Twice, the Montreal Impact took the lead. Thrice, Minnesota United hit back to pick up a stunning victory.
A late golazo from Abu Danladi handed Minnesota a 3-2 win over Montreal at Stade Saputo on Saturday night. Danladi scored the decisive goal in the 89th minute, hitting a potent strike to give the expansion club the three points.
The Impact had taken two leads in the encounter, but gave up equalizers each time. Kevin Molino first canceled out a Patrice Bernier finish in the first half before a Christian Ramirez header negated Blerim Dzemaili's highlight-reel finish at the hour-mark. Then, Danladi found the back of the net to give Minnesota a surprise road victory.
Goals
- 9' – MTL – Patrice Bernier Watch
- 20' – MIN – Kevin Molino (PK) Watch
- 55' – MTL – Blerim Dzemaili Watch
- 60' – MIN – Christian Ramirez Watch
- 89' – MIN – Abu Danladi Watch
Three Things
- NEVER SAY DIE: Minnesota could have thrown in the towel on multiple occasions, but refused to. The expansion club, which is far from the playoff line in the West, kept fighting until it went ahead on the scoreboard late in the match. Danladi's golazo will grab the headlines, but the overall fight from the squad was worth mentioning given where Minnesota sit in the standings.
- BLOWN OPPORTUNITY: Montreal could have closed the gap between themselves and the New York Red Bulls, but the late winner the Canadian club conceded put it in a more precarious position. The Impact now sit five points behind the Red Bulls at this late point in the campaign, and New York have one game in hand. This result was about as bad as it could get for the Impact, who blew two leads at home and now have even less room for error.
- GOLAZO-AZO-AZO: Dzemaili scored a wonderful goal to put Montreal ahead in the 55th minute, but the Impact gave up an equalizer shortly thereafter. That set the table for Danladi's late winner, which was struck from the corner of the right side of the penalty area and left the Impact with little time to muster up a response. The strike from the rookie was not only clutch, it was an incredible finish that gave his side a surprising three points.
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