Wilfried Nancy has insisted that his full focus remains with Columbus Crew amid links to the vacant United States managerial position ahead of their meeting with Atlanta United this weekend.
The Crew extended their unbeaten run to six matches in the MLS following their 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC in midweek as they aim to keep pace with the top two in the Eastern Conference.
Nancy’s side sit third in the standings, five points behind FC Cincinnati following their defeat to Chicago Fire last time out, with Inter Miami now at the summit of the table.
Despite their recent form, Nancy is hungry for more success with Columbus, going on to rubbish the rumours linking him with a move to the international stage following Gregg Berhalter’s dismissal last week.
"I don't talk about rumours, simple as that,” Nancy said.
“Like I said, I am limitless. I want to be limitless, so the idea is to push myself, to challenge myself, but at the moment I'm here. I'm happy here. We'll see in the future."
“I’m really happy because the task that we had was very difficult, knowing the context, knowing the situations.
"But my players found a way to be ourselves and to play the way we wanted to play and to play really good sequences, but also to be disgusting to play against."
Meanwhile, Atlanta halted their three-game pointless run in the league with a draw against New York City FC, despite squandering their two-goal advantage in the second half.
The Five Stripes sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference table and are among a cluster of teams tightly packed at the wrong end of the division.
Interim head coach Rob Valentino is looking for a much-improved performance from his players, picking out his side’s individual errors that have cost them in recent weeks.
"We were under some pressure, and we tried to make adjustments at half-time about being better and just more brave," said Valentino.
"There were individual errors. So, it is about eliminating those moments."
"We were braver, more direct and playing in there. The goal came right away. The big thing is that we have to find out why we dropped off."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atlanta United – Daniel Rios
While the Five Stripes may have forgotten how to win in the MLS, Daniel Rios has had no such trouble in finding the back of the net, scoring his third goal in his last four matches.
Rios’ strike against NYCFC was clocked at just 21 seconds, the fastest goal in Atlanta’s history, and they will be hoping for another quick start at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Cucho Hernandez continues to be the attacking spark for the Crew, with his strike against Charlotte FC his 13th of the season, scoring in each of his last three appearances.
Hernandez's goals saw him become the first player in the club's history to record 60 goal contributions over a three-year span, notching 38 goals and 22 assists in that time.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus come into the contest as the hot favourites following their impressive recent run, with their draw against Charlotte meaning they are undefeated in their last six games in the MLS. Their last longer unbeaten streak was from 13th November 2023 to 16th March 2024, a run of eight games.
Hernandez's strike for the Crew was also the 12th consecutive time they have found the back of the net, scoring 34 times during that run.
Atlanta have failed to win in their last two games against Columbus Crew, but their last triumph against them came back in November 2023, last losing at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Crew in May 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Atlanta United – 23.7%
Draw – 22.6%
Columbus Crew – 53.7%
CF Montreal v Toronto FC: Herdman promises changes for Canadian 'six-pointer'
John Herdman has pledged to work on Toronto FC's shortcomings ahead of Saturday's derby versus CF Montreal, which he has described as a "six-pointer".
Toronto ended a miserable 10-game winless run by beating the Philadelphia Union 2-1 last weekend but were then brought crashing back to earth in midweek.
An Inter Miami team without Lionel Messi or Sergio Busquets, and with Luis Suarez limited to a substitute role, beat the Reds 3-1 to leave them eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's trip to Quebec, Herdman said getting on the right side of the fine margins must be their focus, saying: "We'll fix some things.
"We'll fix our set-pieces and move forward. We've got to look, mentally, at how we stay stronger, collectively, tactically how we adjust to manage these tougher periods.
"We will own this together and next task is on to Montreal. We've got two days to get ready for Montreal. Massive game. Six-pointer. We'll get after it.
Winger Derrick Etienne Jr., meanwhile, thinks the match comes at an ideal time.
"It comes at the right time," he said. "We want to get back to winning ways and I don't think there is any better way than getting a win in the derby."
