Toronto FC 2, Philadelphia Union 1 | 2020 MLS Regular Season Match Recap

Ayo Akinola leveled the match in the 58th minute, Alejandro Pozuelo put his team in front in the 76th and again Toronto FC used a second-half comeback to continue their pursuit of the Supporters' Shield with a 2-1 victory over fellow shield chasers Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Rentschler Field.

Akinola and Pozuelo each sit on seven goals for the season after a victory that put Toronto atop the Supporters' Shield standings, at least momentarily. Columbus Crew SC — whom Toronto defeated last week in their previous comeback — played later Saturday at FC Dallas after entering the weekend in first.

Pozuelo has scored in four consecutive matches, which may give TFC manager Greg Vanney some comfort on a night that he saw striker Jozy Altidore (hamstring) and midfielder Justin Morrow (calf) exit due to injury.

Sergio Santos opened the scoring in the fifth minute for Philadelphia, which saw its five-match unbeaten run snapped while the Reds extended their own such run to five games.

Goals

• 5' - PHI - Sergio Santos | WATCH
• 58' - TOR - Ayo Akinola | WATCH
• 76' - TOR - Alejandro Pozuelo | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: Strange as it sounds, Morrow may be the bigger injury loss for Toronto, depending on how long he and Altidore each have to miss time. Manager Greg Vanney has gotten used to having to earn results without Altidore over the years, with the forward averaging 22 appearances during his five previous MLS seasons due to various injuries and international absences. Akinola's emergence as a consistent scoring threat helps.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH:
You don't necessarily think of Pozuelo as someone who scores a lot of goals with his head, but his finish after
Chris Mavinga
's flick on was more difficult than it first looked, sneaking the ball between Andre Blake and the right post.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Alejandro Pozuelo. The Spaniard has been involved in more than half of Toronto's 26 goals so far this season, and is making his case for this year's Landon Donovan MVP award. His goal was the fitting capstone of yet another strong performance.

Up Next

• TOR: Wednesday, Oct. 7 at New England Revolution (7:30 pm ET | TSN 1/4 in Canada; MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US)
• PHI: Wednesday, Oct. 7 vs. FC Cincinnati (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)