A first look at the scoreline, one might think, “Man, Montreal killed it! What else could you take away from this?” I wish it was that simple. Yes, statistically, Montreal dominated Charlotte, and by all measures, were the better team. Many people, including Dean Smith, Charlotte’s head coach, said that if Charlotte doesn’t go down to 10 men, they would have won the game. They might be right, but that’s not what happened. We can play the endless game of what ifs, but the reality is that Montreal earned the red card fair and square and won the game. It’s only when you rewatch the game that you realize some of the gaps that still exist in Montreal’s game and the work they must do for 2026 to be considered a dominant team. The understanding is there; you can see that something is being built as far as cohesiveness of play and players understanding their role in the flow of the game. In other words, there’s a lot of potential in the talent on the field but also in the potential of play when these pieces work together. It’s a shame that it all seems to be coming together at the tail end of one of CF Montreal’s worst seasons, but it had to happen at some point.
Overall, CF Montreal thoroughly dominated a 10-man Charlotte side. I could list all the statistics here, but I think we understand “thoroughly dominated”. All stats were on Montreal’s favor except for goalkeeper saves, tackles, yellow cards, red cards, and free kicks. Now, before I break it down position by position, I wanted to point out how we saw a clear style of play from Marco Donadel’s side. We can start to see how Donadel likes to be aggressive on offense and how he builds from the back. Donadel’s scheme heavily relies on the fullbacks being well positioned and running up and down the flanks while timing their changes with the wingers. We already know that Donadel likes to play man-to-man defense, which sometimes worked, and sometimes it didn’t (most of the time, it hasn’t). But Saturday night, with 59% possession, Montreal had the chance to be a little bit riskier with the ball. Prince Owusu was asked to come lower in the field to use his big frame to box out defenders while he received the long distributions from Thomas Gillier or one of the defenders while the wingers moved ahead to waiting for Owusu’s or Victor Loturi to catch them on their run. We could also see how much Donadel ask for his attackers to high press the opponent’s backline, which by the way worked great against Charlotte, but they also struggled tremendously against Charlottes high press as the young center backs would clearly get nervous under the experienced Charlotte forwards. Truth be told, it’s not the red card that changed the game. It was the substitutions. Once Luca Petrasso entered the game at halftime, the second goal came shortly thereafter, and once Dawid Bugaj, Samuel Piette, and Ivan Jaime subbed in, Montreal scored their 3rd and 4th goal. This was a very strategic approach by Donadel, reading the Charlotte players’ energy and timing the substitutions to put up the pressure on them. Yes, the red card was a difference maker, but that didn’t guarantee a win, especially against a very strong Charlotte side.
Donadel picked up another yellow card, which suspended him for the match against Nashville, giving assistant coach David Sauvry a second chance this season to be on the touchline and lead the squad. The last time Sauvry was on the touchline was on June 25 against FC Cincinnati, where CF Montreal lost 3-1 at Stade Saputo. I get the feeling that this is a sort of trial for Sauvry as he aims to put his name in for several head coaching positions that are opening around the league or maybe even in Montreal?
Andy’s hot take: 2025 is the best thing that could have happened to CF Montreal. Firing their head coach 5 games in, no trophies, fighting to not end the season with the wooden spoon, 2 other professional soccer teams announced in Montreal, Canadiens start reaching the best part of their rebuild. All the stars seem to be lining up to give the higher ups at Montreal Impact a wake-up call about their future. If this didn’t do it, then I don’t know what would. This is why the Saputo family issued a letter to fans apologizing for a terrible season and promising a rebuild. I’ll say it again, 2025 was the best thing that has happened to CF Montreal. If they get a trophy(s), they make the playoffs, sell players on a huge profit here and there, etc. It automatically gives them every reason to justify the decision that they’ve made, good or bad. This season, they had nothing, no excuse, no explanation, nothing to justify such a colossal failure of a season, nobody to point a finger at except themselves. Things can only go up here, but don’t forget, it won’t be pretty.
