LOS ANGELES — Corey Baird scored in the 61st minute, and Los Angeles FC sent expansion Austin FC to a 2-0 defeat Saturday in the inaugural match for Major League Soccer’s 27th team.
Jose Cifuentes added a goal into an open net in the 91st minute for LAFC, which improved to 4-0-0 in season openers in franchise history.
Austin FC put on a creditable performance against one of MLS’ top clubs, but the first major league sports franchise in Texas’ capital city officially joined North America’s top soccer league with a lively, narrow loss to one of the model franchises of the current MLS expansion boom.
LAFC played without top goal scorer Diego Rossi, and then lost former league MVP Carlos Vela to an early injury.
FC MONTREAL 4, TORONTO FC 2
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Mason Toye scored in the third minute and Montreal led the rest of the way in the season opener for both teams.
On the counterattack, Zachary Brault-Guillard ran up the middle of the field before passing to Toye, who put away a first-timer to open the scoring. Romell Quioto won a foot-race to a long clearance by Joel Waterman and slipped in a top-netter to make it 2-0 in the 24th minute.
Toronto’s Marco Delgado converted a penalty kick in the 45th but Victor Wanyama bounced a header, off a corner kick by Mustafa Kizza, into the net in the 54th minute and Djordje Mihailovic made it 4-1 in the 71st. Richie Laryea’s rolling side-netter in the 88th minute capped the scoring.
Formerly known as the Montreal Impact, re-branded FC Montreal is playing its home games at Fort Lauderdale because of travel restrictions by the Canadian government during the coronavirus pandemic.
ATLANTA UNITED 0, ORLANDO CITY 0
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brad Guzan had three saves to help Atlanta United to a tie with Orlando City in the season opener for both teams.
Guzan made a diving one-handed stop of a shot by Alexandre Pato in the the 72nd minute. Pato, a 31-year old making his MLS debut, left the game in the 80th after suffering an apparent knee injury.
Atlanta’s Josef Martinez came on in place of Lisandro Lopez in 75th minute. The 27-year old Martinez, who scored 77 combined goals in his first three MLS seasons, missed most of his fourth after suffering a season-ending torn right ACL in the 2020 opener at Nashville on March 18.
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