TFC beat Union but lose Altidore to injury

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Ayo Akinola and Alejandro Pozuelo scored second-half goals to lift Toronto FC to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union in MLS play Saturday.

The winning goal came in the 76th minute after Chris Mavinga flicked on a header from a corner to an unmarked Pozuelo at the far post for his seventh of the season and fourth in as many games.

It marked the fourth game-winning goal of the season for Pozuelo, who was voted MLS player of the month in September. The Spanish playmaker, making a strong case for MVP honours, came into weekend play with a league-leading nine assists.

Toronto (9-2-4) extended its winning streak to three and unbeaten run to five (4-0-1) as it mounted its second comeback win in a week. TFC rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Columbus 3-1 last Sunday.

WATCH | Pozuelo , Mavinga combine for the win:

Chris Mavinga headed a corner kick to Alejandro Pozuelo whose head sent home Toronto’s game-winning goal in their 2-1 win over Philadelphia. 1:12

Saturday’s win may have come at a cost, however. Toronto lost both fullback Justin Morrow and striker Jozy Altidore to injury during the match.

Sergio Santos scored for Philadelphia (8-3-4), which saw its five-game unbeaten streak snapped.

The game, the second at TFC’s pandemic home of Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, was the first of five in 16 days for Toronto. Next up are New England, Cincinnati, the Red Bulls and Atlanta.

Quentin Westberg made a marvellous save in the 30th minute, flying through the air to push Dutch-born Cape Verde international Jamiro Monteiro’s long-range shot off the crossbar. He then stopped Kacper Przybylko on the rebound but the play was called offside.

WATCH | Westberg’s marvelous heroics: 

Toronto goalkeeper Quentin Westberg held Philadelphia Union’s lead to one in the first half on Saturday. 0:37

Morrow, who turns 33 Sunday, gave way to Gallacher in the 39th minute after going down. A trainer iced his right calf on the sidelines as the veteran fullback held his head in his hands. Altidore exited early in the 53rd minute after grabbing the back of his left thigh as he went for a ball.

Impact snap skid

Robert Beric and Francisco Calvo scored to help the Chicago Fire to a 2-2 draw with the Montreal Impact at Red Bull Arena.

Calvo scored an empty-netter to pull Chicago even at 2-2 in the 73rd minute. Alvaro Medran floated an entry that goalkeeper Clement Diop deflected to Calvo for a header inside the far post.

Chicago (4-7-4) is unbeaten in its last three games with two wins.

Beric rolled in a side-netter to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 15th. Djordje Mihailovic stepped in front of a pass by Diop and deflected it to Beric, who turned and fired from the right side of the box. He has scored in five consecutive games, tying David Accam’s franchise record set in 2017.

Lassi Lappalainen chipped into an open net to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute. Bojan Krkic ripped a right-footer from the corner of the area which Bobby Shuttleworth stopped, but Lappalainen put away the rebound.

Maximiliano Urruti redirected a blocked shot by Zachary Brault-Guillard into the net to give the Impact a 2-1 lead in the 67th.

WATCH | Impact, Fire split points:

Maximiliano Urruti’s goal in the 67th minute was matched by a Francisco Calvo header minutes later in Montreal and Chicago’s 2-2 tie. 2:02

Montreal (5-8-2) is winless, with four losses, in its last five games.

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