The New York Red Bulls mostly owe their unlikely run to the top of the Eastern Conference - and a shot at the 2017-18 CONCACAF Champions League - to a 15-game unbeaten streak in MLS. But they also owe a small piece of it to D.C. United.
The old rival has done RBNY some favors recently: beating the FCs of Toronto and NYC in back-to-back weeks to take the heat out of the race for the Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls have won their last three league games; DC has won its last four: together, they cleared a path for RBNY to (is it necessary to keep writing "effectively"?