If you would have told me after our February 2nd pre-season loss against Atlanta that we would beat the same later in July at our home turf, I would have said that you’re crazy because the team is filled with talented players left and right and plenty of prospects in their roster. So, what happened? Their head coach, Gonzalo Pineda, was fired mid-season due to poor results and with a mix of departing stars and other players injured, this roster looks way different than what Laurent Courtois and his CF Montreal team had faced earlier this year. The Atlanta United team they faced on Saturday night is a team that has been struggling in the standings and has only won one game in the last 5 matches. CF Montreal find themselves in a similar position, however, there have been glimpses of improvements over the past few games as the heavily rotated squad, due to players returning from injury and players on international duty, as they have managed 1 win in their last 5 matches as well, As all teams are dealing with their own issues, the hunt for the playoffs are intensifying with every game on the schedule, and we can start to see the pressure build more on the players to perform. During his mid-year press conference, club president and interim Sporting Director Gabriel Gervais reiterated his confidence in Courtois’ work and called out players who have been underperforming up to now. He also made it a point to point out that CF Montreal will be every active in this summer transfer window, as they start looking to ship out the bad apples in the squad that “are not buying into the project”. What was Courtois’ first move? Leave Sunusi Ibrahim out of the team sheet because “I expected more for him in training”. With the whole Matias Coccaro being a healthy scratch last week, it seems like Laurent Courtois has decided to raise the standards of his squad, and if you don’t show the effort to play his style, regardless of the talent or situation, he will take disciplinary measure to get his point across.
Anyways back to the Atlanta game! From the get-go, it was obvious this Atlanta squad were not all on the same page as we saw a lot of fingers pointing amid missed passes and errant decisions. However, this is not about Atlanta, it’s about CF Montreal, focus Andy, FOCUS! Laurent Courtois said it best in his post-game conference when he said that Montreal managed to control the game up to the 70th minute, where they seemed out of focus and forcing plays, which you guessed it we’ve seen repeatedly this season. Courtois has made it a point to continually say how they are trying to figure out how to make this squad play at same level for 90+ minutes and it seemed like they had figured it out until Courtois decided to make substitutions. At the end of the game, the fans leaving the stadium, like me, felt like it was a missed chance to make it a complete game by scoring more goals after the red card. But then in Courtois ‘press conference he mentioned that certain players “to force things instead of setting up those advantages because of space or overload with numbers on one side or on the other now you want the force things just because you want to be the main character to score. You want to be the protagonist or the hero when we need to win, not you to score your goal.” As I re-watched the game and those last 20 minutes of the game, I saw it from a different perspective the attacking third. When I was in the stadium, I saw Courtois get very agitated while he instructed Jules Anthony Vilsaint to return to defense, but what I also saw was a Josef Martinez forcing plays inside the box to set himself up to score a goal. I saw some lazy passes and shots from Mason Toye who should be fighting for a spot in the squad and do the tiny things that could help us win instead of trying to score from midfield, even if the net is open.
The Front Three
In the front three we had Josef Martinez, Ariel Lassiter, and Mahala Opoku with Josef on top and the two others as supporting roles under him. However, if you’ve seen enough CF Montreal games this season you know Laurent Courtois allows all three of these attackers to interchange positions as long as there always 1 or 2 on top. What we saw Saturday night was an Opoku that was running between the lines, and a Lassiter that was exchanging roles as a wingback with Raheem Edwards.
Ariel Lassiter was our biggest threat in the first half with two shots on target and constantly taking on his man in his duels to open the attack, but as the game went on, we saw what we’ve grown use to seeing from Lassiter this season. Errant passes that stalled attacking momentum (10 possessions lost), poor crosses (2 of 7 crosses), and poorly time runs (2 offsides), I have said it plenty of times, I simply don’t understand his value in this squad or scheme. He is a supposed natural attacker, yet he struggles at shooting, he is also known for his “natural speed”, yet I’m not sure if he picks the right moments to use it. For example, in the dying minutes of the game, he had an opportunity to kill the game with a 1v1 sprint against a charging goalkeeper and instead of using his “natural forward” skills to get past the last player, he lets the ball go and jumps over the goalie. These are the kind of plays that make Lassiter an unreliable attacking player and in my humble opinion might make him a super-sub. It wasn’t all bad thought because he did end the game with 3 of 5 in ground duels and 1 of 1 on aerial duels. I’m willing to say his best position in this team might be that of a wingback and even then, not a starter (just to replace when Lassi Lappalainen is injured).
