When Luis Suárez gave the Herons a 1-0 lead within the first two minutes, it looked like we were heading towards the worst-case scenario for Atlanta United. But full credit goes to the Five Stripes. Atlanta pushed through and got back into the game thanks to Pedro Amador and Saba Lobjanidze.

However, they could only last so long. Jordi Alba scored a great goal in the 60th minute and with the Five Stripes playing their third away game in six days, finding a second equalizer was always looking like a difficult task.

Inter Miami is now 1-0 up in the series. But Atlanta will get a much-needed week of rest and return home for the first time in a few weeks. It won’t be easy for the Herons in Atlanta. So far so good in the hunt for the double.

None of these teams got over the finish line in the regular season. Yes, the Galaxy have won three of their last four games, but they faltered at the very last moment of decider day. They wouldn’t even play Colorado if they didn’t allow Houston an injury-time winner. They had a lead over the top spot in the West and instead finished second in the West.

However, it could be worse. They could have done whatever the Rapids have been up to since the League Cup. In the eight games since earning third place in the tournament, Colorado has averaged 1.13 points per game. Only two playoff teams, New York and Vancouver, fared worse during this stretch.

Given the defensive record in this phase, it could have been even more disastrous. Colorado allowed 1.99 expected goals per game. This is the worst mark in the league since the League Cup. Allowing a lot of chances is always bad. It’s not at all ideal to allow a ton of chances while getting the second-worst shot-stopping numbers in the league from Zack Steffen.

That seems even more true as they face a duel with one of the best attackers in the league. If we want to stick with our theme of post-League Cup production, the Galaxy have been at the top of the MLS in expected goals ever since. They averaged 2.12 xG per game in eight games, becoming the only team in MLS to average more than 2.00 xG in that period.

On paper we can see where this is going. There will be a lot of goals in this series. And if you personally ask me to choose between LA’s most productive quartet of Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec, Dejan Joveljic and Joseph Paintsil and a very solid Rapids attack, then I’m leaning towards the group that set records this year over a group that who played well.

Maybe the Rapids will regroup. They haven’t had much time to rest since the day of the decision, but perhaps they took a moment to breathe. Frankly, they seemed mentally and physically devastated since that tough League Cup win.

This League Cup run is proof of the concept. We know they have a strong tournament performance. The big question is whether this version of the Rapids still exists.

Good luck out there. Start on the right foot.