It was a beautiful day to play soccer on Saturday. A sunny warm day to start the month of October in Montreal. The fans showed up to cheer the team in the last game of the season at Stade Saputo. The environment was electric. The mood was one of optimism after CF Montreal had managed a nearly perfect victory the week before against Charlotte FC in North Carolina. Their opponents, Nashville SC, were coming off a midweek victory against Austin FC to win the US Open Cup. So, they must be hungover, right?
It certainly didn’t seem that way once both teams hit the field, and the ball started rolling. Yes, Montreal opened the score with a fantastic free kick by Dante Sealy, which seemed like a deja vu from his score the week before. However, once CF Montreal went up, everything else went down. Montreal seemed to completely change their approach to the game to a lower block and continued giving Nashville opportunities to score. Instead of being more aggressive in their home soil, they chose to play as if they were playing on the road and needed to protect their lead at all costs. They played scared. Acting head coach David Sauvry stated in his post-game press conference that his team lacked the energy from the get-go, which meant they had to alter their game plan. This, to me, means that they were underprepared for the game. I don’t know how the planning during the week leading up to the game went, but they certainly didn’t plan it to go this way right? Did Sauvry get the keys to completely handle the week, or was Marco Donadel heavily involved in the planning? Was the plan not clear? Did the players or the team take their foot off the pedal? Has CF Montreal given up on their season? There are more questions than answers after Saturday’s game because CF Montreal gave the fans so much to believe in during the last few games. The players showed a focus and will to play well and perform even if the end product wasn’t there. There was still a reason to believe in the team but truth be told, they showed up flat and left flat. The removal of Ivan Jaime, Prince Owusu, and Olger Escobar after the 60th minute mark meant they gave up on the game. This was not a change in strategy or bringing in impact subs to make a difference. They put bodies in to finish the game. This game, given the circumstances, is a great disappointment. Donadel and his players have said that these games should serve as an inspiration to look forward to 2026 and the project that this team is working on. Saturday was a step back. In many ways, the team showed what it has been showing since the start of the 2025 campaign. A fear of losing, a lack of impactful substitutions, and lack of quality from the starters, and ultimately a draw that feels like a loss. This team desperately needs another win for their last game of the season to give fans a reason to believe in what is to come and forget Saturday’s game. But before we forget, let’s dive into the match:
Overall, the team was beat in all phases of the game except goalkeeper saves, tackles, and free kicks. The stats show a very defensive game by Montreal, with Nashville having the most offensive opportunities to capitalize. I have to say that Montreal got very lucky that Nashville was off the mark a few times with Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge missing some golden opportunities in front of goal. CF Montreal’s midfield was wide open in a lot of instances where Nashville’s center backs freely moved up field, more specifically, Jack Maher moved all the way up to Montreal’s midfielders’ position with no one stopping his movement, therefore the left side was frequently over-loaded. One other thing that was evident for me was Montreal’s vulnerability in set-pieces. Nashville had a field day crossing the ball into the box, and Montreal didn’t seem to have a decent response to Nashville’s constant pressure. The defenders looked confused and were very susceptible to getting lost in the Nashville veteran’s tricks to get them out of place. Not all was bad, though. I know it’s hard to believe after everything I just said! But hear me out, the combination of Jaime and Escobar in the attack is something that could quickly transform into a very interesting one-two punch for this offense. We saw sparks of it throughout the game as they seemed to understand each other’s game and what the other wanted. Escobar is a very young and raw talent, but having a “veteran” like Jaime to guide him and mentor him in that 10 position could make the timing of both of their signings a steal for Montreal Just to finish up, I was also surprised at the lack of intensity or rush to create any scoring opportunities once Nashville tied up the game. Why didn’t Montreal throw everyone up front? Why not bring in a Tom Pearce to continuously cross the ball in? Why put in a profile like Sunusi Ibrahim or Aleksandre Guboglo? So many questionable decisions were made throughout the game. To be very fair, though, Sauvry did own up to it at the of the game, pointing out that the substitution decisions were his.