Let’s break down the game:
Goalkeeping and Defense
Thomas Gilier had a less exciting night compared to the other nights where he was constantly challenged. After Charlotte FC went down to 10 men, he was used mostly as a facilitator to the backline, giving them a security blanket to build off the back. The only goal was due to a poorly judged back pass by Jalen Neal, which caused a 1 v 2 against world-class forward Wilfried Zaha, who went around Gillier and put it in the back of the net. Some of the things that stood out to me from the Montreal goalkeeper were his impressive short passes to his defenders that showed accuracy and intent as he distributed the ball side to side. I also really like his first touch; he seems to have an understanding and confidence when controlling the ball with a very nice first touch of the ball when opposing defenders are lurking nearby. Gillier is your typical goalkeeper who plays with an almost irrational confidence that you usually find in goalies. Anyone who watched soccer or any other sport with a goalie knows that it takes a special personality to play that position. A little bit of crazy with some talent, and that’s what Gillier brings to the team. Confidence, personality, and arrogance while being a stand-up teammate. It seems like most of CF Montreal’s recent signings have a bit of personality that they bring to the table. Something else I noticed from Gillier was his surprising quickness and aggressiveness when making the decision to rush out of the goal as well as his accuracy when short passing to his flanks, whether on the ground or in the air. At this point, we can only compare him to Jonathan Sirois since he’s the only one we’ve seen these past few seasons, and honestly, it’s night and day. They are both very talented goalkeepers, but you always got that feeling that Sirois’ quiet personality and timid approach on-ball was becoming a problem when organizing his backline. He’s saved Montreal a million and one times, and there’s no denying that, but there were a lot of moments these past two years that CF Montreal needed more than that. Sirois admitted last year that he wanted to work on being more vocal and make a mark in the game. Maybe a change of scenery will help?
Body Hidalgo had one of the hardest assignments of the night: shut-out Zaha. And, honestly, he didn’t do too badly. He was constantly on his toes and seemed to be predicting Zaha’s movements with ease and clearly frustrated as the game went on. The Charlotte faithful once again got to see the good and the bad with Zaha as he scored their only goal but also threw tantrums once things stopped going his way. I really like Hidalgo’s defensive reads and the way he would place himself to block lanes and stop the Charlotte attack. I also found that he has very advanced technical skills on-ball and really liked his crossing ability, which gave Montreal many opportunities to attack, something that Bugaj struggled with many times during the season. Seeing as his assignment was mostly on the defensive side, his offensive chances were far and few between, but he struggled mightily. He was easily bodied out by Charlotte defenders and failed to find any kind of chemistry with Dante Sealy on that side, but this might have been circumstantial to this game since it was evident that Charlotte was prioritizing the left side with Zaha. I want to see him finish out the season to be able to get a decent picture of what his player profile looks like, but so far, so good.
Jalen Neal had a very inconsistent game and showed his inexperience at times, especially in Charlotte’s only score where he succumbed to their high press and made a very weak back pass to Gillier, leaving the goalkeeper in an island against two Charlotte players. However, I do believe Neal bounced back. Against Charlotte, I noticed that he was having a tough time connecting with the midfield, but he made it up by using his big frame and excellent timing to box out the Charlotte attackers going 3 for 5 in duels while also showing incredible speed to get back in defense and make some clutch stops. He was also very involved in defending the set pieces, which is something this team has needed badly over the past seasons, which makes you wonder what it would have been to see Neal and George Campbell play more games together. I mentioned his struggles with the short passes; however, his long distribution was a sight to see as he went 4 for 4 in long passes and had 2 key passes. But, to me, one of the most impressive Neal moments was in the 2nd Montreal goal when he used his body and eyes to move the Charlotte defenders away from Petrasso on the left and the quickly shifted his body and passed the ball to the left where Petrasso had a lot of space to easily cross the ball to Fabian Herbers for the header. To me, that was a high soccer IQ play where he understood what the defenders were following and reading, one of the victims? CF Montreal loanee Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty.
Brandan Craig was very active in the game even if he had fewer touches than Neal (95 to 110) on both ends. You can tell that his long distribution has improved drastically this season even if he ended the game going 7 for 13. At 21 years old (younger than Neal (22), Craig still demonstrates that he has ways to go before he becomes an imposing figure in the backline. He has the fighting spirit that you like to see from the players (especially when their goalie gets fouled unnecessarily), but to me, it goes beyond that. It still feels like opposing teams might view Craig’s side as the more vulnerable of the two, and Charlotte continually went to his side. Towards the late part of the second half, Craig played more on a man-to-man defense and did well to frustrate the Charlotte attack with his physicality. He’s got that old-school no-nonsense defender attitude which I saw during practice at Centre Nutrilait, but that approach doesn’t always work in modern football where there’s more of a focus on the technical aspect of a player’s game. Opponents will use Craig’s approach to their advantage to draw fouls or draw him out of position, and this is where Craig needs the most work. I believe that if he finds a way to slow the game down for himself and make better decisions, he has the potential of becoming an MLS-caliber starting defender. Europe? I really don’t think so, but I’ve been proven wrong plenty of times. Craig had a decent defensive game since he had the tough task of helping Hidalgo in defending Zaha. He finished the day with 5 clearances, 5 interceptions, and went 2 of 5 in duels.
