Wilfried Nancy says the Columbus Crew will use their next three road games in MLS to prepare for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, starting with Wednesday's trip to CF Montreal.
MLS Cup holders Columbus will face Mexican side Pachuca in the Champions Cup final on June 1, having seen off Monterrey in the semi-finals earlier this month.
Before then, they face visits to Nancy's former employers Montreal, as well as the Chicago Fire and Orlando, in MLS. Last Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to FC Cincinnati left the Crew eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Asked about the challenges presented by their road stretch, Nancy said: "It's exciting. We'll play many games, we'll face different kinds of teams.
"We want to challenge ourselves. We want to get better and find ways to have good performances. We have this spirit.
"This is the spirit of my team, the spirit of wanting to do well. We'll play Montreal, then Chicago and Orlando, then we play the final. Three games to prepare the final. This is the way we see it."
Montreal are just three points behind Columbus, having seen a 2-0 lead evaporate in their 3-2 defeat to Inter Miami last time out.
Despite the loss, midfielder Bryce Duke was encouraged by the way Montreal kept Lionel Messi quiet, saying: "We need to keep going in this direction and get results.
"It's going to be a tough month ahead. It will be important to recover and be ready for Wednesday.
"It's a great achievement to contain Messi, now the aim will be to keep the lead next time and play the full 90 minutes."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Jules-Anthony Vilsaint
Vilsaint recorded a goal and an assist against Miami, his second MLS game with one of each, with the other coming versus Columbus last September.
The only Canadian with more such games than Vilsaint for Montreal in MLS is Patrice Bernier, with five.
Columbus Crew – Max Arfsten
Arfsten scored what proved to be a late consolation off the bench against Cincinnati, his third career goal as a substitute in MLS (including playoffs).
Only three players have more goals off the bench in MLS play since the beginning of last season – Duncan McGuire with six, Josef Martinez with five and Tyler Wolff with four.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Columbus are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Montreal, including a scoreless draw when the sides met in April.
The Crew's longest ever unbeaten run against Montreal is five matches, their last streak of that length being recorded between 2016 and 2018.
They had their nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions snapped by Cincinnati last time out, though seven of those matches had finished level. Montreal tend to be solid at home, so another draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 36.8%
Columbus Crew – 34.7%
Draw – 28.5%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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