Toronto FC trailed to an early own goal, then turned the game around with two second-half strikes to beat Nashville SC 2-1 at BMO Field on Wednesday night. Sallói equalized at 72 minutes before Emilio Aristizábal Chavarriaga, on as a substitute, settled it in the 90th. The result extends Toronto’s unbeaten run to seven games, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and hands the Eastern Conference’s top side a rare loss.
Key Moments
- 3′, Nashville SC take an early lead through a Toronto own goal. Dorsch is credited with the strike, turning the ball into his own net to give the visitors a gift start at BMO Field.
- 59′, Jason Hernandez rolls the dice with a triple substitution, withdrawing Kuscevic, Morgan and Gilman simultaneously. Corbeanu is among those entering the pitch.
- 72′, Sallói levels for Toronto. Corbeanu, himself only on the pitch since the 59th minute, provides the assist to set up the equalizer.
- 90′, Emilio Aristizábal Chavarriaga wins it. The forward, introduced at the 75th minute, meets a pass from Sallói to fire Toronto in front right at the death.
Tactical Breakdown
Nashville SC bossed the ball for most of the evening, controlling 58% of possession and completing 437 accurate passes to Toronto’s 298. They generated eight shots from inside the box and collected eight corners, looking like a team that knows how to set the tempo. But shot quality let them down: five shots on target across 90 minutes, and a goalkeeper save count that matched Toronto’s own, told the story of a side that created volume without landing the knockout.
The turning point was Hernandez’s triple substitution at the 59th minute. Bringing on Corbeanu in particular changed the game’s dynamics down the flank, and within 13 minutes the Canadian had set up Sallói’s equalizer. Nashville responded with changes of their own, pulling Tagseth and Lovitz before the hour was done, but the momentum had already shifted. Toronto finished the match with 16 total shots to Nashville’s 11, producing seven on target from a more direct 4-4-2 shape.
Nashville’s undoing was a failure to build on the early advantage. After Dorsch’s third-minute own goal, the visitors settled for possession rather than pressing the lead, and Toronto’s high defensive organization, anchored by a five-save performance from Gavran, kept the scoreline manageable until the subs arrived. Spending much of the second half reacting rather than dictating, Nashville left the door open and Aristizábal Chavarriaga walked through it.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
Toronto FC sit ninth in the Eastern Conference on 29 points, but this result, their seventh without a loss, shows a side finding form at the right time of the season. For Nashville SC, still comfortably clear at the top on 53 points, it is a stumble that does not threaten their standing but breaks a strong run, with the loss their first ‘L’ in five outings after three consecutive wins heading in.
Nashville SC
Toronto FC
D. Sallói