Federico Bernardeschi completed a hat trick with two second-half goals and Toronto FC enjoyed a comfortable 5-1 victory over rival CF Montreal on Saturday in a Canadian Classique showdown before a raucous home crowd.
Matty Longstaff and Prince Owusu combined with Bernardeschi for three goals in the opening 19 minutes as Toronto FC ended CF Montreal’s four-game winning streak in the matchup and seven-game unbeaten streak. Each team entered with 14 victories in the rivalry.
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made four saves for Toronto FC (7-6-1, 22 points) in his return from a one-game suspension.
Toronto FC head coach John Herdman also returned from suspension, while defender Richie Laryea remained out a second consecutive game, with all three disciplined following a post-match confrontation with New York City FC last weekend.
Sunusi Ibrahim scored a goal for CF Montreal (3-7-3, 12 points), while Jonathan Sirois made five saves after he was under fire early in the match. Montreal entered with five goals in their last five games across all competitions.
Longstaff got the party started early with his second goal of the season off a centering pass from Tyrese Spicer in the sixth minute. Lorenzo Insigne started the play with a long delivery to Spicer from near midfield.
Six minutes later, Bernardeschi scored off a long pass from Deybi Flores, blasting a shot into the roof of the goal from inside the penalty area.
Owusu’s goal for a 3-0 lead came after a CF Montreal turnover when they tried to play a ball out of their own zone and a sloppy pass fell to the feet of Insigne. Owusu scored from close range.
Bernardeschi ‘s second half goals for a 5-0 lead came two minutes apart to give him six on the season and put him in a tie with Owusu for the team lead.
Ibrahim ended the shutout bid with a goal in the 67th minute, his second.
Toronto finished with an 18-12 advantage on shots and a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal.
–Field Level Media