CF Montreal wanted to recover from an embarrassing setback abroad, but suffered another seven days later.
The New England Revolution showed why they were among the contenders in the Eastern Conference and easily shut out the Montreal club 4-0 on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Rarely threatened during the game, the Revolution (5-1-1) did not need to play 10 like the Vancouver Whitecaps a week ago to manhandle the Bleu-blanc-noir and exploit its defense.
The Bruce Arena squad dominated possession (58 percent to 42) and dictated the pace in the first half before slowing down in the second half.
She also had the best in shots on goal (19 against nine), shots on target (nine against three) and duels won (54 against 38), among others.
Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil, from a penalty, Bobby Wood and Giacomo Vrioni moved the ropes for the Revolution, which have not lost in four home games this season (3-0-1).
Defeated 5-0 in British Columbia, CF Montreal (1-5-0) suffered a fifth loss in as many road games this season. Worse still, he still hasn’t found the back of the net on opposing courts.
The Montrealers, who swept the season series against the Revolution in 2022, have only three points in six games since the start of the campaign. This is the worst harvest at this point in the season since 2014 (0-3-3).
Hernan Losada’s men may find a little positive in their comeback at Stade Saputo next Saturday, when they host DC United.
Despite the loss, Quebec’s Mathieu Choinière set a team record for the most games played in MLS (80) and for the most starts obtained in the season (50) by an Academy-trained player.
Midfielder Ilias Iliadis also took advantage of the encounter to make his first career start in MLS.
The usual suspects
Revolution veterans Gustavo Bou and Carles Gil have often caused trouble for the Montreal team since their arrival in MLS in 2019. They were again at the heart of the setbacks in the first half.
From the first minute, CF Montreal gave themselves a chance in the penalty area, but Romell Quioto was slow to take his shot and the ball was blocked defensively.
After a few offensive threats, the results finally came for the Revolution. On a 21st-minute corner kick, Bou handed the ball to Borrero, who curled a magnificent shot into the top corner and past goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The Bleu-blanc-noir believed they had limited the damage before returning to the locker room, but a lack of cohesion between Choinière and Victor Wanyama put the defense on their heels. Wood fired a shot that hit Gabriele Corbo’s hand in the penalty area and the referee immediately awarded a penalty. Calmly, Gil doubled his team’s lead by sending the ball into the center of the net.
Exploited against the Whitecaps, the defense once again paid the price for its errors, from the 50th minute. Joel Waterman mistimed his jump to head the ball and Wood collected the object. The striker broke away from Kamal Miller and cheated Sirois’ vigilance with a low shot.
The Revolution opted to fall back a little, allowing the visitors to approach Dorde Petrovic’s net, but without success.
Vrioni put the final nail in the coffin in the 86th minute, when he was able to maneuver as he pleased in enemy territory, despite being surrounded by four CF Montreal players, and he beat Sirois to his right.