2021 Major League Soccer season
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 included the addition of Austin FC as an expansion club, which took the league to 27 teams.
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates |
|
| MLS Cup | New York City FC (1st title) |
| Supporters' Shield | New England Revolution (1st shield) |
| Champions League (United States) | New England Revolution Colorado Rapids Seattle Sounders FC New York City FC |
| Champions League (Canada) | CF Montréal |
| Matches played | 459 |
| Goals scored | 1,282 (2.79 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Valentín Castellanos Ola Kamara (19 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | 6 goals: DC 7–1 TOR (July 3) NYC 6–0 DC (October 23) |
| Biggest away win | 5 goals: MIA 0–5 NE (July 21) |
| Highest scoring | 9 goals: MTL 5–4 CIN (July 17) CIN 3–6 NSH (October 27) |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches NE (May 16 – June 23) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 matches SEA (April 16 – July 7) |
| Longest winless run | 16 matches HOU (May 29 – September 3) |
| Longest losing run | 12 matches CIN (September 15 – November 7) |
| Highest attendance | 67,507 ATL 0–1 CLB (July 24) |
| Total attendance | 2,762,942 |
| Average attendance | 15,350 |
← 2020 2022 → | |
United
United
Red Bulls
Fire
Montréal
Miami
Salt Lake
Sounders FC
Whitecaps FC
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was originally scheduled to begin on April 3, as opposed to the normal late February or early March start. This was later pushed back to April 16, the latest ever start to an MLS season, due to negotiations with the MLS Players Association for a new collective bargaining agreement. The regular season concluded on November 7. The 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs began on November 20, and concluded with MLS Cup 2021 on December 11.
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 would play home matches in Canada in August 2021.
The Columbus Crew were the defending champions, having defeated Seattle Sounders FC in MLS Cup 2020 but was eliminated from playoffs during the regular season, while the Philadelphia Union were the defending Supporters' Shield winners. The New England Revolution won their first Supporters' Shield, in the process breaking the record for most regular season points collected. New York City FC won their first ever MLS Cup, beating Portland Timbers in the decider.