Caleb Porter has likened the final games of the season to cup finals, as New England Revolution prepare to return to action against CF Montreal.
The Revs have had a three-week break ahead after suffering a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to New York City FC in the Leagues Cup round of 32.
After a slow start to the season, New England sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, though are only five points behind Atlanta United in ninth.
And Porter believes his refreshed team have what it takes to challenge for the playoffs if they can string together a winning run.
"Every game is a cup final, these last 11," Porter said. "We're going to go for it.
"Obviously, our goal is to take it one at a time and win every game. We don't need to win every game to probably get in, but that's going to be our mindset.
"If we can win our home games, and then win half the road games, then I think we'll be in good shape."
Meanwhile, Montreal were also knocked out of the Leagues Cup in the round of 32, suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Union.
They resume their MLS campaign in a strong position, sitting fifth in the table, but have had problems in the build-up to this game after a public falling-out between head coach Laurent Courtois and striker Josef Martinez.
Courtois said he felt "betrayed" by the Venezuelan after he refused to take part in training, but Montreal president Gabriel Gervais says the problem has now been dealt with.
"This case is closed," he said. "For me, it's non-negotiable. Someone who is not disciplined cannot be here."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Josef Martinez
Josef Martínez has scored eight regular-season goals against New England, tied for his most against any MLS opponent (also eight vs. D.C. United and Orlando City).
New England Revolution – Carles Gil
Carles Gil has been involved in a goal in each of his last four regular-season MLS matches (one goal, four assists).
The Spaniard's longest streak of consecutive regular-season matches with a goal contribution is five straight, done three times, most recently in 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION: CF MONTREAL WIN
Montreal have won three of their last four home matches against New England, keeping clean sheets in all three wins. Montreal had won three of their previous 16 matches against the Revs (drawing one, losing 12), managing just two clean sheets in those games.
In fact, Montreal have lost only one of their last nine home matches in all competitions (four wins, four draws) with the lone defeat coming against Toronto FC on July 20. No American team has won at Stade Saputo since Columbus on May 15.
Meanwhile, New England are unbeaten in four straight matches in all competitions (won one, drawn three, including a penalty shoot-out loss in the Leagues Cup Round of 32), equaling their longest run of the season. The Revs' last longer unbeaten run was a six-match stretch that spanned last year's Leagues Cup.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
New England Revolution – 29.9%
Motta bemoans profligate Juve showing after Cagliari snatch draw
Thiago Motta was left frustrated with Juventus' inability to make their dominance count after Razvan Marin's late equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw for Serie A strugglers Cagliari.
Dusan Vlahovic's early penalty gave Juve the lead but Marin's 88th-minute spot-kick cost the hosts two important points that would have moved them to within one of leaders Napoli.
Marin's late salvaging act was the first goal Juventus have conceded this season in the league, though their inability to build on the early strike was what head coach Motta bemoaned after Sunday's draw.
"Already in the first half, after the goal, we were content to control the game. It's no good," Motta told DAZN.
"We have to keep attacking. In the second half, we created chances but we didn't exploit them. There was always the feeling that Cagliari could come back into the game.
"In Serie A, all games are complicated, regardless of who we face and whether we play at home or away. Today we left room for Cagliari to get back into the game."
Vlahovic may have converted the penalty but was also guilty of missing an excellent chance to extend Juve's lead when he fired wide on the rebound from close range.
Motta's side accumulated a tally of 2.57 expected goals (xG) overall, compared to Cagliari's 1.12, suggesting three points should have ended in the hands of the profligate Juve.
The Italian head coach refused to point the finger at Vlahovic, though insisted improvements are needed.
"You can't say anything, it's a match situation. It happens and will happen," Motta said. "But there are other things that we can certainly do better in order to compete, to be able to continue to grow."
Francisco Conceicao made his first start of the season against Cagliari, but the Portugal winger was sent off late in the game when he received a second booking for simulation in the penalty area.
"I haven't seen the images, if it's simulation, it's the correct decision. It's something we've been talking about for a long time, simulations are not good for the game," Motta added in his press conference.
"I trust the referee, but now a precedent opens up and it must always be like this. It must always be done, not every now and then."
Girona 2-1 Athletic Bilbao: Gazzaniga penalty saves set the stage for late Stuani winner
Cristhian Stuani scored a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 2-1 victory for Girona against Athletic Bilbao after Paulo Gazzaniga had saved multiple spot-kicks at the other end.
Alex Berenguer won the first penalty in the 26th minute after being fouled by Arnau Martinez, but the goalkeeper denied him when he stepped up.
Athletic were punished shortly after as Yaser Asprilla sent a dangerous left-footed cross past Alex Padilla into the bottom-left corner.
Oihan Sancet scored the equaliser just two minutes later, but the visitors' poor luck from 12 yards continued after the break.
Inaki Williams' effort was also stopped but had to be retaken as Gazzaniga's feet were off the line. However, the goalkeeper kept his nerve, as he denied Ander Herrera, who stepped up to take the second attempt.
Deep in stoppage time, Aitor Paredes brought down Ladislav Krejci in the box and received two bookings in less than a minute, one for the foul and the second for dissent.
Stuani duly converted the resulting spot-kick to seal all three points for Girona and end a four-match winless run in LaLiga.
Data Debrief: Athletic pay the penalty for spot-kick woe
Athletic will be scratching their heads as to how they came away from this game with nothing, given the attacking threat they showed throughout.
They accumulated 2.59 expected goals (xG) from their 13 shots, albeit those two spot-kicks played a huge part in that total, but come away with an unwanted record as they missed two penalties in a single LaLiga game for the first time this century.
That was largely down to Gazzaniga's heroics, though, as he showed his prowess with three saves, even if one of those will not officially count.
Stuani proved the hero in the end though, scoring his sixth goal against Athletic in LaLiga to get Michel's side up and running again before the international break.
Carvajal signs new deal with Madrid after season-ending injury
Dani Carvajal has signed a contract extension with Real Madrid until June 2026.
The full-back could miss the rest of the 2024-25 season after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in Saturday's 2-0 win over Villarreal.
Carvajal's contract was due to expire at the end of the campaign, but Madrid responded almost immediately by extending his stay with the club for at least a further year.
The 32-year-old, who has been with Los Blancos since the age of 10, has won six Champions League titles and four LaLiga crowns during his time at Santiago Bernabeu, while amassing 427 appearances.
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