Tajon Buchanan found the scoresheet for the first time in 2026, while Bim Pepple stayed red-hot and Richie Laryea helped Toronto FC earn its first victory of the MLS season. Here’s a look at Canadians in action over the weekend.
Tajon Buchanan, Villarreal
After getting routed last week by Barcelona, Marcelino’s Villarreal got back on track on Sunday. The Yellow Submarine hosted Elche at home and reasserted their top-four credentials. Brampton, Ont.’s Tajon Buchanan helped ensure his side kept pace with Atletico, who were 3-2 winners over Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Relegation-threatened Elche was just what the doctor ordered for Villarreal following a 4-1 mauling by Barca at Camp Nou last weekend on a Lamine Yamal hat-trick. But Elche is treating every match like a final going forward to ensure they stay above the drop as the league campaign heads into the stretch drive. Still, there was not much that could be done about Buchanan’s strike just after the half-hour mark.
Elche probably should have been ahead by the time Buchanan opened the scoring. In the 19th, Aleix Febas forced a turnover deep into the Villarreal half, allowing Rafa Mir to spring Alvaro Rodriguez between the Yellow Submarine central defence. But he was wasteful and skied the ball well over the bar, spurning the first great chance of the match.
Only minutes after a sensational solo effort by Georges Mikautadze went for naught, Villarreal was ahead through Buchanan. Pape Gueye played a fine ball out wide to the right for the former Inter man. Dancing around German Valera into the area, Buchanan rifled a right-footed effort from a sharp angle into the roof of the Elche net, leaving Matias Dituro with no chance whatsoever. The goal was Buchanan’s sixth on the season and his first since Dec. 6.
Santiago Mourino added a second for the hosts just before the half to make it 2-0 and the lead proved to be insurmountable. Andre Silva scored a consolation goal for Elche in the 81st as the match finished 2-1. Villarreal stayed level on points with Atleti on 54, but more importantly, the Yellow Submarine stretched its lead over fifth-place Betis to nine points for the final guaranteed Champions League place. Betis were 2-0 losers to Getafe earlier on Sunday.
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Bim Pepple, Plymouth Argyle
The most in-form Canadian goal scorer right now is playing in League One. The red-hot Bim Pepple scored again on Saturday in a 2-1 Plymouth Argyle victory over Doncaster Rovers, making it four wins in five for Tom Cleverley’s side. The question is, is this run of form coming too late for the Pilgrims to put themselves in the playoff conversation?
Rovers headed into the match on the fringes of the relegation scrap. While four points clear of the drop and with three teams between them and the relegation zone, accruing as many points as possible is still the name of the game to ensure League One membership for next season. It was the visitors who would get on the board first thanks to an absolute screamer.
With Doncaster probing for an opener, Argyle cleared the ball, but only as far as Owen Bailey in the middle of the area. He floated a ball towards the far post that was headed by Jack MacKenzie. Watching the clearance and backing up to get under it, Elliot Lee ripped a sensational one-time volley inside the far post to make it 1-0 in the 22nd. It was a highlight-reel effort from the former Wrexham and West Ham midfielder.
Doncaster held their lead for almost all of the remainder of the half, but they couldn’t take it into the break. In the third minute of first-half stoppage, Pepple pulled the hosts even. With Rovers under siege into injury time, a headed clearance came to the corner flag where it was gathered by Wes Harding. He swung in a cross for Caleb Watts, whose header was poked over the line by Pepple to make it 1-1. Doncaster players looked around for an offside flag to spare their blushes, but there wasn’t one to come.
The goal was Pepple’s 10th on the season, making him the second Pilgrims player in double-digits this year. Swiss forward Lorent Tolaj leads the team with 12. The goal was also Pepple’s fifth in his past five games.
The three points put Argyle on 49 with 11 matches to play. When the team lost six of seven matches in the fall, it appeared a relegation battle would be in the cards, but the Pilgrims are now 14 points clear. The question is now if they can make a push for the playoffs. They trail sixth-place Huddersfield by six points and have three teams in between them and the final spot. Can it be done? Sure, but it won’t be easy.
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Richie Laryea, Toronto FC
Richie Laryea’s value to Canada manager Jesse Marsch has never been in question. The 31-year-old Toronto native is a bit of Swiss Army Knife. TSN’s Steven Caldwell has Laryea pencilled in as Canada’s starting left-back for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, but the Akron product is just as comfortable playing on the right, playing up as a winger or even as an attacking midfielder. He’s incredibly versatile. He’s also a gamer and has an innate ability to get under an opponent’s skin and bait them into taking a dumb foul.
But that’s not the only reason why Laryea is such a key part of Marsch’s Canada squad - he’s also healthy. With the injury on Saturday to Fulham’s Luc de Fougerolles, currently on loan at Belgian side Dender, that is now six Canada defenders currently out of action. De Fougerolles joins Alphonso Davies, Moïse Bombito, Alfie Jones, Derek Cornelius and Alistair Johnston on the sidelines. While all should still be available for the World Cup, they’re missing out on opportunities to both keep up their fitness and play at a high level. In any event, none of this is good news for Marsch and Canada.
But back to Laryea. On Sunday night in Ohio, he put his offensive prowess on display as Toronto FC picked up its first victory of the new Major League Soccer season. While TFC manager Robin Fraser still hasn’t had a full complement at his disposal (record signing Josh Sargent has yet to feature) and early growing pains were expected, the team’s efforts in a 3-2 opening match loss to FC Dallas and a 3-0 shellacking at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps didn’t exactly inspire confidence. That’s why Sunday night’s win was a welcome change. The team played well enough to earn three points and Laryea was key to the 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati with a fine assist.
The lone goal of the game came in the 86th minute. After a period of the Reds pressing, Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celetano sent a goal kick into the Toronto half for Kevin Denkey, but it was gobbled up by Laryea. Laryea turned around, came down the touchline, circled Denkey and ran back downfield. Spotting a high line, Laryea sent a beautifully weighted through ball down the left for Daniel Salloi. The Hungary winger raced into the box on an angle and beat Celetano with his right foot to make it 1-0 and earn a victory for the visitors.
