MONTREAL - CF Montreal saw a 2-0 first-half lead evaporate as the squad was forced to settle for a 2-2 Major League Soccer draw against Los Angeles FC Saturday night at Stade Saputo.
Montreal (1-9-5) is winless in its last four matches and has yet to win a game in front of its home fans in seven attempts this season.
LAFC (6-4-5), meanwhile, ran its unbeaten streak to eight games, with the team's last loss coming on April 9 against Inter Miami.
Montreal entered the match on the heels of a 6-1 shellacking suffered at the hands of rival Toronto FC last Saturday and a 1-0 defeat in Hamilton to Forge FC of the inferior 好色tv Premier League in the 好色tv Championship on Tuesday.
鈥淐oming into this game, we were expecting a big challenge, which we got, but I think we dealt with it well,鈥 said Montreal defender Jalen Neal. 鈥淚 think we came out on fire and LAFC wasn鈥檛 expecting that, especially because of our prior results.
"Once again, we showed the level that we can actually play at. I don鈥檛 think the negative results last week really showed who we are as a team.鈥
Montreal started strong, scoring in the fifth minute.
Prince Owusu鈥檚 shot was initially blocked by Los Angeles defender Eddie Segura. However, the ball found its way to fellow forward Giacomo Vrioni. The Italian then outmuscled LA鈥檚 Sergi Palencia before depositing his shot to the right of an outstretched Hugo Lloris for his third goal of the season.
Owusu would regain the team scoring lead in the 22nd minute. The German international was awarded a penalty after LAFC鈥檚 Denis Bouanga took down Montreal defender Dawid Bugaj in the box. Owusu made no mistake, using a quick stutter-step fake to elude Lloris before burying his shot to the goalkeeper鈥檚 left.
鈥淚n the first half, we returned back to our mentality of being aggressive, to not let the other team breathe or play how they want to,鈥 said CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois. 鈥淚 think we saw that and that鈥檚 why we were able to go ahead 2-0. We dominated a large portion of that first half.鈥
It was Montreal鈥檚 first two-goal lead all season. However, it didn't last.
Midfielder Mark Delgado got Los Angeles on the board in the 38th minute off a pass from forward Nathan Ordaz.
The Western Conference club also had the better of the chances in the second half of the game, ultimately resulting in the game-tying goal off the boot of French substitute Olivier Giroud in the 77th minute. It was only Giroud鈥檚 second goal with Los Angeles since the 38-year-old joined the team as a designated player last May.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough process with young players and a new team,鈥 said CF Montreal interim head coach Marco Donadel. 鈥淲e have to work during the week and try new things. When you play a team as good as LAFC, it鈥檚 a positive experience. The frustration is there for right now because we showed on the field that our level could match theirs, but only for 60 minutes.鈥
Donadel pointed to fatigue as a reason behind his team鈥檚 inability to close out the game in the second half as Montreal was playing its fifth match in 15 days.
鈥淲e showed we can play against anybody and this is an amazing feeling,鈥 said Donadel. 鈥淵es, we conceded some chances, but we also had some chances. It was a very balanced game. We just didn鈥檛 have the energy to play like we want to play.鈥
Neal echoed his coach鈥檚 sentiments.
鈥淔irst half, we were dominating and then in the second half, we kind of dropped back a little bit,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think we were getting maybe a little fatigued from the way we like to press, the man-on-man style.
"We also changed the way we press a little bit, so maybe confusion got mixed in with that. All in all, I think we still had a great performance today and it鈥檚 something to feed off of.鈥
With the draw, Montreal remains at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference standings with just eight points accumulated out of a possible 45 to date.
Nevertheless, with the midway point of the team's season quickly approaching, Donadel remains optimistic his side can use the first-half effort against LAFC as a building block for the remainder of their season.
鈥淚 hope, in the future, this team can show what we showed in the first 35 to 40 minutes and in the first 10 minutes of the second half,鈥 said Donadel. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be happy because we tied at home against LAFC.鈥
UP NEXT
Montreal: Visit Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF on Wednesday.
Los Angeles FC: Host Mexican side Club America on Saturday in a one-game play-in match to qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
This report by 好色tvwas first published May 24, 2025.
