Toronto FC Turn 58% Nashville Possession into a 2-1 Comeback

Toronto FC defeated Nashville SC 2-1 at BMO Field on Wednesday, September 9, completing a comeback after trailing 1-0 at half-time in Major League Soccer’s Regular Season - 24. Nashville entered the match top of the Eastern Conference with 53 points, while Toronto were 10th on 29 points, making the result a notable reversal of the teams’ league positions.

Nashville lead before Toronto respond

The match’s event record lists a third-minute own goal by Nashville midfielder Niklas Dorsch, while the half-time score was recorded as 0-1 in Nashville’s favour. Toronto therefore began the second half needing to overturn the deficit, despite having created the greater volume of shooting opportunities before the interval and across the match overall.

Toronto’s response arrived in the 72nd minute. Dániel Sallói converted a normal goal from Theo Corbeanu’s assist to level the contest. Sallói then turned provider in the closing stages, assisting Emilio Aristizábal for the winning goal in the 90th minute. Aristizábal, who had been on the field for 15 minutes, finished the move with his only shot on target to complete Toronto’s late turnaround.

Toronto create more shots despite less possession

Nashville controlled 58% of possession and completed 437 accurate passes from 507 total, compared with Toronto’s 298 accurate passes from 362. The visitors also won eight corners to Toronto’s three. However, that control did not translate into a higher shot count: Toronto recorded 16 attempts, including 13 from inside the box, while Nashville had 11 shots and eight inside the area.

Toronto also led shots on goal 7-5 and shots off goal 7-2, although both goalkeepers made five saves. Nashville’s four blocked shots and six offsides reflected some of the pressure they faced when attacking, while the teams committed nine and 10 fouls respectively. The match produced one disciplinary incident of note: Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran was shown a yellow card in the 90th minute. There were no red cards.

Sallói leads Toronto’s decisive finish

Sallói was the standout performer, receiving an 8.8 rating after playing all 90 minutes. He scored once, supplied one assist, registered one shot on target and made two key passes. Corbeanu also influenced the comeback after entering in the 59th minute, providing the assist for the equaliser and recording three key passes.

Toronto used three substitutions in the 59th minute, bringing on Nickseon Gomis, Corbeanu and Matheus Pereira de Souza, while Nashville introduced Ahmed Qasim in the 66th minute and Patrick Yazbek in the 74th. The result gave Toronto another win after their most recent listed pre-match result was also a victory. Nashville, whose latest listed result before kick-off was a win, suffered a defeat despite retaining first place in the supplied standings.