HANOVER, N.J. — An argument could be made that even if Atlanta United win the Supporters’ Shield by the slimmest of margins on Sunday, the New York Red Bulls are still the best team in Major League Soccer.
But the Red Bulls aren’t making that case.
“No, because we didn’t win the Shield,” Bradley Wright-Phillips said. “We’re definitely competitive, definitely the top two teams in the league. I thought that before a ball was kicked this season, but you have to prove it. With the players we’ve got and the history of some of the guys, of course we’re one of the best teams, but whoever lifts the Shield, for me, is the best team in the league.”
The race comes down to Decision Day presented by AT&T, with Atlanta leading the Red Bulls by a single point after 33 games. The Red Bulls are home vs. Orlando City SC, while Atlanta head to BMO Field to face last year’s Shield winners, Toronto FC.
All 11 games on Sunday will have synchronized 4:30 pm ET kickoffs.
“I’ll be lying if I said we’re not scoreboard watching,” Wright-Phillips said. “It helps that the games are the same time so we’re not going to know anything, but at the end of the day we can only win the game. When we get back in [the locker room] hopefully the result is in our favor.”
If the teams are tied on points, Atlanta hold the tiebreaker for goal differential and goals scored.
Although the Red Bulls beat the Five Stripes twice — winning 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and 2-0 at Red Bull Arena — Alejandro Romero “Kaku” Gamarra is fine with Atlanta being considered the best team in the league.
“No, overall we know we’re two of the top teams in MLS,” Kaku said through a translator. “If they win the Supporters’ Shield that’s totally fine, because at the end of day we have bigger goals in sight, which is winning MLS Cup.”
Red Bulls coach Chris Armas, though, quantifies “best in the league” in a different way. That, he said, isn’t decided on Sunday. That answer comes Dec. 8.
“There’s no real argument. They’ll be one team standing at the end of the year and there will be a Supporters’ Shield winner,” Armas said. “The best team will be determined, for me, by who wins MLS Cup.
“We’ve put ourselves in a spot for Supporters’ Shield and it means a lot to us and for our supporters. If we’re in that conversation, great, but we’ll have to earn that, I think.”
