Sitting third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, CF Montreal is in genuine danger of slipping completely out of the playoff race before the summer ends.
Montreal (4-9-3) is riding a five-game winless skid and hasn’t recorded a victory since a 2-0 decision over Orlando City on May 9.
The Quebec-based club is coming off a 1-0 road loss on Wednesday to Nashville SC, who currently sits atop the overall MLS standings, a whopping 24 points and 26 spots above Montreal. Things don’t get any easier for the Blue and Black on Saturday when they host reigning MLS Cup champions Inter Miami at Stade Saputo.
The good news for Montreal is that Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul won’t be making the trip to Quebec for this weekend’s tilt. They have been given some time off after both played the full 120 minutes of Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time loss to Spain in the FIFA World Cup final last weekend in New York.
Messi played all eight of Argentina's games at the World Cup (seven starts), and rather than rushing him back into action, Miami decided to give him and De Paul some time to recover from their gruelling World Cup schedule.
But if Montreal is expecting an easier time of it against Miami this weekend, it can forget it.
Messi is having another MVP-calibre campaign for Miami, scoring 12 goals and tallying eight assists in 14 league appearances. But he’s not the only player who’s been in fine form for the reigning MLS Cup champs, who have racked up a league-high 42 goals this season.
Uruguay international Luis Suárez has seven goals and five assists in eight games, including a brace in the team’s 3-2 home win over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, and he scored a hat trick in the club’s previous outing. In total, Suárez has eight goals and five assists in just 12 appearances.
In January, Inter Miami signed Germán Berterame for a reported transfer fee of $15 million from Mexican club C.F. Monterrey. Thus far, the forward has produced seven goals and five assists in his debut MLS campaign.
In total, no less than 11 different players have found the back of the net this year for Miami. Coach Guillermo Hoyos is getting balanced scoring from his outfit that has won five consecutive games, has just one loss in its last 15 contests, and has been shut out only once this year.
A one-man team? Far from it. To be sure, Messi is the straw that stirs the drink for Miami. But the Herons have more than enough attacking power to overcome his absence this weekend in Montreal.
"Like [Messi], these are players who make a difference," Hoyos said after his team’s midweek victory without Messi and De Paul.
"They express themselves on the field with their tactical intelligence from all the experiences they have had, and they know their bodies and minds. They have seen more than the coaching staff. I am not sure these players will be replaced in the future."
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend:
• Winless in 10 consecutive MLS matches, Toronto FC (3-6-7) will be shooting for its first victory in over three months when it visits D.C. United on Saturday. TFC are coming off a pair of 0-0 draws in league play. On the one hand, the clean sheets are welcome as the Reds conceded 29 goals through their first 14 matches of the campaign. But the lack of scoring remains a problem — TFC have a modest 22 goals to their credit and have gone 205 consecutive minutes without scoring.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps (10-3-2) will look to cement their spot atop the Western Conference table with a road win against Minnesota United on Saturday. Vancouver is coming off a wild 4-3 road defeat to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday — just its second loss in 10 games dating back to March 21. Influential midfielder Ryan Gauld marked his first MLS appearance of the season with a pair of goals after being sidelined with a knee injury and will no doubt be looking to add to his tally this weekend as he tries to make up for lost time.
• Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski made his MLS debut for the Chicago Fire in a midweek road loss to Inter Miami. The Polish international was subbed out in the 63rd minute after failing to register a shot on target. Lewandowski will be looking to score his first goal in MLS when Chicago takes on New York City FC on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
• While Lewandowski failed to impress in his MLS debut, fellow league newcomer Antoine Griezmann hit the ground running by scoring in Orlando City’s midweek road win over the San Jose Earthquakes. The French forward — who had 299 goals in La Liga with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Sociedad — will attempt to make it two goals in two MLS games when Orlando hosts Nashville SC on Saturday.
• Los Angeles FC enters Saturday’s home contest vs. Sporting Kansas City on the back of a three-match winning streak, including a midweek 3-1 home victory over Real Salt Lake. South Korean international Son Heung-Min scored a goal and tallied an assist for the Black and Gold, who could overtake Vancouver for first place in the Western Conference with a win on Saturday.
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
