Blerim Dzemaili saw a first-half strike that would have opened his MLS account disallowed, but he refused to be denied.
Dzemaili scored his first league goal for the Montreal Impact on Saturday night, giving the club a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls at Stade Saputo on Saturday night. Dzemaili found the back of the net in the 67th minute of the Eastern Conference tilt, finishing well from inside the penalty area after receiving a pass from Ignacio Piatti.
The Swiss international had netted earlier in the match, but his effort at the half-hour mark was disallowed. It ultimately did not matter, however, as he buried his chance in the second half against a Red Bulls side that did not create too much danger.
Goals
- 67' – MTL – Blerim Dzemaili Watch
Three Things
- DYNAMIC DUO: A moment of brilliance can make the difference in tight affairs, and Ignacio Piatti and Blerim Dzemaili combined to provide just that for the Montreal Impact. In the 67th minute after Montreal quickly took a free kick, Piatti dribbled down the left side of the penalty area before intuitively slicing a neat pass between a pair of New York Red Bulls defenders. Blerim was the recipient of the good feed, and he made no mistake with his take.
- PLAYMAKER NULLIFIED: Sacha Kljestan was not at his best on Saturday, and that was one of the main reasons why the Red Bulls struggled to create much danger against the Impact. Kljestan got on the ball a good amount, but not in overly dangerous positions and did not look to be playing with confidence. The one time that he received the ball in a great spot in the second half, he deferred to a teammate by playing a tough pass instead of taking a shot. New York needs more from their attacking midfielder.
- FAMILIAR STORY: The Red Bulls wanted to get some payback against the Impact after losing to them in the playoffs last year, but were unable to despite winning the possession battle by a wide margin. New York had 58.5 percent of the ball on Saturday night, but Montreal were the more dangerous side throughout the 90 minutes by hitting back quickly on the counter.
Next Up
- MTL: Saturday, June 10 – at Sporting Kansas City (8 pm ET | TVAS; MLS LIVE in the US)
- NY: US Open Cup: Wednesday, June 14 – vs. New York City FC (7:30 pm ET | Youtube.com/ussoccer)
