MONTREAL —
CF Montreal got off to a perfect start under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy on Saturday afternoon, securing a dominant 4-1 victory over Red Bull New York at Stade Saputo.
Victor Loturi, Prince Owusu, Matty Longstaff and Mahala Opoku scored as Montreal (2-6-0) earned its second home win in 13 games.
Eullaffroy, who took over after the dismissal of Marco Donadel, showed a commitment to playing with openness and freedom on the pitch. It was achieved with a minor change in formation, more leeway for players to try new things, and a fundamental shift in how his side played without the ball.
“We must be bold on the pitch ... it’s freedom, it’s initiative," he said. "We’re never going to say that we’re taking risks because risk is something negative, so we take initiative and if something is wrong, (we) are here to help you out.
“The collective expression is greater than any individual’s (expression). The collective helps players overcome and the one that replaces him knows exactly what to do.”
While an assertive high press was still employed by the attackers and part of the midfield, Eullaffroy did away with the man-to-man coverage that caused Montreal so many headaches.
He replaced it with a simpler zone system that yielded the same aggressive results without exposing the back line to being exposed by a single well-timed pass.
Much like their first meeting last month, Montreal’s aggressive pressure caused problems for New York (3-3-2) right from kickoff. The home side frequently won the ball high up the pitch and found itself in excellent scoring position, capitalizing and striking first after just five minutes.
After pressuring the ball off Emil Forsberg, Loturi was given an uncontested shot from just outside the penalty area and made no mistake.
After finally growing into the game, New York began to control more of the ball and forced Montreal to retreat. The inclusion of three defensive-minded midfielders in the starting lineup helped handle the increased defensive responsibility but forced Montreal to rely more on the counterattack.
“I’m not at all a defensive coach," said Eullaffroy. "I would much rather win 5-4 than 1-0, but what made the difference was our defensive solidarity. I thought the block was a bit too low, it’s not what we had initially planned.
“Freedom is also that we don’t really care who is doing what as long as the structure is respected.”
The counter would end up paying off greatly, helping Montreal double its lead five minutes before halftime.
After finding space down the right flank, Dawid Bugaj’s cross was blocked by the hand of Dylan Nealis and the home side was awarded a spot kick that Owusu converted into the bottom right corner.
Montreal needed only three minutes to open the scoring in the second half. After settling into a low block right away, Owusu was able to find space and squared the ball to Longstaff to extend the lead.
“We knew that Red Bull’s playstyle is to press high and relentlessly so we knew that if we found a second line in behind or outside of their pressing zone, we would get a lot of space,” said Owusu. “Let’s enjoy the moment, but next week is a new challenge and we want to feel the same feeling after that game.”
Just as quickly as the British midfielder added to Montreal’s tally, a freak deflection off his shin led to an own goal and pulled one back for Red Bull.
New York continued to press forward and commit numbers to the attack but could not find a way through a resolute defensive block.
Despite having 68 per cent of the ball possession, New York could only muster a single shot on goal.
With 15 minutes left, Montreal restored its three-goal lead through yet another counter as Opoku scored his first goal since Aug. 31, 2024, to put the game out of reach.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