Let’s get right into it…
Attack
Let’s start from the top where we had, in my opinion, CF Montreal’s MVP this season, Prince Owusu. He was, once again, wearing the captain’s armband and was one of the only players for Montreal that came out strong and was committed to the team’s high press. However, once the team decided to go on a low block, it felt like they took him out of his game and struggled mightily to get the ball on his feet. The minutes before he was taken off, he showed much less energy to pressure the center backs, which is not what we’ve grown used to seeing from the Prince. I don’t know if he was dissatisfied by the style of play that Sauvry chose to go with, or Nashville had figured out his game and frustrated him. The game didn’t improve when he was subbed out. If anything, it got worse. Prince is a key player for this squad, and I don’t know if he realizes the impact that his energy has on his teammates around him throughout the game. He had 20 touches in the game and was 2 of 9 in duels with 7 possessions lost in 20 touches. I hope this was just an off game that we noticed for the Montreal striker.
On his left side, we had Ivan Jaime, who was getting his 3rd start of the season at Stade Saputo. Given the rest of the squad’s performance, his day stood out over the others. Let’s get this straight: offensively, Jaime is very talented. His offensive awareness is clearly at a different level than any other player that this club has had in the past few seasons. His transition game and creativity to use the pieces around his is next level and gives this offense a chance. He’s also managed to make those around him better and challenged them to follow his flow. His defense is still spotty and, at times, needed to be reminded where he had to be and was late for assignments. On Saturday, we weren’t able to see Jaime’s best game since the team prioritized defending their lead. If you’re going to give Jaime minutes, it needs to be done in the right circumstances. In 65 minutes, he had 21 touches with 1 shot on goal and went 1 for 2 in crosses with 5 lost possessions.
In the middle, we had Olger Escobar, who had his fourth start of the season. He continues to impress me with his quick thinking and one-touch passes, but once again, the defensive gameplan didn’t really allow him to display his full offensive potential. I still really like his high energy and intensity pressing the midfielders, and he really seems to embrace the element of surprise on both ends of the field. It’s the second game in a row that he uses his elusiveness to pick up a foul near the box, which led to the free kick that was Montreal’s only score of the day. Similar to Jaime, he had 20 touches and 11 pass attempts and 4 turnovers and went 4 for 6 in ground duels with 2 tackles. Again, it was not the best game to watch him play based on the scheme and instructions he was given but still gives a lot to look forward to.
On the right side, we had Dante Sealy playing the flank, and he continued his excellent form to end this season. Does Sealy’s recent form justify him being a starter in 2026 for CF Montreal or any other club? I don’t think so. I think he’s thrived under circumstances that took pressure off of him and allowed him to have more freedom in the wing. There are still big gaps in his game when it comes to being consistent and creating chances for others because for all 7 goals he’s scored since July, he’s only had 1 assist. I believe that the most important stat line of a winger is that of assist not necessarily scoring goals, but at times he seems a bit slow to read the game and the runs going on around him or chooses to shoot instead of quickly finding the open man. Against Nashville, he was limited to 21 touches and was a lot more involved in the offense, providing a few crosses with 1 big chance created, 1 key pass, and a near perfectly placed free kick goal. He still has 7 lost possessions and 2 fouls. To me, one of the more worrisome parts of Sealy’s game on Saturday was his defense, he was thoroughly beat on the left side giving little to no help to Bode Hidalgo who would often find himself overloaded with bodies. As much spark as he brings to the offensive side, his defense has become a liability, with some lazy defending down the stretch. As you may have noticed by now, Donadel’s scheme demands a huge defensive effort from his attackers, and I’m not sure Sealy fills that profile.
