Montreal's hatred of Toronto goes way back. Toronto's hatred of Montreal goes way back. It doesn't matter that the rivalry, in MLS terms, is only a few years old. What matters is that the two cities have a couple hundred years of shared history (and animosity), and that's the kind of fuel that makes the fires of a true rivalry burn.
We saw some of that come out on Sunday when Montreal topped Toronto 2-1 in what was, for my money, #DecisionDay's most entertaining affair. On Thursday night (7 pm ET, UniMás in the US, TSN1/4/5, RDS1 in Canada) they get to put on the sequel to kick off the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, Canadian-style.
Let's see what's up:
The Trends: Montreal are 7-2-2 in their last 11. That coincides with Didier Drogba's arrival, as well as the ascent of Mauro Biello to interim head coach.
TFC have been a team of streaks. Since the beginning of August, they've gone two losses, two wins, three losses, four wins and now two losses. Biggest worry? No road wins in almost four months. Even with a light road schedule in the second half of the season, that's got to cause some concern.
What Montreal Will Do: Feed the King
Drogba's been the league's best player since his arrival, and his greatest ability is his adaptability. Need someone to drop back and help in possession? Check. Need someone to get between the central defenders and go direct to goal? Check. Need someone to threaten on set pieces? Check. Need someone to roll around on the ground for a bit and waste some time? Big, fat check.
There's no one way to handle Drogba because he's bigger, smarter, stronger and more skillful than just about anybody else. Biello has proven his flexibility as well, as was shown on Sunday.
To wit: Montreal typically hold most of their possession down their own right-hand side, then like to switch diagonally to the left-central channel so that Ignacio Piatti can get the ball on the run. TFC prepped for that … only to see Montreal keep most of the ball on the left, and go directly at Reds' right back Jackson, who can struggle closing down service from the flank:
So, in the second half, Drogba got two goals off of crosses from the left flank. With those goals came home-field advantage and a legitimate shot at the team's firstplayoff win.
How to solve it: Tighter marking in the box
This is such an easy answer that it's almost dumb, but on both goals Drogba was given too much room by the TFC central defense of Ahmed Kantari and Josh Williams. If that's the duo again on Thursday, they have to stay tighter and do a better job of actually beating Drogba to any service that comes from the flanks.
There will be service, by the way, because TFC can't afford to have their fullbacks come out too aggressively to cut down crosses. Do that, and gaps will open up for the likes of Piatti, Dilly Duka, Dominic Oduro and Johan Venegas to shoot. That would be a disaster.
What Toronto Will Do: Long diagonals up the flanks
TFC don't particularly love to hit the long ball, but in Michael Bradley and Benoit Cheyrou they have two of the league's best at picking out searching passes from deep in the midfield. In Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, they have two forwards who are very comfortable operating in space on the flanks.
Guess what kind of service Montreal struggle to shut down?
| Team Name | Per Game | Long balls | Successful | Accuracy |
| Philadelphia Union | 68.1 | 2315 | 1253 | 54.1% |
| Montreal Impact | 59.6 | 2028 | 1067 | 52.6% |
| Toronto FC | 66.7 | 2267 | 1158 | 51.1% |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 65.8 | 2238 | 1120 | 50.0% |
| Columbus Crew SC | 66.1 | 2248 | 1116 | 49.6% |
| Orlando City | 60.6 | 2061 | 1023 | 49.6% |
| Real Salt Lake | 64.9 | 2207 | 1055 | 47.8% |
| Seattle Sounders | 61.4 | 2088 | 998 | 47.8% |
| New York City FC | 65.4 | 2222 | 1062 | 47.8% |
| Chicago Fire | 67.4 | 2292 | 1087 | 47.4% |
| D.C. United | 67.9 | 2309 | 1087 | 47.1% |
| FC Dallas | 65.3 | 2221 | 1039 | 46.8% |
| New York Red Bulls | 68.9 | 2342 | 1095 | 46.8% |
| New England Revolution | 65.2 | 2217 | 1032 | 46.5% |
| LA Galaxy | 64.9 | 2205 | 1026 | 46.5% |
| Houston Dynamo | 66.4 | 2258 | 1013 | 44.9% |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 67.4 | 2290 | 1020 | 44.5% |
| Colorado Rapids | 68.8 | 2339 | 1025 | 43.8% |
| Sporting Kansas City | 68.4 | 2327 | 1013 | 43.5% |
| Portland Timbers | 60.8 | 2067 | 867 | 41.9% |
The Impact don't allow you to hit a ton of long balls, but they sure do allow you to complete a high percentage. Watch for Giovinco especially to get into space behind Ambroise Oyongo when the Impact right back overlaps.
How to solve it: Fore-pressure from central midfield
Piatti and Nigel Reo-Coker will have to be committed to getting immediate pressure to Bradley and Cheyrou. This is dangerous because, in Reo-Coker's case, it means one less guy tracking back with Giovinco. But TFC are at their most dangerous when Bradley and Cheyrou are pulling the strings. You've got to disrupt those guys or you're in trouble.
What's it mean?
Montreal are in no way, shape or form a shutdown team at home, and TFC are probably right to feel unlucky after last weekend's result. They stand a very serious chance of walking in there and getting a win.
But I don't think they will.
