MONTREAL — Despite losing 3-0 to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, CF Montreal is staying positive heading into Saturday’s road match against the New York Red Bulls.
“We're going to stay calm, we're going to keep working,” said Montreal head coach Hernan Losada on Thursday. “There are some positives to take away, and in two days there's a new match."
Montreal (5-7-0) had its six-game winning streak in all competitions snapped with the defeat. In that stretch, the club outscored its opponents 12-1, including a 2-0 victory on home turf against the Red Bulls last month.
"Stay positive, we've been on a good run, there's no need to put everything into question — that was the message,” midfielder Mathieu Choiniere said of the team's reaction to Wednesday's loss. “Stay positive and learn from it."
Historically a Major League Soccer powerhouse, New York (2-4-7) has struggled this season. The Red Bulls have parted ways with head coach Gerhard Struber since the defeat in Montreal in April, with Troy Lesesne taking over.
Losada says he doesn’t expect to face a different type of opponent and noted New York has played better of late. The Red Bulls are unbeaten in three matches since Lesesne took charge, including a draw Wednesday at Toronto FC.
“The Red Bulls have a style, a certain type of style no matter who the coach is," he said. “They kept their goals-against at zero in the last three matches … that means it's a team that's very strong defensively with a lot of energy.
"So, I expect a really close match, like all matches against the Red Bulls."
Montreal, meanwhile, has turned the page on a historically bad start to the season, but one area the club still needs to prove itself is on the road.
Losada's side has six away losses so far this season and has scored in just two of eight road games.
Though Losada could point to top scorer Romell Quioto’s absence and striker Chinonso Offor’s fatigue as reasons for Montreal’s lack of production in Cincinnati, he said goal creation is something the team needs to address going forward.
"We had some good moments (against Cincinnati),” he said. “But in the future … we're going to try to finish our reactions, with a shot on goal, with some individual plays — that's what's missing.
"Scoring in only two games on the road this season is not a good stat. That means if we don't hold the fort defensively and we don't keep a clean sheet, we're not a team that's going to score three or four goals per match. That means we have to keep our focus, concentration and intensity or we’re in trouble.”
Both Montreal (12th) and New York (14th) are outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with 15 and 13 points, respectively. But only five points separate the fifth-place and 15th-place team in the standings, meaning things could look vastly different after this weekend.
Despite where the Red Bulls are in the standings, the Montreal players aren’t taking the matchup lightly.
"They're a crafty team, they like to press and like to play long balls,” said midfielder Victor Wanyama. “I think now also they have confidence because they have won the last two games (at home). It's gonna be a tough game as usual, so we're expecting that."
HAZARD RUMOURS
Toronto FC has Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi on their roster, and a rumour swirling this week suggests Montreal is looking to attract a superstar of its own.
Spanish outlet MARCA reports CF Montreal has called Real Madrid about winger Eden Hazard, but the Belgian star prefers to fulfil his contract in Spain’s capital.
Wanyama couldn’t hide how exciting adding a player of Hazard’s calibre would be.
“Of course, you know, everybody wants Hazard so I hope it's true, we'd welcome him with open arms,” said Wanyama. “If those are true rumours, then it would be a great addition for Montreal.”
Hazard, 32, established himself as one of the best players in the world while at Chelsea from 2012 to 2019, winning two Premier League titles. His success hasn’t continued since a reported US$113-million move to Madrid, where he’s been hampered by injuries and only has seven goals in 76 games.
Adding Hazard would be Montreal’s highest-profile acquisition since striker Didier Drogba, also a Chelsea great, played for the Impact in 2015 and 2016.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
