Discover more from Metro Soccer Report
Matchday Musings: CF Montreal
A slightly too lighthearted look ahead to the Red Bulls' upcoming fixture
Photo credit: Irish Maliborski
Dear reader, I’m about to share with you a very dark and personal secret. My cousins are Canadian. I know, I know, if none of you can ever look at me the same way again I understand. However this secret does have one benefit, it has given me great insight into the Canadian mind. For instance if you ever want to anger a Canadian, here’s a few ways to go about it: remind them that an American team has won the Grey Cup (CFL) more recently than a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup, say that the War of 1812 ended in a tie (which it did), call Ryan Reynolds a great American actor, and imply that the Canadian Championship (a competition with only 3 MLS teams) is a mickey mouse trophy. While I haven’t had the opportunity to test any of these methods on a Quebecois, if anybody is in Montreal at the moment, please feel free to use one or two of these and report back on the results.
Bulletin Board
Well despite anything that Sandro Schwarz might say, Saturday was a frustrating night. The game plan was executed perfectly, Nashville was completely stifled, the Red Bulls outshot them 21-6, and the opposition didn’t have a single shot on goal. With stats like that one would think the Red Bulls thrashed the opposition, but instead New York settled for a 0-0 draw, with a Dylan Nealis goal being ruled out by VAR. The Red Bulls haven’t scored a goal during the run of play in their last 3 games. While part of that dryspell can be attributed to missing players during the international break (please come back Lewis), with Emil Forsberg questionable due to a foot injury, the team might be lacking its two biggest guns. Again. Still there were plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. Edelman and Amaya won the midfield battle against former Red Bulls Dru Yearwood and Sean Davis, the Nealis brothers put up an impressive defensive performance and Wiki Carmona filled in admirably for Forsberg. While those are all good reasons to be optimistic about getting a positive result this time around, the question remains; where do the goals come from?
CF Montreal’s coming off their own 0-0 draw from their weekend game with Real Salt Lake, though admittedly that kind of result is more impressive against the Western Conference leaders than it is against the 9th place team in the East. The team formerly known as Impact, a name that I am irrationally upset they discarded, have their own notable international absence. Captain Samuel Piette, Joel Waterman and Mathieu Choiniere are all representing Canada at the Copa America, while Ariel Lassiter will be suiting up for Costa Rica. Those absences will hurt, but they already played a completely intact RSL without those players and managed to hold their own, even if they were ultimately outmatched. Without Piette in particular, Montreal’s midfield is a lot less threatening, not that it’s been that threatening this year. After a second place finish in the East in 2022, the team’s been spiraling since manager Wilfried Nancy jumped ship to win a title with the Columbus Crew. All things considered, probably the right choice for him.
Montreal likes to play with three center backs, a formation which ultimately frees their wingbacks, Ruan, Joquin Sosa and Raheem Edwards to push as far upfield as possible. They will do their best to try and pin back John Tolkin and Dylan Nealis, if executed well, they could end stifling the Red Bulls' ability to build up their attack along the sides of the field. It also allows for quick transitions, Montreal’s a team that likes a long ball, despite having some of the worst passing stats in the league. However, they only need a few passes to be successful in order to get results and they can create enough chances to be dangerous, though without Piette that could be a tough task. Between their wing backs and their actual forwards, Montreal has no shortage of players who will be making runs upfield, which should put a fair amount of pressure on the Red Bulls’ defenders. Not as much pressure as the Red Bulls press will attempt to put on Montreal, but still enough to force mistakes and put New York on the backfoot if the team’s not careful.
Stats Circle
New York Red Bulls MLS record: 8-6-4 (3rd-E)
CF Montreal MLS Record: 4-6-7 (12th-E)New York Red Bulls Last MLS Result: 0-1 vs. New England Revolution
Nashville SC Last MLS Result: 1-2 vs. New England RevolutionNew York Red Bulls Top Scorer Currently In This Country: Emil Forsberg (7)
Nashville SC Top Scorer: Sunusi Ibrahim (5)The Red Bulls and Montreal have evenly split their season series in each of the last three years.
Fun Fact: The Montreal Impact were founded in 1992 as members of the now defunct American Professional Soccer League, and along with the Seattle Sounders, are one of only two teams in the league whose existence predates MLS. That’s a name with a very rich history, so it makes perfect sense to throw it away for something extremely generic and forgettable.
Players to Watch
Victor Wanyama
Montreal’s lone Designated Player hasn’t really lived up to that designation this season. Despite being healthy all year, Saturday's game against RSL was only Wanyama’s second start, and the man who should be the biggest name on the team sheet has seen the field for a mere 16% of Montreal’s total minutes this year. While he’s had a productive few seasons for Montreal, he’s reached the point where he is most useful in a supporting role. However, with Piette presumably leading Canada to a group stage exit at the upcoming Copa America, Montreal will likely call upon the Kenyan international to fill that role. If he can, expect to see some strong long balls and solid defensive midfield play. If he can’t, then that will force the team I wish I could still call Impact, to play an even more conservative and defensive game.
Elias Manoel
Where will the goals come from? Hopefully Elias Manoel. The Brazilian has had some bright moments this year, but since back to back games with goals against the New England Revolution and DC United in May, he’s been a little quiet on the field. Lewis Morgan is gone, and while Scotland has fairly dim prospects at the Euros, he’s not coming back for at least a few more games. Someone needs to step up and since Dante Vanzeir seems a lot more comfortable in a supportive role than as the main striker, it kind of has to be Manoel. Ever since joining the Red Bulls, the 22 year old has shown exceptional promise, but has yet to produce the results that the team has been hoping for. These games are his opportunity to establish a larger role for himself, something I fully believe he’s capable of doing, But there might not be many more opportunities, as with the transfer window opening soon, the Red Bulls may look to fill their open DP spot with another forward.
Matt Miagza Model of the Week
Ariel Lassiter
Photo credit: @ari_lassiter15 Instagram
He might be too busy with Costa Rica to be playing in this game, but that doesn’t change the fact that the man knows how to dress and how to look good. Though looking good might not be that helpful against a heavy group stage slate of Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay.
Prediction
Montreal’s absences end up hurting more, as the Red Bulls control the run of play for a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Reminder
All MLS games today are free to watch on Apple TV and do not require an MLS Season Pass.
Subscribe to Metro Soccer Report
Covering the New York Red Bulls and the greater Metropolitan soccer world