Toronto FC Stats
2021 Record: 4-15-6 WLT, 18 points for 0.72 PPG
Goals: 28 for, 51 allowed, -23 differential
Power Rankings: TOR #27 (-), Rapids #4 (-1)
Last Result: 2-1 win over Nashville
Oh boy. Where to start with Toronto.
It’s difficult to really overstate how much of a spiral our Canadian opponents have been in. They are currently lowest in the league by points, even having back-to-back Wooden Spoon winners FC Cincinnati ahead of them. They’ve allowed the most goals this season with 51, making them the only team that averages over two goals allowed per game.. Their road form has been genuinely awful with the most losses on the road. They fired their new coach, MLS veteran Chris Armas, and have left their interim coach Javier Perez in the role until the season ends. Despite having one of the biggest salaries for players in the league, saying they are underperforming is still somehow underselling things. This should be a five-alarm fire for a team that just a few years ago were perennial MLS Cup contenders.
There are two big reasons why the Colorado Rapids need to pull out a win with this game. For one, the last three results have left a lot to be desired. Between the LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps, we had the potential to have a nine-point run. Instead, we only got three. It’s certainly better than losing and the Rapids are still undefeated in quite a while. But, this needs to be a return to form. Toronto is weak and they don’t show much of a sign of changing. Yes, “anything could happen” and all that — the season isn’t over. But them going on a historic nine-game run to make it into the playoffs and resemble something like the Toronto of the last few years? Unlikely.
Second: This is an important game for head coach Robin Fraser. His former team where he was an assistant, where they had some incredibly dominant seasons. He left, and the team hasn’t been performing well. It’s probably reductive to assume the team is like they are now just because of that, but I’ll assume that anyways. We played Toronto shortly after Fraser left, but that doesn’t really count. This is the real proving ground.
Three points, and depending on how things go with the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City, Colorado can climb to the top of the West. That’s also been true of several of the last games, but still. This won’t affect anything for the playoff picture, exactly, but this can be an important opportunity for us to establish ourselves as top-rank and be more likely to host playoff games. Bring the thunder, show Toronto why we’re one of the best and they aren’t, get an easy three points and continue the push to the end of the season and go out on a high note.
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