	7	10	51	35	+16	61	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League
3	Seattle Sounders FC	34	17	8	9	53	33	+20	60	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League
4	Sporting Kansas City	34	17	10	7	58	40	+18	58
5	Portland Timbers	34	17	13	4	56	52	+4	55
6	Philadelphia Union	34	14	8	12	48	35	+13	54
7	Nashville SC	34	12	4	18	55	33	+22	54
8	New York City FC (C)	34	14	11	9	56	36	+20	51	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League
9	Atlanta United FC	34	13	9	12	45	37	+8	51
10	Orlando City SC	34	13	9	12	50	48	+2	51
11	Minnesota United FC	34	13	11	10	42	44	−2	49
12	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	12	9	13	45	45	0	49
13	Real Salt Lake	34	14	14	6	55	54	+1	48
14	New York Red Bulls	34	13	12	9	39	33	+6	48
15	LA Galaxy	34	13	12	9	50	54	−4	48
16	D.C. United	34	14	15	5	56	54	+2	47
17	Columbus Crew	34	13	13	8	46	45	+1	47
18	CF Montréal (V)	34	12	12	10	46	44	+2	46	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League
19	Los Angeles FC	34	12	13	9	53	51	+2	45
20	Inter Miami CF	34	12	17	5	36	53	−17	41
21	San Jose Earthquakes	34	10	13	11	46	54	−8	41
22	Chicago Fire FC	34	9	18	7	36	54	−18	34
23	FC Dallas	34	7	15	12	47	56	−9	33
24	Austin FC	34	9	21	4	35	56	−21	31
25	Houston Dynamo FC	34	6	16	12	36	54	−18	30
26	Toronto FC	34	6	18	10	39	66	−27	28
27	FC Cincinnati	34	4	22	8	37	74	−37	20

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
(C) Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield winners; (V) Canadian Championship winner

MLS All-Star Game

Main article: 2021 MLS All-Star Game

Playoffs

Main article: 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Template:14TeamBracket-MLS Note: The higher seeded team hosted matches, with the MLS Cup host determined by overall points.

COVID-19 restrictions

From the start of the season, all Canadian teams played home matches behind closed doors at venues in a U.S. market (notwithstanding any local regulations otherwise allowing spectators) due to Canadian border restrictions.

On July 14, MLS announced that both CF Montreal and Toronto FC planned to return to playing matches at their home stadiums beginning July 17, citing new policies allowing vaccinated individuals to enter the country without 14 days self-isolation, provided that they test negative on a COVID-19 test. Unvaccinated individuals must still self-isolate, but a member of the MLS Players Association stated that nearly 95% of the league's player pool had been vaccinated, and Toronto FC manager Ali Curtis stated that all but two of their players were fully vaccinated. Toronto FC planned to admit 7,000 essential workers for the first match before expanding to 15,000 for subsequent matches, and CF Montreal planned to admit 5,000. However, Sportsnet reported that the plans had not yet been formally approved by the Public Health Agency of Canada, and that the Canadian government was expected to issue a statement on the matter.

Player statistics

See also: Major League Soccer#Player records

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Valentín Castellanos	New York City FC	19
	Ola Kamara	D.C. United
3	Javier Hernández	LA Galaxy	17
	Raúl Ruidíaz	Seattle Sounders FC
5	Adam Buksa	New England Revolution	16
	Damir Kreilach	Real Salt Lake
	Hany Mukhtar	Nashville SC
	Dániel Sallói	Sporting Kansas City
9	Gustavo Bou	New England Revolution	15
	Johnny Russell	Sporting Kansas City

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Major League Soccer hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Score	Date
Javier Hernández	LA Galaxy	New York Red Bulls	3−2 (H)	April 25, 2021
Hany Mukhtar	Nashville SC	Chicago Fire FC	5–1 (H)	July 17, 2021
Ricardo Pepi	FC Dallas	LA Galaxy	4–0 (H)	July 24, 2021
Ola Kamara	D.C. United	Chicago Fire FC	3–0 (H)	September 15, 2021
Javier Eduardo López	San Jose Earthquakes	Real Salt Lake	3–4 (H)
Brian White	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	San Jose Earthquakes	3–0 (H)	October 2, 2021
Cristian Arango	Los Angeles FC	FC Dallas	3−2 (A)	October 20, 2021

Notes

(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Carles Gil	New England Revolution	18
2	Djordje Mihailovic	CF Montréal	16
3	Julian Gressel	D.C. United	13
4	Hany Mukhtar	Nashville SC	12
	Jack Price	Colorado Rapids
6	Aaron Herrera	Real Salt Lake	11
	João Paulo	Seattle Sounders FC
	Maximiliano Moralez	New York City FC
	Albert Rusnák	Real Salt Lake
10	Luciano Acosta	FC Cincinnati	10
	Mauricio Pereyra	Orlando City SC
	Emanuel Reynoso	Minnesota United FC
	Yeferson Soteldo	Toronto FC

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Carlos Miguel Coronel	New York Red Bulls	13
	Joe Willis	Nashville SC
	William Yarbrough	Colorado Rapids
4	Andre Blake	Philadelphia Union	12
5	Brad Guzan	Atlanta United FC	11
	Tyler Miller	Minnesota United FC
7	Sean Johnson	New York City FC	9
8	Bill Hamid	D.C. United	8
9	Steve Clark	Portland Timbers	7
	Pedro Gallese	Orlando City SC
	Eloy Room	Columbus Crew

External links

• Official website

Template:2020–21 in North and Central America, and Caribbean football (CONCACAF) Template:2021–22 in North and Central America, and Caribbean football (CONCACAF) Template:2021 in American soccer Template:2021 in Canadian soccer