Next, we have Mahala Opoku playing on the right side with Ruan complementing him as his option to his right. Opoku seems to have all the tools to be an impact player for this squad, but he does seem to lose himself with the ball at times. He will also rush decisions which will cause attacks to falter. In Laurent Courtois’ scheme, the build-up to the attack has certain pieces that are crucial for it to work. This includes the wingbacks and that of the supporting attackers, because they are expected to come down the field to almost the midfield level and receive the pass from defenders and then make that key pass to change the field of attack. This is a position that we’ve seen a lot of struggles from players such as Bryce Duke, Dominik Yankov, and Vilsaint. But against Atlanta, Opoku managed 2 shots off target, which when rewatching the game, seemed forced when he had other options available to him. He also had a 91% accurate passes with 28 touches but 0 out of 4 in aerial dues, which as I mentioned before is a very important part of the scheme because when he gets involved in these aerial duel he chooses where the ball goes next and whether the attack continues or is stalled, now granted not all the passes were great either but as a player you also need to learn to adjust and give you team its best chance to succeed. Again, I strongly believe he has the tools to succeed, but given his age and his aspirations, time is running out for him to get on the stat sheet and start garnering attention from other clubs. He was benched last game after a very poor performance against New York City and this could be considered his redemption game, and I am not ready to say he disappointed in 60 minutes.
Lastly, we had out “star striker” in Josef Martinez starting on the top and you could tell he was on a mission against his former team. Any pass or shot that didn’t go through him was clearly upsetting him as you could see him flailing his arms in frustration. However, what was shocking about Martinez was the opportunities that he missed. I’m not going to sit here and list Martinez’s accolades because they are well known around the MLS (and guess with what team?! Atlanta!) So, when you see him miss a shot in front of the goal with just the goalie in front of him, you have every right to be disappointed in his performance. He finished the game with 1 shot on target, 1 shot of target, 2 shots blocked, and 1 big chance missed. You could also see him make fewer of the runs that we’ve grown to see him do, and especially as the game was finishing, he seemed to be forcing plays to himself to score. I was the first to call for him tog et that captain’s armband because of his natural leadership and the way he hustles at every play and pushes his teammates to do the same. But the Martinez that we saw on Saturday night was a player that came with his own agenda and his own vision of the game, at least that’s how it seemed. I hope to see a better version of him in the upcoming crucial games in our chase for a playoff spot.
The Middle
The Middle:
Our midfield played a decent game, and it seemed like Nathan Saliba and Victor Wanyama were still trying to figure themselves out as the game wore on. The only thing that I’m concerned about is that Courtois still doesn’t seem to have figured out what is our perfect midfield, the one that can win us games or lead a team to a victory regardless of the score. There always seems to be a discrepancy between one of the two midfielders whether is tactically or chemistry. Saturday felt like both Wanyama and Saliba were doing the bare minimum to do no wrong, and if this is the case it is very bad news because it means these players are no longer playing to win but to make no mistakes and that’s when we see players lose their creativeness and bravery to try new things in their position.
Nathan Saliba played 90 minutes and was clearly struggling to take the role of transitioning the play up field with 11 possessions lost, 1 of 5 ground duels won, 2 fouls, and 90% accurate passing in 79 touches.
Victor Wanyama played 71 minutes and was a welcome presence on the defensive end, however, was frustrating as always on the offensive end with 7 possessions lost and 88% accurate passes, however with 65 touches he was 2 for 3 in long balls, 3 for 3 in ground duels, 0 for 1 in aerial duels, and 2 clearances. With Samuel Piette due back with the team, I think Wanyama has given his case to push Piette for minutes, however one of the two will need to find a way to be more impactful on the offensive end and avoid becoming a liability on the field with turnovers.
