Toronto FC (7W-11L-3T, 24 points) dropped a 2-1 road result against Atlanta United FC (6W-8L-6T, 24 points) in dramatic fashion at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday evening.
First Half:
Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman made a pair of changes from last weekend’s side against New York Red Bulls with Sigurd Rosted and Alonso Coello making way for Raoul Petretta and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty.
After back-and-forth opening exchanges, the match sparked into life when a well-timed header from captain Lorenzo Insigne from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s clipped cross beat Brad Guzan in Atlanta’s goal in the 25th minute. Following a lengthy video review, the goal, however, was chalked off after Insigne was deemed to be in an offside position at the moment of Marshall-Rutty’s delivery into the box, denying the Italian his first headed goal for the Reds.
Moments before the two sides entered the break goalless, Thiago Almada scored the opener for the hosts after the Argentine midfielder played a neat give-and-go with Daniel Ríos and cooly slotted home in stoppage time for his sixth goal of the 2024 MLS campaign.
Second Half:
The Reds returned from the interval and wasted no time in finding the perfect response in front of 42,568 spectators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Lorenzo Insigne picked out the run of Federico Bernardeschi with a sweeping cross-field pass before Toronto’s leading scorer cut inside from the right wing and found the bottom-left corner in trademark fashion. The goal, scored after only 53 seconds of the second half, marked Bernardeschi’s eighth MLS goal and his 15th goal contribution of the 2024 campaign across all competitions.
With the hosts looking to re-take the lead, Luka Gavran in Toronto’s goal remained alert to make a series of important saves denying Derrick Williams and Xande Silva twice in the opening 17 minutes of the second half.
The visitors nearly took their first lead of the night but failed to convert three goalscoring chances in the 77th minute. First, Derrick Etienne Jr. rose to his feet after a challenge from Derrick Williams in Atlanta’s penalty area and saw his goal-bound effort denied by an instinctive kick save from Brad Guzan, before Ronald Hernández blocked Matty Longstaff’s goal-bound strike on the rebound. Bernardeschi then saw his curled effort fly just wide of Atlanta’s net keeping the scores level at one apiece heading into the closing stages.
With merely few seconds left before the referee’s full-time whistle, the 5-Stripes, however, found a late winner when substitute Jamal Thiaré snuck in behind goalkeeper Luka Gavran to steal the ball and find the net in the 98th minute, giving Atlanta the dramatic 2-1 result on the night.
Toronto FC return home to host Orlando City SC next up in MLS regular season action on Wednesday, July 3. Kickoff from BMO Field is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on TSN3/4 in Canada.
LINEUPS
ATLANTA UNITED FC – Brad Guzan (C); Noah Cobb, Stian Gregersen (Ronald Hernández 75’), Derrick Williams; Brooks Lennon, Ajani Fortune (Bartosz Slisz 58’), Tristan Muyumba, Caleb Wiley, Thiago Almada; Daniel Ríos (Jamal Thiaré 58’), Xande Silva (Tyler Wolff 90’)
Substitutes Not Used: Josh Cohen, Quentin Westberg, Efrain Morales, Dax McCarty, Luke Brennan
TORONTO FC – Luka Gavran; Nicksoen Gomis, Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta (Shane O’Neill 90’); Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Kosi Thompson 46’), Matty Longstaff, Deybi Flores, Derrick Etienne Jr.; Federico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne (C) (Kobe Franklin 76’), Prince Owusu (Sigurd Rosted 67’)
Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Aimé Mabika, Cassius Mailula, Markus Cimermancic, Deandre Kerr
MEDIA NOTES
- With tonight’s 46th minute goal, Federico Bernardeschi has now registered 13 goal contributions (eight goals, five assists) in the last nine MLS matches he has featured in since April 27, 2024.
- Lorenzo Insigne recorded his fifth assist of the 2024 MLS regular season.
POSTMATCH SOUND
- Link to the postmatch sound can be found here
