Disappointing tonight' – how he reacted to the 5-0 loss to the Montreal Sounders

The Seattle Sounders cruised to a 5-0 win over Montreal CF at Lumen Field on Saturday night as the Canadian side suffered its third straight loss.

Montreal's 2024 MLS season has started on the right foot with two wins and a draw in their first three games under new head coach Laurent Courtois. After an opening day draw with Orlando City, Montreal managed two narrow wins at FC Dallas and Inter Miami – with all three games on the road as part of a six-game road trip to kick off the season.

Montreal has yet to host a home match in 2024, as freezing temperatures and snow in February and March clearly affect the playing field at Stade Saputo, an outdoor stadium. The club usually plays indoors at the Olympic Stadium when the weather is bad – but that stadium is undergoing renovations and won't be ready until 2028.

But it's been a tough three weeks for the Canadian team since their March 10 win over Miami. The trip to the Windy City saw the team lose 4-3 to the Chicago Fire before heading to the US capital. Pedro Santos' 85th-minute strike gave Montreal a 1-0 lead against DC United. Good thing for Courtois' side, the two defeats against DC United and the Fire were only one goal defeats.

The scenario against Seattle over the weekend was quite the opposite. The Sounders were determined to win their first game of the campaign and dominated the box score. The hosts had 59% possession, 24 total shots (11 on target), five big chances and 3.56 xG. Montreal, on the other hand, managed just five total shots (two on target), created one big chance and posted a 0.53 xG in 90 minutes.

Seattle got things started thanks to a first-half brace from Raul Ruidiaz, and the USMNT's Jordan Morris added a third. To make matters worse, Nathan Saliba was shown a second yellow card shortly after the start of the second half – before the home side added a fourth and fifth late in the contest.

“Tonight was disappointing, not about the result. There were some exciting sequences, but we lacked competitiveness, cohesion and humility,” Courtois said after the loss. “Tonight was a real failure. We said after the meeting with the fans that we have to back up our intentions with real action on the pitch. We didn't do that tonight. We want to be perceived in a certain way. We promised the fans certain things. We have to keep our word and tonight we have to be humble. was missing.

Veteran center fielder Joel Waterman – who has started every game for Montreal this season – echoed some of his coach's comments, explaining that the team was no match for Seattle's effort and fight.

“Tonight was not good enough. We didn't compete or get the second goal. It should never happen. This week is about getting back to the basics before we talk about tactics. They outplayed us and were better than us. We had a good start to the season. result,” he said.

“There's no excuse for a long road trip. We have to come in on Tuesday and be ready to go to work to put on a show for our fans on Saturday. It's up to us to be motivated and take it with us to every game this season. We just didn't match Seattle's intensity and desire to compete.”

Montreal's three losses have dropped them to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings with seven points. Courtois' men will play their first home game of 2024 at Stade Saputo. On Saturday night, they will look to get back on track against reigning Supporters' Shield champion Cincinnati FC.

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