In Major League Soccer, the two teams have previously played a total of 30 games, including 16 New York Red Bulls, 8 Toronto, and six games for both teams. Although the Red Bulls’ oldest rival, New York City Football Club, was created to become the New York Red Bulls’ leading club, 2015 was not the first time they played against teams from the New York metropolitan area, as they played the US Open Cup matches.
When Red Bull won another away game on Saturday, it was only the second time since 2011 that they have won the first two games of the MLS season. Toronto was seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and was looking for their first league win of the MLS season when they played on Saturday. Toronto, after the loss, is currently placed tenth.
On Saturday afternoon, Lewis Morgan recorded his first MLS hat-trick, scoring an all-out first-half as the New York Red Bulls beat Toronto 4-1. The Red Bulls opened the scoring when Patrick Klimala passed Toronto’s Michael Bradley and landed a right-footed kick to Toronto goaltender Alex Bono. In the 24th minute, the New York Red Bulls took advantage of Toronto FC’s weak defence, with Lewis Morgan taking advantage of an assist from Klimalas to take the lead once more, and the score was already 0-2 in favour of the guests. Apart from Morgan’s Hattrick, it was Aaron Long who also scored for the Bulls. A complete dominance in the first half quickly saw the Bulls go past Toronto FC.
New Signing for Toronto FC
After signing a sensational contract with Toronto, Lorenzo Insigne has become the latest European player to move to Major League Soccer. This is an excellent acquisition for the Canadian team and Major League Soccer, given that Lorenzo Insigne is one of the best players in Italy’s top division. While this does not mean that Italy international Lorenzo Insigne will fail in MLS as he may be one of the most talented players ever to enter MLS, he has huge potential to lose with a move like signing.
Giovinco was also a player to play for Toronto FC; he also joined them from an Italian team. Sebastian Giovinco exceeded expectations by breaking the MLS single-season points record with 22 goals and 16 assists and earning the MVP award for his efforts, becoming the first Toronto player to do so. Midway through the 2014/15 season, which saw Juventus reach the UEFA Europa League final, Giovinco made a decisive move to Toronto. The move raised the bar for both Toronto and MLS. Toronto won the MLS Cup and their first invitation to the Confederation of the North, a trip interrupted by the Puerto Rico Islanders in the preliminary round.