The New England Revolution look to remain unbeaten at home when they host the struggling CF Montreal on Saturday.
The Revolution (4-1-1, 13 points) are coming off a 1-1 draw against New York City FC in its most recent outing on April 1. With the tie, the club reached 13 points on the season in half the time required a season ago. In 2022, New England reached the mark in its 12th game.
The goal conceded to New York was the first the club has allowed on its home pitch in three contests.
While Montreal (1-4-0, 3 points) has endured a woeful start to the season, the Revolution knows they can’t take them lightly.
“Montreal’s always been a tough challenge for us so we know they’re going to come in looking to get all three points,” defender DeJuan Jones said. “(Last) weekend was obviously disappointing, but we’re going to learn from it.”
Midfielder Carles Gil scored the lone goal against New York on a shot from outside the box. Since 2021, five of Gil’s seven non-penalty shot goals have come from outside the box, for a success rate of 71.4 percent. It’s the highest percentage of any player with more than five non-penalty goals in that time.
On the other side of the pitch, it’s been a struggle all around for Montreal. The Canadian side has been outscored 12-3 in its five matches, with all three of its goals coming in one game — a 3-2 triumph against the Philadelphia Union on March 18 in Montreal’s only home game to date.
Montreal has lost four of its first five games for the first time since its first season in MLS in 2012, when it went 0-4-1.
Hernan Losada’s squad enters Saturday’s tilt after getting trounced 5-0 one week ago at the Vancouver Whitecaps. It’s the second-largest margin of defeat Montreal has endured behind a 7-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City in 2019.
The hits keep coming for the club with midfielder Samuel Piette out six to eight weeks due to a left leg injury. Piette, the team’s captain, was injured in the fifth minute against the Whitecaps.
“It is not a game to forget, it is a game to analyze,” Losada said after the loss to Vancouver. “Despite difficult conditions, we lose our captain after six minutes, we play with 10 after 20, that’s no excuse.”
–Field Level Media
