11/8/25: Mo Egger with Sacha Kljestan of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Former MLS star Sacha Kljestan is a studio analyst for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. He joined us to talk about FC Cincinnati v. Columbus. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There is a lot going on here at Oakley Greens,
by the way, awesome place on Saturday evening to watch
FC Cincinnati versus Columbus Game three, the final game. FC
Cincinnati could not close out Columbus in Game two on
Sunday night, so pivotal decisive Game three, six o'clock is

(00:22):
your kick. You can watch it here on MLS Season
Pass on Apple TV. You can watch it at home
on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. And what a
great Saturday of MLS soccer. You're gonna have FC Cincinnati
and Columbus and if the Orange and Blue win, they're
gonna take on either Miami or Nashville. That series has
gone to a Game three that immediately follows the hell

(00:44):
is Real tilt. So mL Season Pass is gonna be
very busy Apple TV. The great Sasha question kind enough
to join us to talk about the series. Sasha, it's
good to have you. How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:53):
And I'm good? How you guys doing?

Speaker 1 (00:55):
We are well? So FC Cincinnati kind of came on
glued on Sunday, and I think if that's a game
in June, you can do what Pat Noonan said and
just kind of forget it right Burn the tape. How
much more concerning was that performance given the stakes of
the game.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, it was concerning. I think that Columbus came out
and played the game like it could be the last
game of their season, and they fought hard and Cincinnati
didn't match that intensity whatsoever, and so they were sent,
you know, they were sent, you know, to the showers,
I think, with a disgusted taste in their mouth after

(01:34):
the game. And I do kind of agree with Pat
Noonon that you just burn the tape and you say, hey, guys,
listen to tow or die time. Now. The mentality has
got to be better. But also if you just look
up and down the pitch, I don't think anybody on
Cincinnati can say that they gave everything they had in
that game and that they played up to their usual level.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah. I guess that was my takeaway, right. Columbus played
desperate FC Cincinnati the exact opposite of desperate, which, like
I get it, they had the breathing room of having
a one game to none lead, But this is the playoffs.
It's a rival. This troupe between these two teams is
often not tilted in FC Cincinnati's direction. In games like this,

(02:11):
I walked away disappointed from just how it looked. If
you compare the two teams on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, I think every FC Cincinnati fans should be pretty
upset and pretty disgusted with the effort.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
You know.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Obviously, I think when they come back home and play
at TQL Stadium, the fans are going to be behind
the team and they're they're gonna be that twelfth man.
They're gonna be loud, they're gonna be supportive, and I
think the Cincinnati players will thrive off of that. But
there were just a lot of performances up and down
the starting eleven that you can just say that's nowhere
near good enough in a game where you can eliminate

(02:44):
your biggest opponent, your biggest rival in state Darby, and
it just was not good enough at all.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
And it was glaring to me because I thought in
Game one, while it was just a one goal game,
they were in control. You know, clubs didn't possess the
ball as often as they do. FC Cincinnati didn't feel
like it was helter skelter those final twenty twenty five
minutes once they took the lead, And so the performance
on Sunday was sobering on a number of levels. I
guess the comparison to Game one being one of them. Tactically,

(03:13):
is there an adjustment you'd like to see pad Noon in.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Make No, I don't think it's tactical. I think it's
going to end up being personnel decisions for him. Obviously,
Kubo is now suspended, So who plays on the left?
You know, does he go with Engle, who's a little
bit more safe, or does he go with Orishano, who's
a little bit more attacking and gives you a little
bit more talent on the field. Alvis Powell started in

(03:36):
that game. I don't think we see him start again.
He was not very good. So if Hagland is healthy,
I would put him straight back into the lineup. Otherwise
then he's got another decision to make as to who
plays as his third center back. If Wobado is healthy
and you think you can get seventy minutes out of it,
does he go back into the lineup. So Pat Newton's
got some big decisions to make personnel livese But tactically no,

(03:58):
I think in Game one they play very good. They
were totally in control. Like you said, they probably should
have scored two or three more goals in that game,
but they never really seemed threatened.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
The East, we have three series coming down to a
game three, beyond Philadelphia closing out Chicago into how do
you handicap the remaining two series in the East beyond
FC Cincinnati and Columbus.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
So Inter Miami. I thought going into this series against
Nashville they would have wiped the floor with them, But
then Nashville played very good in Game two, also played
with a great mentality, a bunch of fire playing at home,
you know, behind their home fans, and they got themselves
back into it. So I know now going into Game three,
I think Miami is going to have some doubt creeping
into their minds. They're going to think back to the
last season when they got eliminated by Atlanta in this

(04:43):
same round in a big upset, So that one's going
to be close, But I do think that Inter Miami
is going to prevail. Then we've got Charlotte against New
York City, which is a tough one to handicap because
this game is the series has been so tight. They've
played one hundred and eighty minutes and scored one goal.
It may come down to just a difference maker. And
it's hard to bet against Charlotte FC at home this season.

(05:04):
They've been so good now that Wilfrid Zaha is back,
I give the edge to Charlotte.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
You've got three game threes on Saturday, a game three
on Friday, another one on Sunday. It's going to be
an extraordinarily exciting weekend. Certainly a lot of fun down
at TQL Stadium MC Cincinnati and Columbus. That game starts
at six o'clock. All the playoff coverage all weekend long
MLS season pass, Apple TV. Sasha, we appreciate the time, man,

(05:30):
Thanks so much.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thanks so much. Talk to you guys soon.