MONTREAL — CF Montreal returned from the last Major League Soccer international break at the end of March with three consecutive losses, conceding 10 goals and scoring none.
This time around, the club is looking to return on the front foot with another impressive result at Stade Saputo.
The Quebec club faces Nashville SC on Wednesday evening in what will be the stiffest test at home to date for Montreal (7-9-1).
Three of Montreal's next four games are at home, where the club is 6-1-0 so far this season.
After a condensed run of 11 games in all competitions over just 36 days, a 10-day break — which included four days off — was welcomed by a club that desperately needed to recharge its batteries.
"This was a very necessary break, especially mentally, I instructed everyone to take their mind off soccer and come back ready for the rest of the season," said head coach Hernan Losada. "We know that if we can be that strong at home for the second half of the year, we will achieve beautiful things."
Turning your own stadium into a fortress is one of the most important steps to becoming a playoff team and few teams epitomize that more than a Montreal side that has both the second-best home record and the second-worst away record (1-8-1) in MLS.
"Every team tries to play the same way at home and away and your objective is always the same, but when you have fans cheering either for or against you it makes a world of difference," said midfielder Mathieu Choinière. "At the end of the day though it’s still a soccer pitch and it’s still 11 against 11 and we just have to play it like that."
Nashville (10-3-5) is one of just five teams in the league that have a winning record away from home (3-2-3). A lethal blend of the best defensive record in MLS and the offensive prowess of reigning MVP and Golden Boot winner Hany Mukhtar has seen it go unbeaten in its last 10 games.
Despite Mukhtar missing time at the beginning of the season due to injury, the German striker has already reached 20 goals, the only player in the league to do so.
"It’s important to start with a lot of energy early in the game. Nashville has the best player in the league and can always hurt you," said Losada. "This is going to be an interesting game to see if we can stay competitive against a very difficult team to play against, so it’s up to us to be decisive."
The last time the two teams matched up, Montreal was comfortably beaten on the road when Nashville grabbed a first-half lead and proceeded to sit in a low block and allow the visitors more than two thirds of the game’s possession.
That is a style of play Nashville has relied on a solid defensive structure which in turn enables an attack that is proficient on the counter-attack. That is how they doubled their lead over Montreal in the dying moments of the game, sealing the 2–0 win.
"They’re not shy about playing in a low block," said striker Chinonso Offor. "They're very good at absorbing pressure and hitting you with one pass on the counter so it’s on us to step up."
Apart from a 1-0 loss to DC United in April, Montreal have been perfect at home, winning eight games in all competitions and outscoring their opponents 18-3.
Kickoff at Stade Saputo is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
CF Montreal (7-9-1) vs. Nashville SC (10-3-5)
HISTORY: Nashville SC has never lost to CF Montreal and has outscored them 9-4 over the previous meetings.
CALL-UPS: Defender Zachary Brault-Guillard has received a call-up from the Canadian national team as part of the team’s 2023 Gold Cup roster. Canada will begin its Gold Cup campaign on June 27 at Toronto’s BMO Field against the winner of the preliminary round match between Guadeloupe and Guyana.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