Aleks Guboglo had his third start this season as a pure left back, which honestly was a surprise to me, but I guess it should be expected since Donadel said he would be using these next few games to evaluate players for the 2026 season. We only got to see one half of Guboglo on Saturday because he was visibly exhausted when the whistle blew for the end of the first half, but he still gave us a lot to look at and take away. I felt that this was the first game that I really saw him put a major focus on his defensive game. He was in charge of shutting down Kerwin Vargas, who’s been very hot for Charlotte’s attack as of late and did a decent job defending the winger. The stat sheet might not show it, but I saw him cause the Charlotte attack to slow down and even had two interceptions. One of my biggest knocks in the past of Guboglo was how easily he would let himself be pushed off by bigger players, but against Charlotte, I felt that the 18-year-old really imposed himself on the attackers, committing 4 fouls and earning himself a yellow. Offensively, Guboglo struggled. He made some very impressive runs in the left flank but was never able to finish the action. His crossing from the left side needs a lot of work and will be a big part of his game that will need to improve for 2026 if he wants to make more of an impact of the stats sheet. After the red card, the opportunities were aplenty for him to exploit that left side with Herbers as JMR looked to take the day off defensively (apparently). However, he was never able to capitalize and finished the day going 1 of 5 in crosses. His chemistry with Herbers was also evidently missing on Saturday as they both struggled to understand each other’s game. Guboglo has always said that he considers his 1 v 1 one of his strongest traits in his game, but Saturday, he struggled to get past Charlotte defenders and was 1 of 7 in duels. After what I saw on Saturday, I still think Guboglo needs to add different phases to his game so he can start building his highlight reel for European scouts.
Midfield
In this section, I’ll talk about both Loturi and Matty Longstaff since they both played most of the game together, and it’s tough to talk about one without talking about the other. I’ll say this, the game didn’t flow much through the middle as both teams chose to use the flanks or kick it long, but that doesn’t take away from the midfielder’s impact on the game. When Longstaff and Loturi are in the field, you can see that they cover the most distance in the field as double pivots. You have two very similar profiles bouncing off of each other, which neutralizes the midfield and causes frustration for the opposing midfield. Loturi was clearly carrying the heavier load of the two with 75 touches to Longstaff’s 49, but that doesn’t take away from Longstaff’s involvement in the offense where he had 3 key passes. One of those passes came to the left flank to a wide open Prine Owusu who crossed it to Ivan Jaime, who eventually assisted Dante Sealy in the 3rd goal. He was also heavily involved in doubling Charlotte players and helping his teammates with takeaways. His assist to Owusu for the 4th goal was a perfect read and run by him off of Sealy and low cross to an awaiting Owusu in front of goal. Again, this is what experience looks like on the field. Players that sense and read the game and create moments that are important. Loturi was more involved in the defensive aspect of the game and was especially impressive when Charlotte started pushing a little bit more and responded with some clutch defending in the box. He went 4 for 8 in duels and had 2 interceptions to go along with 1 blocked shot. The question to me is now, is that CF Montreal’s starting midfield in 2026? The way it felt on Saturday, I would say so, especially when you add Samuel Piette as a super sub at the tail ends of games to put the nail in the coffin. What we saw against Charlotte, especially a rested Piette, was a midfield that seemed nearly impenetrable against the high press of the forwards, which makes me dream of a better 2026. At the same time, I ask myself if Loturi or Longstaff are the kind of players that will survive the Saputo’s rebuild. These midfielders clearly fit Donadel’s scheme, high engine players that never take their foot off the pedal, but Loturi also demonstrated tremendous poise with the ball on his feet while he read the offense. That kind of confidence can frustrate a team that’s playing down a man. Both midfielders did a great job distributing the ball to the flanks and facilitating the CF Montreal attack, but Longstaff also had some head scratching passes at times that made you question what he was seeing or intending to do.
