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• Puig brace sends Galaxy through, Charlotte level series on penalties

  LA Galaxy were the first team to book their place in the MLS Cup playoff semi-finals after sweeping aside the Colorado Rapids 4-1 to seal their best-of-three series. 

  Gabriel Pec handed the Galaxy the lead in unusual fashion when Zack Steffen's clearance deflected off the Brazilian and into the net with just eight minutes on the clock. 

  But parity was restored in stunning fashion when Oliver Larraz took aim from distance and fired home the leveller with a curled effort beyond the grasp of John McCarthy. 

  Greg Vanney's side would, however, restore their advantage in the third minute of first-half stoppage time with another fine strike, this time Joseph Paintsil curled a strike in off the post.

  The Galaxy's passage was sealed late on with a brace from Riqui Puig, his second double against the Rapids in their two games in the postseason.

  Puig poked the ball through Steffen's legs, before racing through from the halfway line and rounding the Rapids goalkeeper to seal a memorable win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. 

  The visitors' display shows they mean business in the playoffs. They had 13 shots to Colorado's eight, ending the contest with a 1.76 expected goals (xG), limiting their opponents to just a 0.52 xG in the process. 

  In the other playoff game, Kristijan Kahlina's heroics helped Charlotte FC to a 3-1 victory in a penalty shootout against Orlando City. 

  Kahlina saved two spot-kicks to deny Nicolas Lodeiro and Duncan McGuire in the shootout, levelling up their best-of-three series heading into the final game. 

  In a game that lacked clear-cut chances, Charlotte's Adilson Malanda came closest to opening the scoring, seeing his effort strike the woodwork in the 19th minute.

  The Crown were ultimately worthy winners, though, given they had 12 shots to Orlando's three, with the visitors mustering just 0.29 expected goals (xG) before penalties were required. 

  And Charlotte held their nerve in the shootout, converting all three of their penalties and helped by Kahlina, who kept a division-high 13 clean sheets in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. 

  “It was a wonderful game for me,” Kahlina said. “I didn’t have so much to do in 90 minutes, but I showed myself in penalties and helped my team.”

• Van de Ven out with hamstring injury until after international break, says Postecoglou

  Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for Tottenham until after the international break, head coach Ange Postecoglou has revealed.

  Van de Ven left the pitch in tears while clutching the back of his right leg 14 minutes into Tottenham’s EFL Cup victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.

  While Postecoglou confirmed the fears of Spurs fans, he was optimistic about the prognosis with the defender not expected to be out for a long stretch.

  "Micky has strained a hamstring. It's not too serious, but it will probably be after the international break for him [to return]," the Spurs boss told reporters ahead of his side's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.

  "He was disappointed. Obviously, he was really looking forward to the game, so he was a bit emotional, but it is definitely not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.

  "He will work hard, and the good thing is we've got the international break, which is an extra two weeks. Hopefully, it means he won't miss too much football."

  Van de Ven has featured in eight of Tottenham's nine Premier League games this season and has been a reassuring presence in defence.

  Indeed, he has made the second most clearances (23) and blocks (four) in the squad, only second to Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro respectively.

  There was, however, positive news about skipper Heung-min Son, who was absent during Spurs' defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.

  "Sonny trained [on Friday], so if he gets through training [on Saturday], he should be OK," Postecoglou added.

• Minnesota 'justified the work' by overcoming Real Salt Lake

  Minnesota United "justified the work" they did in preparing for a penalty shootout after beating Real Salt Lake, so says Eric Ramsay.

  Loons coach Ramsay invited the club's office staff to attend the training ground and jeer his players during penalty practice ahead of Minnesota's playoff opener against Salt Lake.

  After a 0-0 draw, Minnesota came away with a 5-4 shootout victory to take the edge in the best-of-three series, meaning a win at home on Saturday would get them into the next round.

  And Ramsay believes his unorthodox method of preparation paid off.

  "I would like to think that probably, without that, the players wouldn't have had the level of conviction they largely showed," Ramsay said.

  "It was a bit of fun. There was a real sense of us being intentional behind that.

  "I was really pleased that we included that as part of our prep.

  "I don't think there were big chances given up either way.

  "I sort of felt like as we opened up, we started to leak a little bit more space that wasn't there in the opening stages.

  "[Goalkeeper] Dayne [St. Clair] was called into action a couple more times, and so was [Salt Lake goalkeeper] Zac MacMath. So I think it was a very even game, and given that we're coming here as the away team under challenging conditions, that's hats off to us.

  “It felt like if we if we won, it would have justified the work. If we lost, there wouldn't have been anything we could have done differently.

  "We were very solid, very disciplined, and that's one goal allowed in six games, which is very difficult to achieve at this level.

  "I'm pleased with the defensive effort. I was also pleased that we were able to start to find a foothold in the game with the ball and create a couple of really good chances."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Minnesota United - Dawyne St. Clair

  St. Clair made six saves in Game 1, and has been in fine form as of late.

  United has allowed only one goal in their last six matches going back to the end of the regular season, going unbeaten in that time (W4 D2). This is the first time in club history that the Loons have allowed just one goal in a span of six matches in all competitions.

  Real Salt Lake - Cristian Arango

  Arango attempted five shots in Game 1, the most shots attempted by a Salt Lake player in a postseason match since Damir Kreilach had six attempts against Sporting Kansas City in the 2018 playoffs.

  MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WIN

  Salt Lake have managed just four wins in 21 all-time away playoff matches (D7 L10) including going winless in four straight (D2 L2). RSL lost on penalties in each of the last two away matches that ended in draws (2022 at Austin FC, 2023 against the Houston Dynamo).

  After Tuesday's win on spot-kicks, Minnesota have been involved in seven penalty shootouts in all competitions since joining MLS in 2017, winning six of them, including the last four in a row.

  The last five meetings between Minnesota and Salt Lake have been drawn after 90 minutes.

  Including playoffs, the only matchup that has been drawn six straight times in MLS play is between the Chicago Fire and the New York Revolution, who played in six straight draws from 2021 to 2024.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Minnesota United - 44.5%

  Real Salt Lake - 28.6%

  Draw - 26.9%