The city of Montréal was fortunate this evening that the winds from northwestern Ontario's wildfires blew further south, permitting the Toronto FC vs. CF Montréal match to proceed uninterrupted by the acrid smoke plaguing much of the northeastern continent. They were much luckier than the Vancouver Whitecaps, whose match in Chicago was postponed because of the smoke.
Surprisingly, this was the first meeting of the year in the Canadian Classique. The previous encounter between the two clubs at Stade Saputo last season ended in a 6-1 blowout victory for the Reds.
Montréal fielded a starting XI without either of their top scorers, Prince Owusu (yellow card accumulation) and Wiki Carmona (injury).
Notre XI partant pour ce 40e Classique canadien en @MLS ⚔️
— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) July 16, 2026
Our boys for the 40th Canadian Classic in MLS 😤#CFMTL @airtransat pic.twitter.com/nx6EfotVG4
Toronto's starting XI was also missing a couple of key midfielders, with captain Jonathan Osorio absent due to yellow card accumulation and Đorđe Mihailović in the squad but starting on the bench. New midfield acquisition Nelson Palacio was also unavailable, as Robin Fraser confirmed the previous day that his fitness levels were not yet up to par.
XI back in action ⚽️
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) July 16, 2026
Watch on @AppleTV 📺: https://t.co/PbyIxgQ86L
Also on TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/RK9OvhPQiq
Within the first minute, CF Montréal had the game's first scoring opportunity when Hennadiy Synchuk's close-range shot was saved by an alert Toronto FC goalkeeper, Luka Gavran.
Toronto again left Synchuk open on the right side of the box in the 10th minute, but this time his shot flashed wide of Gavran's right post, much to the relief of the Reds' keeper.
The game looked as though it might become feisty in true derby fashion when the two No. 22s went shoulder to shoulder, but Richie Laryea shrugged off Victor Loturi's challenge. After that clash, however, even that aspect of the game never really sustained itself for the remainder of the match.
Richie said no new friends 🚫 pic.twitter.com/OZg7kxnelN
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) July 17, 2026
Through 30 minutes, it was apparent in spades that both teams had considerable rust to shake off after a nearly seven-week MLS layoff for the World Cup break. If there was any advantage to be had, it largely belonged to the hosts, who were on the front foot, with TFC pinned back in their own half. However, Montréal were wasteful with their final product.
TFC had their first promising opportunity in the 42nd minute when a delicious left-footed cross from Theo Corbeanu, just inside the box on the right flank, narrowly failed to meet the well-defended Josh Sargent.
Moments later, another TFC attack sputtered out when a poorly placed pass inside the Montréal area skipped ambitiously past Sargent and out of play.
It was a cagey first half, with quality lacking from both sides, particularly in the final third. Montréal were the more creative side, but the absence of top scorers Owusu and Carmona was evident.
Toronto appeared to lose the battle in the centre of the pitch without Osorio and with Mihailović on the bench. Josh Sargent was largely starved of service, while the left side of the pitch, with Dániel Sallói and Derrick Etienne Jr., was largely rendered invisible.
Surprisingly, neither manager sought changes at halftime, with both Robin Fraser and Philippe Eullaffroy content to begin the second period with the status quo intact.
It was Montréal who first turned to their bench in the 59th minute. Loturi made way, along with the surprising withdrawal of an effective Samuel Piette. Coming into the match were Fabian Herbers and new summer signing Danny Pereira from Austin FC.
Toronto made two changes of their own just two minutes later, as Corbeanu and Kobe Franklin gave way to Jules-Anthony Vilsaint, making his 50th career MLS appearance, and Malik Henry. The changes appeared to mark a subtle shift in shape from a 3-4-2-1 to a 3-4-1-2, with Vilsaint slotting into the hole behind Sargent and Etienne Jr.
The first yellow card of the match went to Montréal in the 64th minute as Pereira cynically brought down a streaking Sargent on the counter through the centre of the pitch.
In the 65th minute, Synchuk stung Gavran's palms from close range. Remarkably, it was only the second shot on target of the match and the first since Synchuk's first-minute effort.
The long-awaited return to the pitch for TFC talisman Đorđe Mihailović came in the 74th minute, greeted by a smattering of boos from the stands of his former club as Etienne Jr. made way. To be sure, the boos were more obligatory than hostile.
Montréal responded just minutes later, with striker Owen Graham-Roache replacing an ineffective Daniel Ríos to lead the CF Montréal attack for the remainder of the match.
But neither move sparked its respective club. Mihailović added a touch more creativity to TFC's attack, but with Sallói and Sargent also showing signs of their long layoff, nothing of consequence clicked between them.
Post-match, Robin Fraser remarked on Mihailović's appearance: "We're reintegrating him, and we just need to build his minutes as he is now pretty healthy. I mean, he had a long layoff with the injury, and we're just excited that he's back and we can start to include him again and just build his minutes. But still hugely important to get him involved."
Montréal started the match brightly in the opening 10 minutes but gradually faded as the game wore on. The dour affair ended in a scoreless draw, with Toronto failing to register a single shot on target.
The teams shared possession evenly at 50 percent apiece, and both registered xG totals below 1. Unsurprisingly, neither side generated a clear scoring chance on the night.
For Toronto, it is now eight straight MLS matches without a win, while Montréal's league winless streak has stretched to four games. Both sides remain tied on 15 points and sit outside a playoff spot in the increasingly competitive Eastern Conference.
Robin Fraser commented post-match about Toronto's performance, saying they were "resilient. I don't think we played particularly well. I think both teams looked like they hadn't played in two months. But I thought that the commitment was excellent. We had to defend a lot."
Fraser further added that it "was kind of a messy game. No real rhythm I felt either way."
Next up for Montréal is a visit to Nashville in another midweek clash on July 22, while Toronto head to New England to face the Revolution on the same evening.