Attack
On the right side, we had Sealy deployed as a right winger and had an impressive game where he finished with 2 goals. That’s a very impressive stat! But you guys know me, I look at the whole game, and I don’t get distracted by the shiny moments. I have to say this; besides the brace, I don’t think Sealy had a good game. Yes, he was instrumental in three of the four goals, which of course will make you ask, “What’s wrong with you, Andy?” By all means, do it. I don’t care. When you watch his whole game, there continues to be a lot more infuriating moments than good ones, which include his 13 lost possessions. On Saturday night, the situation of the game played in Sealy’s favor and gave him more space to operate due to Charlotte’s red card, but he still struggled at times to find that final pass. There were too many instances in the game where he had the tendency to hold on to the ball too long and turn it over instead of reading the quick pass. His game develops slowly, and I feel like he needs to be placed in an ideal situation to perform at his best. This in no way means that I don’t believe in his potential, but I don’t think we should ignore the fact that, at least for now, in my honest opinion Sealy is more fit for a backup role where he is played in ideal situations (red card, tired defenses, or games that are decided early on, etc.). You might be thinking I’m being harsh, but if you don’t count those two goals, we’re having a whole different conversation today. Okay that’s enough of that because there were positives to Sealy’s game, for example he was the one that read the run by Owusu to set up the red card, it was perfectly timed and placed through pass by Sealy. His defense, though, can at times be lazy and spotty, which, from what I see, is not what Donadel preaches to his players. Hist first goal was simply an impressive, near perfect freekick. There’s no other way about it. His second goal off a pass in the box by Jaime was decisive of him and very well placed even though he missed a wide-open Owusu to his left. All is forgotten when he scores the goal. I want to see Sealy add more phases to his game and be quicker in his decision-making when his first choice doesn’t work because the runs are being made around him. He was 2 for 5 in crosses and 0 for 2 in long balls, 0 for 2 in dribbles, and 1 for 6 in ground duels. Not the sexiest stats, but he scored two crucial goals.
In the middle, we had Olger Escobar, who got his third start of the season. The 19-year-old continues to impress me with his never-ending engine to pressure the backline and continue his hustle and come back, and sneak up on opposing players. He reminds me of someone else who used to wear number 29… Back to Escobar, I like his connection with Sealy because they seem to understand each other’s game. I was also impressed at how quick thinking he could be with his one touch; I observed two times where he tried a quick back heel, once to Hildago and another to Sealy. I haven’t seen this quick-thinking attacking midfield since the Djordje Mihailovic days. One of the most frustrating things about having seen Bryce Duke play the 10 position was his lack of decision-making, which led him to make ill-timed passes, which often led to turnovers. Escobar brings high energy and quick movement with the ball that brings back the “element of surprise” to this offense. He was suffocating to the Charlotte backline and was constantly pressing Tim Ream, which forced Ream to make bad passes and turn possession over. That part of his performance won’t appear on the stat sheet, but it was crucial to Montreal’s game. When Escobar was subbed out, Longstaff was deployed to do the same but was much less effective. Escobar’s high energy on the field and his progress will be something to keep a close eye on in 2026. Just because I like his passing doesn’t mean it was perfect, he still needs work in connecting with his forwards as he ended the game 1 for 3 in long balls and 80% accurate passes which is not the most ideal average.
Fabian Herbers was once again featured in the left, and I felt like he did a fantastic job to contribute to the attack. Herbers is not a superstar kind of player like Jaime, but he can get the job done and do it well as he showed against Charlotte. Since the opponents were mostly focused on Montreal’s right side, Herbers wasn’t necessarily involved in the action all the time, but he clearly knew how to take advantage of a depleted backline and seemed to have single handedly frustrated Marshall-Rutty. He only had 25 touches in 60 minutes (compared to Sealy’s 55 touches in 90). One of the things that I observed from Herbers that really impressed me was his understanding of his placement on the field. He seems to understand the flow of the game and where he needs to be to give space to his teammates. Again, he’s not going to be your superstar, but he will do the right things to help those around him, including Guboglo and Petrasso. The dynamic obviously changes once Jaime goes into the game because he’s the superstar caliber player for this team. Besides his goal, he had 1 key pass, 1 for 1 in crossing, and 1 for 3 in ground duels. This team needs more players like Fabian Herbers, unselfish players that can do the job and do it well. Players that prioritize those around them to have success instead of themselves. They’re very hard to find, but I would be intrigued to see Herbers play a full healthy season because he’s impacting on the field in his own way.
