The New York Red Bulls’ 2018 season-opener saw the team in Costa Rica for CONCACAF Champions League to play heavyweight Honduran club Olimpia.
CCL games in February challenge MLS teams, since they are more accustomed to being in preseason at this time, and since MLS preseasons usually aren’t gearing up for much more than the start of the MLS regular season - and a slow start to MLS is not fatal to a team’s chances of success in the league, so few clubs are under any real pressure to deliver consistent results in March, April, even May.