NASHVILLE, TN - Nashville SC breezed past CF Montréal on Saturday night, scoring three goals in a comprehensive victory, giving the Boys In Gold their best-ever start to an MLS season through five matches.
The XI
Head coach BJ Callaghan was forced into a handful of changes during the international window. Andy Najar, Jacob Shaffelburg and Matt Corcoran were all with their national teams, while winger Ahmed Qasem missed the match with a stomach bug. Their absences made way for Josh Bauer and Jonny Pérez to start, while Gastón Brugman also made his first foray into the XI after returning from injury.
Nashville SC Starting XI vs CF Montréal Willis; Lovitz, Maher, Zimmerman ©, Bauer; Tagseth, Brugman; Muyl, Pérez; Surridge, Mukhtar BENCH: Schwake, Palacios, Yazbek, Bunbury, Washington, Meyer, Gaines, Applewhite, Sipić EveryoneN #NSHvMTL
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2025-03-22T23:37:08.522Z
On the pitch
A tense first half was plagued by lighting issues at Geodis Park. Five times during the opening 45 minutes, the lights went out briefly at the stadium, shutting the stadium into momentary darkness. The stadium staff finally fixed the issue before the halftime whistle. Aside from the lighting issues, the first half was cagey, with both teams moving the ball well, but unable to create more than half-chances.
After the break, Nashville came out on top. Brugman in particular was much improved, pulling all the strings from a deep-lying role and finding Hany Mukhtar in better pockets of space. Brugman had a hand in Nashville's opener, finding Sam Surridge with a smart clipped ball for the striker to flick into the path of Alex Muyl, who finished through the legs of goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Alex Muyl breaks the deadlock for @NashvilleSC! 😤 pic.twitter.com/jK8Vek8C4f
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025
On his 150th MLS regular-season appearance, Mukhtar shone. The 2022 MLS MVP set up Josh Bauer's goal in the 62nd minute, playing a corner kick to the near post for Walker Zimmerman to flick on for Bauer, and assisting Jonny Pérez just five minutes later to ice the game.
NSC account opened ✅
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) March 23, 2025
Jonny gets his first goal as a Boy in Gold 🥹 pic.twitter.com/7sJ66hJOyP
The big picture
Nashville SC are rolling. Their 10 points through five matches is their best-ever start to an MLS season, surpassing their previous best of seven points. They also have their most goals (8) and best goal difference (+5) through five games, showing just how quickly the club has taken to Callaghan's tactics.
.@benwright with some final thoughts from Geodis Park after Nashville SC's 3-0 win against CF Montréal. #EveryoneN pic.twitter.com/SHfuqPD1Hx
— SixOneFive Soccer (@615Soccer) March 23, 2025
Saturday also exemplified the next man up mentality that Callaghan has preached. Winger Ahmed Qasem was pulled out of the lineup at the very last minute with a stomach bug – Callaghan said Pérez found out he was starting just an hour and 45 minutes before the match began. Similarly, Patrick Yazbek, who would have been one of the first names off the bench, became ill at halftime and had to head to the locker room.
"We've got a long season ahead of us," Callaghan said. "A lot of people are going to be asked to contribute. And again, all of these little moments that we're having are just going to continue to give us a stronger, deeper team as we push through the coming months."
Up next
Nashville stay at home next weekend, taking on old USL Championship rivals FC Cincinnati at Geodis Park next Saturday evening.
Highlights
Stats
Possession: NSH 50% – 50% MTL
Passes completed: NSH 360 – 367 MTL
Shots: NSH 16 – 8 MTL
Shots on goal: NSH 5 – 3 MTL
Penalty kicks: NSH 0 – 0 MTL
Expected goals: NSH 2.20 – 0.72 MTL
Goals: NSH 3 – 0 NSH
Fouls: NSH 16 – 11 MTL
Yellow cards: NSH 0 – 1 MTL
Red cards: NSH 0 – 0 MTL
