The definition of decisive? That. We just watched it. Minnesota United ended the 2024 regular season in dominant fashion tonight, taking down St. Louis CITY SC for the second time this year, this time by a scoreline of 4-1. The Loons climbed up to sixth with the win, and they showed the kind of form that should scare teams up and down the league standings as they head into the postseason.

It was an absolutely electric start to the match for the Loons, with a season’s worth of tactical adjustments seemingly coming together to form one truly glorious product in the opening 45 minutes. Quick, purposeful play in possession saw the Black and Blue play some truly liquid football, demonstrating chemistry and seamless movement that allowed them to carve open what little resistance St. Louis put in front of them.

While defending, the Loons operated first in a 5-2-3 mid-block, allowing the CITY backline to come up to half-field, where they had absolutely no room to move through a disciplined Minnesota United side. In the case that the visitors broke through, Eric Ramsay’s men moved back into a 5-3-2 low-block, trading their side-to-side shifting for a nigh-impenetrable compact shape in front of goal.

Joseph Rosales was the spark plug for the Loons, dominating the left side of the pitch and finding fantastic opportunities to connect with Joaquín Pereyra and Robin Lod prior to the breakthrough goal. The pressure was mounting from the first whistle, and it finally paid off in the 21st minute.

While the home side had demonstrated an ability to create chances from sustained possession, it was a counterattack that opened the scoring. Striker Kelvin Yeboah picked up the ball at midfield, turned, and slotted a perfect through ball to the well-timed run of Lod, who shrugged off his defender and slotted a cool finish into the left corner of the goal for the deserved 1-0 lead.

The front three continued to stretch the field and drift into space together, allowing the game to flow unlike anything we’ve seen from the Loons before and giving the player with the ball options all around them. It was almost like they had 12 players on the field (I assure you, they did not). It felt like set-pieces would be St. Louis’ only way back into the match at the half-hour mark, but an incredibly organized Loons defense was winning every single ball.

After going into the half down a goal, the visitors came out with a bit more fire, making the opening 15 minutes of the second half a bit chippier than the first. An uptick in fouls halted some of the match’s fluidity and slowed things down, but it didn’t last long. Coach Ramsay subbed on an entirely new front three in the 68th minute, with Tani Oluwaseyi, Sang Bin Jeong, and Franco Fragapane stepping in to bring energy and intensity to close out the regular season. And boy, did they deliver.

Just four minutes after coming on, all three subs combined for a wonderful goal. Oluwaseyi stretched the opposition with a vertical run and laid the long ball off to the inverted run of Fragapane, who slid a perfect cross to the feet of Sang Bin on the other side of the box. Doesn’t get much better for impact from the bench, does it?

The two-goal lead was short lived, though, as a St. Louis counterattack saw the visitors halve the deficit with the first goal conceded by the Loons in over 450 minutes of gametime. All streaks come to an end, I suppose. With 25 minutes remaining, the game was back on.

But wait, there’s another twist! I know, quite the game, right?

After delivering fantastic service from corners all night long, Joseph Rosales was finally rewarded in the 78th minute, when his magnificent corner forced an own goal from St. Louis’ Henry Kessler. From there, the Loons didn’t look back, adding a fourth in the 84th minute courtesy of a truly breathtaking effort from Sang Bin Jeong. The South Korean winger won the ball in his own half, broke the first line of defense, and sent Oluwaseyi wide on the right with a through ball. His subsequent run into the box gave his striker the option to cross or shoot, and the unselfish Oluwaseyi chose to reward his teammate’s hard work by giving him the chance to earn another brace.

The visitors found a few more chances before the final whistle, and while they were threatening, nothing was going to change the result at that point. Perhaps St. Louis could have found another goal on the night, but the Loons were undoubtedly in control and on the front foot for the lion’s share of this Decision Day matchup.

It was a truly perfect end to the season for Minnesota United, and a wonderful night at Allianz Field. The club was able to celebrate the contributions of several players that won’t be returning next season, including Zarek Valentin, Franco Fragapane, and Clint Irwin. DJ Taylor made his 100th MLS appearance when he subbed on in the second half, and the product on the field was fantastic from start to finish. With the postseason up next, the Loons should feel confident that this form could lead them to quite the run.

MNUFC finished the season with 52 points, good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference. That sets them up for a first-round showdown with Real Salt Lake in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, with the first match of their best-of-three series set to be played in Utah in the coming weeks. Playoff soccer returns to the Twin Cities for game two, though, so get ready to pack Allianz Field again for an even bigger occasion.