Montreal are level on points with Toronto but are on the rise after a 1-0 win over Atlanta United and Wednesday's 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls, coming from behind twice in the latter game.
Mathieu Choiniere put through his own net in midweek but has impressed this season amid speculation he could leave the club, and boss Laurent Courtois has moved to highlight his contribution.
"He wants to give everything for his club, and I need Mathieu, not only for his versatility but also for the mentality and identity we want to have here," Courtois said.
"Now the player wants to get something to feel more valued, and at the end of the day we're all the same right? You just want to be valued for what you give, and he gives a lot."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Josef Martinez
Martinez scored both of Montreal's goals off the bench on Wednesday, his 22nd multi-goal MLS match and his second as a substitute.
The striker's 22 multi-goal games are tied for third most in league history.
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi has scored six goals in five matches against Montreal, including a hat-trick in the rivals' last meeting.
Only Brian White (seven versus St. Louis City) has scored more goals against a single opponent in MLS since Bernardeschi joined the league in July 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION – CF MONTREAL WIN
Montreal have won five straight home matches against Toronto, the longest home winning streak by either team against the other in the history of the series (54 matches).
They twice came from behind against the Red Bulls on Wednesday and have now lost just two of their last 11 matches (three wins, six draws). With home advantage on their side, they will be favourites.
Indeed, Toronto are winless in their last eight away games (two draws, six losses), including losing their last five road matches in a row.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 56.1%
Toronto FC – 21.2%
Draw – 22.7%
Morata joins Milan on four-year deal
Milan have completed the signing of Spain captain Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid.
The striker, who will wear the number seven shirt with the Rossoneri, has put pen to paper on a four-year deal at San Siro, with the option of an additional year.
Morata is fresh from leading Spain to their record-breaking fourth European Championship triumph at Euro 2024, following a 2-1 victory over England in the final.
The 31-year-old becomes Paulo Fonseca's first major signing since replacing Stefano Pioli in the Milan dugout.
This will be Morata's second spell in Italy, having scored 59 goals in 185 appearances across two separate stints with Juventus, where he won successive Serie A titles in 2015 and 2016.
He could make his debut when Milan host Torino in their opening match of the 2024-25 season on August 17.
Ten Hag concedes Man Utd have 'less depth' than Premier League rivals
Erik ten Hag feels Manchester United have less strength in depth compared "with other top clubs in the Premier League".
The Dutchman's injury-hit side finished eighth in the Premier League last season; their lowest final position in the competition.
However, the Red Devils did manage to secure European football for the 2024-25 campaign after beating rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final.
Ten Hag was heavily linked with a departure from Old Trafford, but recently extended his stay with the club until 2026, and he acknowledges United are still a work in progress.
"Last season, we constantly had injuries to players in the same positions, all at the back. At one point, we had almost no defenders available," he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
"When we started here, United hadn't won a trophy for six years, and it really wasn't because they didn't have good managers here.
"It does say something about the composition and quality of the player group. I knew that when I started, of course, but they were players with long-term contracts.
"We were and still are in that process [of building]. If you compare our squad with other top clubs in the Premier League, we certainly have a bit less in terms of depth. That is exactly why we found it so difficult to deal with those injuries."
Ten Hag also reflected on that FA Cup final against City, a game which was widely expected to spell the end for the Dutchman had United lost.
But the 54-year-old is not concerned by his job security.
"Let's face it: you lose too many matches, it just takes strength to keep the team focused and motivated every time," he added. "The players are disappointed, the people around you are disappointed.
"There was so much going on at that stage, but I still firmly believed that we could win that final. The most important thing of all was to convey that belief to my team. I had to be careful that the entire environment did not become negative in advance.
"If United's management find someone tomorrow who they think is better, then I'll go. It's that simple. Those are the mechanisms in football that you have to respect. At a club like this, it is crystal clear: if you don't win, you have a problem."
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