MLS is Back Tournament Recap: 7/21/20!

Toronto FC 0 – New England 0

Atlanta 0 – Columbus 1

Montreal 1 – D.C. United 0

Today’s games saw the conclusion of group C as well as the less important game in group E. Today’s games were also quite boring and low on goals. There were a combined 2 goals scored between the 3 games.

Game 1:

Toronto and New England were battling for the top spot in group C, but instead they gave D.C. United a chance to steal the group in the night game. If either team would have won, they would have seized the group, but it looks like this group will end needing goal differential to determine the top spot.

Toronto FC: B

Toronto had plenty of opportunities to win this one but could not solve the New England goalkeeper. Toronto knew that it would most likely win the group with a draw based on their goal differential, and because of that, they never showed any signs of panic. They were content to control possession and get shots where they could. 

New England Revolution: C+

Much like Toronto, New England played the game that they wanted. They used their counter attack to set up crosses but were unable to connect on any of them. They too will move through to the knockout stage thanks to the tie and will be happy with the way these three games played out.

Man of the Match: Matt Turner

The New England keeper was the sole reason that this game ended in a scoreless draw. He was able to stop any shot that Toronto could fire his way and cooled down the hot foot of Ayo Akinola.

Game 2:

This was Atlanta’s last ditch effort to get a point and possibly sneak into the knockout stages with a big win. Columbus was all but mathematically locked into the top spot and their play showed as much.

Atlanta United: B

This was definitely the best game Atlanta played in this tournament and it still wasn’t enough. They controlled possession, nearly doubled the amount of crosses, and did double the shots on target, but still seemed unable to figure out how to score without Josef Martinez. This story will end soon enough. Atlanta is hoping it’s not after their season has also come to an end.

Columbus Crew: C

Columbus were not at their best but it didn’t matter. They were playing like a team that knew they were already in as the top seed and somehow still pulled out the win becoming the first team in the tournament to win all three of their group stage games. They will be a force to be reckoned with for not only the rest of this tournament, but the rest of the season.

Man of the Match: Youness Mokhtar

The lone goal scorer was able to get a deflection to go past Brad Guzan in the 18th minute. After that the Crew didn’t make much noise, but Mokhtar’s goal would prove to be enough.

Game 3:

D.C. United came into this game knowing that all they needed to do was win and they would steal the second position from New England but Montreal had other plans. Montreal hadn’t won a game yet but knew that they could set themselves up for a chance at a wildcard with a win tonight.

Montreal Impact: C

Not really sure how Montreal came out on top in this game. They got a nice goal from Saphir Taider and a few good saves from Clement Diop, but this was really a game of D.C. United not being able to get out of their own way. Still, Montreal will be quite pleased to get a win, and will be watching the rest of the tournament to see if they get to stick around.

D.C. United: C

D.C. did a lot of things right but many more things wrong. They could not find the target on most of their shots and really needed to settle down and play their game. They seemed to be in their own heads as they knew what was at stake and they could not hold up to the pressure.

Man of the Match: Saphir Taider

Both goals in tonight’s games were off deflections. Montreal’s was a good shot by Taider that was deflected into the back of the net in the 31st minute to give Montreal 3 points that they desperately wanted.