John Herdman insists that Toronto FC’s defeat to Orlando City must be a turning point in their MLS campaign ahead of facing in-form Columbus Crew this weekend.
Toronto had taken an early lead through Derrick Etienne but were compounded to a fifth straight defeat that leaves them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Nashville SC.
Head coach Herdman acknowledged his side’s poor recent form, and ensured conversations would be had with his players and staff to ensure they return to winning ways sooner, rather than later.
“This has to be a turning point for the club tonight,” Herdman said. “I said that to the players after the game, ‘It has to be the turning point.’
“There's going to be some hard conversations in the next two days starting with all of us looking at ourselves in the mirror for that 20-minute period.
“What happened there? And why is it happening? Why do we fall into that trap game after game after game?”
However, they will have to do so against a Columbus side in a rich vein of form having earned a third straight triumph with their 2-0 win over Nashville last time out.
The Crew currently occupy third place in the Eastern Conference and are one of three sides chasing runaway leaders FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami.
Head coach Wilfried Nancy commended his team’s recent displays and said he intends to do everything possible to keep that feel-good feeling in the camp before welcoming Toronto to the Lower.com Field.
“I'm going to talk about the present moment because it's a fact: They are really good,” Nancy said of his side.
“They are really good. We are going to try to do everything to help them to stay like this because
for me, it's a key point. It's a key point about the way we want to play.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
There is arguably no one better in the MLS right now than Cucho Hernandez as he kept up his impressive recent form for the Crew.
Since returning from injury, the Colombian has registered six goals and four assists in his last five matches, with his most recent coming in their 2-0 win over Nashville as he set up Christian Ramirez to open the scoring at the Lower.com Field.
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Federico Bernardeschi continues to be an attacking force for Toronto, and he will be needed on top form if his side are to halt their current five-game winless run.
The Italian has been involved in 14 goals in his last 10 MLS matches (eight goals, six assists), including an assist against Orlando City last time out.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus are expected to emerge victorious, with Nancy’s side winning 76.7% of Opta’s data-led simulations heading into the encounter.
The Crew have an impressive home record, losing one of their last 30 home matches in all competitions dating back to May 2023 (W20 D9). In that streak, 12 of those victories have been by a margin of two or more goals.
Columbus also boast an impressive record over their opponents and are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Toronto. Before this run, Columbus had won just two of their previous 14 meetings with Toronto dating back to 2016.
Toronto, however, will be out to cause an upset. Their current five-game losing run is the seventh losing streak of five or more matches since the start of the 2021 season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 76.7%
Draw – 13.9%
Toronto FC – 9.4%
Havertz out of Germany squad with knee injury
Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.
He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).
Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.
However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.
"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.
"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."
Liverpool edge Tottenham in thriller as injury-hit Everton hold Arsenal
Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Women's Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but Liverpool grabbed the standout result.
Liverpool edged Tottenham 3-2 thanks to Marie-Therese Hobinger's last-gasp penalty.
Having netted her first goal of the season in the 75th minute, Hobinger doubled up to win it for the Reds deep in stoppage time.
Ashleigh Neville fouled Sophie Roman Haug, and Hobinger made no mistake to seal Liverpool's first win of the season.
Neville had turned provider for Tottenham's second equaliser of the game at Gaughan Group Stadium, when she crossed for Clare Hunt to score in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool took the lead early on through Cornelia Kapocs, before Taylor Hinds' own goal handed Spurs a leveller.
The Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton, meanwhile, frustrated Arsenal by holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw.
Everton have been hit by serious knee injuries to Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli this season, but the Toffees showed plenty of resilience to pick up their first point of the campaign at Emirates Stadium.
Emily Fox went closest for Arsenal when she hit the post early in the first half, but in spite of having 21 shots, the Gunners accumulated only 0.74 expected goals (xG).
Annabel Blanchard, meanwhile, netted twice to propel Crystal Palace to their first victory of the season, as they beat Leicester City 2-0.
Earlier in the day, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
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