The Montreal Impact hosted Inter Miami CF in the very first match against one another Saturday night at Red Bull Arena. Goals from Bojan and Maxi Urruti saw the Impact grab an important 2-1 win that has major playoff implications.
Due to injuries and personal reasons, Saturday night's matchup was the battle of the backup goalkeepers between John McCarthy and James Pantemis and McCarthy was the first to concede with only six minutes into the game.
Bojan managed to free himself from Wil Trapp and Blaise Matuidi and found himself with tons of space down the middle. The former FC Barcelona man took a shot from distance which bounced in front of McCarthy and passed under him to give the Impact an early lead.
Miami equalized at the 33rd minute with Brek Shea's second goal in as many games. The 30-year-old took a shot from outside the box which deflected off of Zachary Brault-Guillard. Pantemis dove too early, got a hand on the shot but the ball reached the back of the net to level the score at 1-1.
After a flat second half the Impact found a go-ahead goal at the 80th minute thanks to Urruti. Romell Quioto sent a throughball for Bojan, who made a call for the ball and found himself inside the box. The Catalan made a short pass to his left for Urruti who tapped in his fifth goal of the season and the game-winning goal.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: With the win, the Impact hop over Nashville SC at the eighth position in the Eastern Conference standings. Miami, on the other hand, see a three-game unbeaten streak snapped and blow an opportunity to pass an East rival as the season heads down the final stretch.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: This one's clear. It's the game winner.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: With one goal and one assist, Bojan was skillful, driven and involved for the Impact. The Catalan gave his team the early lead and kept trying to create opportunities, which led to Urruti’s game-winning goal.
Next Up
- MTL: Saturday, October 24 at New York City FC (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; TSN5, TVA Sports in Canada)
- MIA: Saturday, October 24 vs Orlando City SC (3:30 pm ET | Univision, TUDN, Twitter (English) in US; MLS Live on DAZN in Canada)