Midfield
Once again, when talking about the midfield it’s very hard to talk about Victor Loturi and Matty Longstaff separately since they both impacted each other’s game. However, in this game, I will say that Loturi was the one that was most involved in the different phases of the game. I found that in this more defensive game, Loturi and Longstaff did their jobs but didn’t do more to impact it in a positive way. I saw Longstaff be more vocal in his game and had a few decent connections with Escobar, Loturi also had some great forward passing to Owusu. Defensively, however, I will say this, I found Loturi struggled and had some questionable moments on defense. I noticed at some point he let Mukhtar get right through him and another time made a terrible decision on a clearance during a corner kick, which gave Nashville another chance at goal. Once again, they were asked to stay very low, which allowed Nashville to bring players higher up the field. Loturi had very little to no offensive impact but contributed heavily on defense with 4 clearance and 3 tackles. He also went 6 for 12 in duels. Longstaff was even less influential on the field even if he had as many touches as Loturi with only 4 clearances in defense and going 2 for 6 in duels. They were both involved heavily in short passes, but both ended with lower than 90% in passing rating. It was a very negative game for both midfielders, who will need to have a big bounce-back game against FC Cincinnati.
Defense and Goalkeeping
On the right side we had Bode Hidalgo who was assigned to defend Mukhtar, which is a tall task for anyone in this league. Hidalgo responded well to the assignment but obviously struggled with any kind of cohesiveness from those around him, including Sealy’s lazy defending. As a matter of fact, in the only Nashville score, I felt that Hidalgo gave too much space to Gaston Brugman, which allowed for an excellent cross to Sam Surridge. Despite that, I really like Hidalgo’s defensive game and his crossing ability. He’s displayed an advanced defensive awareness, and he seems to understand where he should place himself to block the lanes and stop the transition. He finished the day with 3 tackles and went 3 for 6 in duels. His offensive ability is the part of his game that worries me a bit because I haven’t really seen progress from game to game. I felt that he didn’t have much understanding of the offensive flow with Sealy, which saw the few offensive chances Montreal had sputtered every time. He had a 68% passing rating! I would like to see Hidalgo improve this phase of his game.
At center back, we had Jalen Neal on the right for his eleventh start of the season. Neal showed that he’s capable of being the solid centerback this team needs, and not necessarily because of his skills but because of his calm composure. This might not seem like a big deal, but given the kind of chaotic season that this team has endured this season, any player that can stay cool under different circumstances is a win. But Neal is still very young and will make tons of mistakes, as have so many young defenders. However, if he can find some continuity in his game next season, I believe he has the potential to make the jump to Europe sooner rather than later. Against Nashville, Neal showed a lot of good moments where he demonstrated excellent reads on defense and came up big in certain clutch moments towards the end of the game when Nashville was amping up the pressure on Montreal. In a very negative defensive game, Neal showed some potential to be able to help offensively even if he only went 3 for 8 in long passes. The real story for defenders comes in important moments when your team is protecting a lead. How calm and level-headed does the player stay during those moments? With the second highest number of touches with the team, he managed to build something off the back. His positioning in the second goal that was ruled offside is debatable, but reading those moments will come with gaining more experience. One remarkable moment was after Luca Petrasso and Brandan Craig made some errors, and Neal was suddenly faced with a 3 v 1, but he reacted really well to block the attack.
On the other side, we had Brandan Craig, who, in my opinion, is seeing his stock fall fast during the past few matches. He’s not a terrible player, but I don’t think he’s a starting caliber player for this club. I think he’s a rotational player, which, similar to Sealy, needs to perfect situation to perform at his best. I think Craig can be very good at a lot of things but is not necessarily great at anything in particular. He’s the kind of player that will need a veteran player to mentor him and guide him to not stall his development. He has the tools to succeed, but he needs to improve in reading situations and not fall for the tricks that veteran forwards will use to displace him. In Nashville’s only score, Craig was (just like last week) turned around by Surridge and misplaced, which allowed for Surridge to easily score on a header. He was Montreal’s player with the highest number of touches but didn’t really have much of an offensive impact. He ended the game, going 1 for 8 in long balls with 15 lost possessions and a 73% rating in successful passes. Defensively, he had a decent game going 4 of 5 in duels, had 5 clearances, 2 blocked shots, 1 interception, and 2 tackles. The team continues placing him as a set-piece specialist which I find odd and a terrible idea since it completely displaces him from the centerback position and exposes the team in the back, but the club might say it’s because they lack the proper profile of player to do the job.
