Djordje Mihailovic had fun against his former team and CF Montreal lost 4-1 to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening in Commerce City.
After two successful years with the Bleu-blanc-noir, and a less successful stint in the Netherlands, Mihailovic was involved in several attacks for the Rapids (9-7-4), who signed a third victory in a row.
The 25-year-old American orchestrated both Calvin Harris and Rafael Navarro goals. He also hit the mark during a penalty at the end of the match.
CF Montreal (4-8-7) was not really in the game in the first half, but it proved much more incisive during the last 45 minutes. He reduced the gap with an own goal from Lalas Abubakar, but it was insufficient.
The Bleu-blanc-noir has not won in Colorado since October 10, 2015. During its last duel against the Rapids, on August 3, 2019, it lost 6-3.
Laurent Courtois’ squad saw its streak of five games without suffering a defeat come to an end. Despite the points amassed recently, she has only collected one victory in her last 12 matches.
The visitors were without the services of defender Joaquin Sosa, who was suspended for one match due to an accumulation of yellow cards. However, they welcomed the return to play of defender George Campbell and attacker Jules-Anthony Vilsaint.
CF Montreal will return to action next Saturday, while the Philadelphia Union will visit Saputo Stadium.
The damage was done
We cannot say that the Rapids side of the field was much damaged in the first half. Meanwhile, Mihailovic seemed to have an extra touch of motivation against some of his former teammates.
Mihailovic first tested the gloves of goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois in the fourth minute, but the Quebecer calmly captured the ball after a left-footed shot.
A dozen minutes later, the Rapids midfielder tried to surprise Sirois with a free kick, but the ball missed the target by a few feet despite a good attempt.
The home side had a good chance when Raheem Edwards committed a foul near the penalty area and they took advantage. Mihailovic found the head of Harris, who attempted it twice before opening the scoring.
CF Montreal made timid offensive breakthroughs and was shown how to do it before the end of the first half. Mihailovic slipped a superb ball into the path of Harris, who weaved between the defenders to beat Sirois with a low shot.
Courtois made two changes after returning from the locker room and the rhythm changed somewhat. Bryce Duke tried his luck at 53e minute, but goalkeeper Zack Steffen made the save. The ball, however, was picked up by Sunusi Ibrahim, who was fortunate when Abubakar deflected his pass towards Matias Coccaro in the back of the net.
The Rapids slowly regained their rhythm and applied a lot of pressure on their opponents, but Sirois saved the furniture. The goalkeeper stuck out his right hand to steal a goal from Andreas Maxso, in the 82nde minute, before stopping a shot from Omir Fernandez.
Sirois, however, was unable to do anything against a penalty from Mihailovic, which confirmed his team’s victory. Navarro put the finishing touches moments later.