This weekend, Acosta had one goal and two assists to reach 152 goal involvements throughout his MLS career and pass my colleague Bradley Wright-Philips for 14th all-time. Acosta has now scored or assisted in eight straight matches!
The 2023 MLS MVP is in the zone and cooking, as are FCC. Miles Robinson has been so solid at the back and this team looks poised for another run at the Supporters’ Shield.
The best image of the weekend had to be Mounsef Bakrar celebrating his game-winning goal (and first goal of the season) with a massive hug for head coach Nick Cushing. Most strikers would be angry not to start in the biggest game of the season, but Bakrar had a good mentality and came off the bench to make the difference.
Cushing deserves a lot of credit for the wonderful turnaround, as NYCFC have now won three in a row and six of their last seven. Besides Cincinnati and Inter Miami, they are now the most in-form team in the Eastern Conference.
Montréal lost both matches this week and it was capped off with being demolished 5-1 by Toronto in the Canadian Classique. Four straight losses for this club and 15 goals conceded in those last four – that’s not good enough.
But the way Montréal started the match against Toronto really has to be analyzed. Down 3-0 after 19 minutes was embarrassing. Toronto were ready for a derby match and Montréal were still sleeping. It looked like one team was ready for a fight and Montréal were playing in the park with their friends.
There has to be more desire and concentration in a derby match. Head coach Laurent Courtois must prepare his team to change their mentality next time out.