Prince Owusu had a tough game to judge because every game of his you watch; he brings an intensity for 90 minutes and therefore it’s hard to give any bad notes because at the end of the day that’s what you want from your 11 players on the field. Yes. Owusu scored the last goal of the night on a cross by Longstaff, but before that, he had 4 shots on target. These weren’t just any shots, though; these were 1 v 1 against the goalie, and his shots were too predictable and allowed Charlotte’s goalkeeper to block it easily. These are the kinds of moments that can make a player a star in the MLS. A clinical finisher that puts fear in the heart of defenders and goalies if left 1 v 1. Instead, he leaves fans crossing their fingers, hoping this will be the one. This, of course, doesn’t take away from his admirable hustle on the high press, causing a lot of pressure on the backline, which caused many Charlotte turnovers. It’s beautiful to see! One of the things that I loved seeing during the game was his run back to defense to help his defenders in turnovers. That part of his game is undeniable and rare to see being done with so much dedication from forwards, but Prince does it with no questions asked and that’s the kind of attitude that many teams will beg to have on their team to rile up the troops. I don’t know if his future lies with Montreal, but he’s made his mark on the club and its fans. I still only see him as a very capable MLS player, but lower European leagues might be keeping their eyes on the 28-year-old German. The stats of 4 of 10 in duels might not do justice for the kind of battles he fought with the defenders. Once Jaime came into the game, Owusu was deployed more to the left side and was constantly wide open for runs as Charlotte seemed disheveled and confused about what Montreal was trying to do. But another stat that stands out to me is his 3 big chances missed. Three!!! This is why Montreal might be delving into the market for a forward again this offseason.
The subs
The subs, starting with Petrasso at halftime, played a crucial part of the game they put the pressure on a tired Charlotte squad playing with 10 men. Petrasso showed that he can be an impact sub. He does his job well, especially when he’s got more space. Petrasso was one of the players who benefitted the most from the red card. His role as a defender was also impressive as he continued locking down the right side and was a constant factor in offense. He finished the night with 2 tackles, 1 interception, 2 key passes, and 1 for 2 in crosses. In my opinion, Petrasso gets the job done as a left back, but he shouldn’t be a starter in Donadel’s scheme, which demands a lot from his fullbacks. Samuel Piette was a late sub who made a very good combination with Longstaff and Loturi. Charlotte’s midfield looked suffocated, as was evident by Asley Westwood’s reaction after the team gave up possession a few times, and Piette’s presence on the field was a big part of that. Piette’s defensive instinct and ability to read the lanes and break transitions was in full display against Charlotte. This is what the future looks like for the CF Montreal captain. He will be used sparingly and only for situational football, which is an extremely important position. Ivan Jaime was impactful from the moment he stepped into the field on the left winger side. He was dynamic and moved with ease around the tired Charlotte defenders and had them on their heels. Something that really surprised me about him was his physicality so early on in the MLS. Most European players will struggle with that phase of the game, hence why it takes a lot of them time to adapt to the league. Beyond that, he showed his ability to read the game and connected with his forwards to give them chances to score, including the third goal. He’s a fighter and an impressive profile that CF Montreal has landed and could be a major contributor for this team moving forward. He finished the game with 2 big chances created, 2 of 5 in successful dribbles, 2 of 6 in ground duels, and 3 key passes with a 90% accurate passes rating. Overall, it was a very productive night by all the substitutes, except for one. Bryce Duyke came in at 91st minute and had a very Bryce Duke game.
In conclusion, the red card helped CF Montreal win this game, but it wasn’t the only defining factor. They were down by one score when it happened and played away from home. The odds were still against them, but they continued battling and believing that they could come out on top, and they most certainly did. It wasn’t the prettiest full game, but Montreal rose up when they had the occasions, and Donadel did a good job managing the game, even if it got him suspended for the next game. I’m excited to watch the last two games. They’ll be very important, and I think people need to continue focusing on the progress more than the result.
Andy's Impact Zone 
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