On the left side, we had Luca Petrasso back in the starting role, which I found odd because I thought that Aleksandr Guboglo had proven last week that he deserves a second shot at the position. Petrasso played all 90 minutes and had a so-so game in the sense that we’ve seen better performances from him. But to be fair, he hasn’t been able to play with one single player in the winger position for an extended period of time that would permit him to build some sort of rapport. Petrasso has some very interesting qualities: he’s fast, can cross the ball really well, and can also read the defense well and position himself to block lanes. However, I find that with Petrasso it’s a little bit more about the details than the whole game. Something that I observed about his game against Nashville SC was his rapport with Jaime clearly needs work. I like his combination of defense he has with Hidalgo, and his long passing and quick touches have improved, and it’s noticeable, but there were also clear misunderstandings with Longstaff, which led to a lot of turnovers. As you know by now, Donadel’s scheme, that combination is crucial for any success. Defensively, he had 6 clearances, 1 blocked shot, and 2 tackles. Offensively, he was 74% in accurate passes and 3 of 4 in ground duels, but with 41 touches he had 11 possessions lost which goes to show his difficulty in creating a flow of attack from his side which was a big point of focus for CF Montreal on Saturday. Is Petrasso the best left back CF Montreal could deploy in 2026? Probably not, especially if Jaime is coming back and you want to give him the best chances to succeed. CF Montreal needs a more experienced left back that gives you more solid performances on a more consistent basis, and that gives Jaime very little to worry about defensively. Does CF Montreal need Petrasso? Absolutely. He’s an engine on the field and brings the element of surprise on the attack, but he should be considered a super-sub at this point of his career.
At goalie, we had the ever so passionate and out-spoken Thomas Gillier for his seventh start of the season bringing the same intensity we’ve seen from his first start. He reminds me of those old school keepers who have a kind of swagger about them that can intimidate attackers and a very raw-raw approach to their game. Personally, I love to see it. I like that he brings energy to his backline and seems focused from the moment the initial whistle blows until the final whistle. He’s an engine that never seems to take a play off and likes to keep his team alert at all times. His calm demeanor when pressured by the attackers is one that you tend to see more from veteran keepers, but the 21-year-old has showed tremendous poise under pressure coming up with 4 saves against Nashville, with 2 of them being in the box. His pre – and post-game game comments have riled up the fans, as was evident when they got on their feet as he was announced the Player of The Match. I think he needs at least half a season to really understand the league and his team. His long distribution was once again an issue as he went 2 for 14 in long balls. It wasn’t the most optimal match to show his best offensive talents, but his accuracy could have made a big difference. I like Gillier for the future, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing how he goes up the hierarchy next year to potentially become a co-captain for Montreal. I don’t think there’s any chance Jonathan Siroris starts the last game of the season.
The subs
Honestly, there’s nothing much to say about the subs because their performances came out flat and didn’t give the team the spark it needed. I feel this might have been Sunusi Ibrahim’s farewell game from Montreal, and he didn’t do much to convince me otherwise. Ibrahim is clearly a downgrade from Owusu up top and didn’t do much to create any attacking momentum. Fabian Herbers showed me (as he did last week) that he is the kind of player that will do his job well and his experience at reading the game and understanding his role is the kind of experience this team needs more of in the field, but Herbers isn’t the kind of player Montreal needed as a super sub on Saturday. Herbers is not the player to bring in for situations where you’re desperate to score or give a spark to the team. He should have started the game, worn down the defenders, and then you bring Sealy in. Guboglo was even less impacting on the left wing. With 25 minutes to play, he never really found his flow in the game and spent most of the game defending the left side. He was 1 for 3 in duels and had 1 interception with 8 touches. Again, this was a terribly planned and managed game by this club on Saturday, which included the subs.
In conclusion, CF Montreal failed to show up and take advantage of a hungover Nashville SC side and instead baited them to attack them. It was a bizarre strategy that left a lot of Montreal fans and media members wondering what they had just watched. Montreal really needs a win against FC Cincinnati on MLS Decision Day to end, what has been one the worst seasons in the club’s history, on a good note. CF Montreal needs to give the fans something to look forward to in 2026. If not, the off-season will be very long.
Andy's Impact Zone 
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