The Back Five
Laurent Courtois drew up a very interesting twist to his playing scheme on the left side of the formation. In the first half, we saw Raheem Edwards and Joaquin Sosa rotating roles of wingback and left defender. Edwards has the tendency to move towards the inside and almost be a third midfielder, however there were moments where their chemistry was tested and some risky passes. I like having Edwards using his strength to body out opponents and his vision of the field is very impressive as he always picks the right moments to make his passes. He has shown a lot of ability with the ball at his feet and his ability to defend is also very impressive as he is clearly unafraid to go up against anyone. The only weakness that I see from Edwards is his speed, there are too many times that he will be caught up on the offensive end and a breakaway from the opponents has begun due to a turnover and opponents have learned to exploit that side and a lot of their attacks always comes from that side. This is the part that leaves the defense the most exposed and is where, again, Courtois hasn’t found the right formula to solve this discrepancy. Fernando Alvarez’s stock continues to rise in the absence of Joel Waterman, who is due to make his return from international duty this week, which will cause a “good problem” for Courtois. Before Waterman’s departure, Sosa was playing on the right side and Alvarez on the right, but with all of them back one can safely assume that the odd man out in this formula must be George Campbell, due to his inconsistent performances and the fact that Sosa is a FC Bologna project. If not, this has become a valid argument for Campbell to garner attention around the league since the supposed rumors that teams are watching Alvarez to sign him. The whole switcharoo that was being played on the left side didn’t appear on the right side as Campell stayed lower and performed very well from that position and provided very good passes to the front. He also had a lot of blocks in the box and provided an excellent defensive presence for Jonathan Sirois as he shut out Atlanta’s Xande Silva. Ruan was solid on the right side having scored the only goal on a header from what Edwards described as a play that the coach has been talking to them about since the pre-season. One the main points I want to talk about is the improvement I saw in Ruan’s decision making with the ball at his feet. He seemed to take his time to hold on to the ball and look at the field properly before making his cross. He had some very good timed runs and we can clearly see that there’s a level of comfort and understanding with Campbell on the right side that they have developed. Alavarez has taken leaps and bounds since taking that central defensive position and making it his. He is a solid presence and clearly a great communicator to his teammates who seem to follow his instructions as he organizes the line. You can tell that even at 20 years old he commands respect from his line and midfielders.
Edwards finished with 69 touches, 86% accurate passes, 3 key passes, 2 of 5 long balls, 1 of 2 crosses, 1 shot on target, 5 of 9 ground duels, 1 of 3 aerial duels, 12 possessions lost, 1 interception, and 2 tackles
Sosa finished with 92 touches, 4 clearances, 1 blocked shot, 1 interception, 4 tackles, 4 of 6 ground duels won, 13 possessions lost (this was the disadvantage of the switcharoo on the left, it risked a lot of turnovers and exposed the left side, not all Sosa’s fault but a work in progress) in 90 minutes.
Alvarez had 95 touches, 3 clearances, 5 interceptions, 1 tackle, 94% accurate passes, 5 of 8 successful long balls, 1 of 2 ground duels, 2 of 3 aerial duels, and 6 possessions lost.
Campbell ended the game with great numbers starting with 131 touches, 8 clearances, 5 blocked shots, 1 interception, 2 tackles, 94% passing accuracy, 1 key pass, 3 of 6 ground duels won, 2 of 2 aerial duels won, and 10 possessions lost (all while avoiding a yellow card which would have earned him a suspension for Wednesday’s game.)
And finally, Ruan, who finished with 63 touches, 1 goal, 94% accurate passes, 0 for 3 in crosses, 2 for 2 in long balls, 1 shot on target, 1 shot off target, 1 for 1 in ground duels won, 0 for 1 in aerial duels, and 6 possessions lost.
The Goalie
Jonatha Sirois had what seemed like a day off at the office because he wasn’t saving his teammates like he does every game, spending most of the game distributing the ball around. But what mattered most with him was that he came through at the end of the game when Atlanta decided to put pressure on the team even if they were 1 man down. He seems to be getting a better understanding of his importance and role in this scheme as he seems a lot more comfortable with the ball at his feet and playing almost at midfield.
Sirois finished the day with 46 touches, 86% accurate passes, 5 of 10 long balls, and 2 clearances.
Andy's Impact Zone 
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