MLS Regular Season | Match #11
New England Revolution at Toronto FC
Saturday, May 6 | 7:30 p.m. ET
BMO Field | Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Watch: _MLS Season Pass_ on Apple TV
- English Talent: Matt Cullen (play-by-play), Kyndra de St. Aubin (analyst)
- Spanish Talent: Bruno Vain (play-by-play), Andres Agulla (analyst)
- French Talent: Kevin Laramee (play-by-play), Sebastien Le Toux (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
- English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
1st in Eastern Conference (6-1-3, 21 pts.)
Last Result | 1-1 draw vs. FC Cincinnati
Djordje Petrović made MLS history as the fastest goalkeeper to save five penalties (31 games, 14 attempts) and Ema Boateng scored in first-half stoppage time to help the Revs to a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati last weekend at Gillette Stadium. The result keeps New England on top of the Supporters’ Shield standings and stretches their current unbeaten run to seven games (4-0-3), while their defensive record of nine goals against in 10 games ties the best start in club history (2005 and 2013).
Now the Revs head north of the border to begin a road-heavy portion of their schedule, as they’ll play five of their next six league games away from home through May and early June. The Revs boast a 2-1-1 record through their first four road games, one of just six teams in MLS with multiple road wins.
Toronto FC
9th in Eastern Conference (2-2-6, 12 pts.)
Last Result | 1-0 win vs. New York City FC
Toronto have been one of the toughest teams to beat through the first 10 weeks of the MLS season, but they’ve also struggled to find wins, registering a record of 2-2-6 as the calendar flips to May. Their six draws are tied with the New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids for most in the league, with all six draws coming during a seven-game unbeaten run (1-0-6) from early March through mid-April.
One of TFC’s two wins did come in their most recent game, however, as they rode a debut goal from C.J. Sapong and a shutout effort from Sean Johnson to a 1-0 win over New York City FC at BMO Field, where they’re unbeaten (2-0-3) on the season.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution midfielder Ema Boateng
Left winger Ema Boateng has started back-to-back games for the first time since last August and the eight-year MLS veteran has made the most of his opportunities, setting up both goals in a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City before scoring the Revs’ lone goal in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.
Boateng, who re-signed with the Revs this preseason after initially having his 2023 contract option declined, could continue to play a key role for the Revs moving forward with fellow winger Dylan Borrero slated to miss the rest of the 2023 season with a serious knee injury suffered last Saturday against Cincinnati.
Toronto forward Federico Bernardeschi
Eyes will naturally be drawn to Lorenzo Insigne any time TFC take the field, but the 31-year-old attacker only recently returned to the lineup after being injured in the season opener on February 25 and missing almost two months. Fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi has been Toronto’s dangerman in his absence, bagging three goals and three assists while starting all 10 games.
Bernardeschi has scored at a pace of just about one goal every two games since arriving last summer, totaling 11 goals and six assists in 23 total appearances with Toronto.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
The left knee injury that forced Dylan Borrero off in the early stages of last weekend’s draw with FC Cincinnati has unfortunately been confirmed as major, and the 21-year-old winger was officially placed on the season-ending injury list on Thursday afternoon as he prepares to undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL.
“It’s a really difficult injury. We feel bad for him,” sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena said of Borrero, who had two goals and one assist in eight appearances before his season was cut short. “He was just starting to move forward as a player. Obviously, he’s very promising. We’ll get him back next year. I’m afraid he’s going to have to deal with rehab for the rest of 2023.”
Borrero joins Henry Kessler (hamstring surgery), Nacho Gil (right leg), Jacob Jackson (left ACL), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg) as “out” on the Revolution’s availability report, while forward Giacomo Vrioni (left leg) is listed as questionable after missing the draw with Cincinnati, though Arena said the 24-year-old striker trained on Thursday.
Gustavo Bou, DeJuan Jones, and Bobby Wood all returned from injury to feature in last weekend’s draw, while Jozy Altidore is also back in training after missing the last two games.
Toronto
TFC are dealing with several absences of their own, including veteran midfielders Michael Bradley (lower body), Jonathan Osorio (lower body), and Victor Vázquez (lower body), all listed as out for this weekend. Homegrown forward Jordan Perruzza (lower body), who has made a pair of appearances this season, is also out.
Cristián Gutiérrez (non-COVID illness) and Raoul Petretta (lower body) are both listed as questionable.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“Their two attacking players, [Lorenzo] Insigne and [Federico] Bernardeschi, are outstanding players. [C.J.] Sapong, they got in a trade, and he has really helped them. They got better in the goal with Sean Johnson there. They brought in Matt Hedges in the offseason on a trade. Their right back [Richie Laryea] is good. They have a couple injuries right now with [Michael] Bradley and [Jonathan] Osorio. But they have one of the best starting XIs in the league.”
New England Revolution midfielder Matt Polster
“You can see that guys have stepped up and come into the games and done really well. Ema [Boateng] in particular has done really well and come into the lineup and performed each game so far. He was probably our best player in the first half and maybe even the entire game against FC Cincinnati. You’ve got Noel [Buck] who has played a ton of minutes already and he’s consistently and continually performing. And I thought Esmir [Bajraktarević] did really well against Cincinnati. So, I think it’s going to take everybody, especially now dropping more players. We just need to focus and go now on the road and find ways to get points.”
