Player Ratings: Toronto FC fall short vs. Columbus Crew | March 12, 2022

A short-handed Toronto FC couldn't hang on against the Columbus Crew, losing 2-1 at Lower.com Field on Saturday afternoon. The Reds showed heart, outplaying the Crew in the first half, but ultimately came up short.

Here are my Player Ratings shortly following the defeat.

Player Ratings (out of 10)

Manager - Bob Bradley (7.5) | On paper, Toronto FC had no business being in this match, but they started the game off brilliantly with Bradley electing to roll out a 3-4-3 formation. In the opening half, he got the best out of his squad, however, failed to make the adjustments necessary down the stretch as Columbus looked like the far superior team in the second 45.‍

GK - Alex Bono (6.0) | Bono was fine. He’s not the first goalie in MLS to fall victim to a long-distance Lucas Zelarayan strike – and he won’t be the last. Could he have positioned himself a bit better? Perhaps. But I don’t think he was to blame for either Columbus goal.‍

LCB - Kadin Chung (6.5) | In his first career MLS start, there was a lot to like from Chung. Despite playing as a centre-back, the natural fullback didn’t look out of place, made good decisions on the ball, and held his own, winning six out of his seven duels. He finished with a team-high 90.2 completed passing percentage.‍

CB - Michael Bradley (6.5) | Bradley’s getting a lot of flack on social media, but he looked solid at CB, lining up inbetween the two youngsters. He finished with four tackles and only committed one foul. CB may be an option for the TFC captain moving forward with Ralph Priso and Noble Okello desperately needing minutes in the middle of the park.‍

RCB - Lukas MacNaughton (7.0) | He’s currently fourth on the TFC centre-back depth chart, but MacNaughton may have been Toronto FC’s best centre-back on the day. Making his first career MLS start, the former Pacific FC defender showed he’s more than capable of keeping up with the pace of play in MLS. What an upgrade he is over some of their backup defenders last season.‍

RM - Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (N/A) | Marshall-Rutty was forced to leave this one 12 minutes into the match, going down with an apparent knee injury. He did try and play through it, but ultimately left the field visibility distraught. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious…‍

CM - Noble Okello (5.0) | Okello struggled in his first start of the season, finishing the match with a passing percentage of 76.4 – well below his standard. He also failed to win any of his six duels and had just one tackle. ‍

CM - Jonathan Osorio (6.5) | Saturday’s match may have been Osorio’s best of his three so far this season. He looked more involved than his previous two appearances, and took on a bigger role with Bradley at CB. I, personally, would like to see Osorio more without Bradley in the midfield as it seems to get the best out of him.‍

LM - Luca Petrasso (6.5) | Petrasso showed good energy throughout the match, helping out in defence while also getting forward and chipping in offensively. He had a beautiful run in the first half and probably should have finished off the play, but the young Canadian continues to impress.‍

RW - Alejandro Pozuelo (8.0) | MOTM for Toronto FC. The Spaniard led all TFC  players in expected goals plus assists (XG+XA) with 0.6, had more key passes (5) than the rest of the team combined, and led the Reds in tackles (6). Pozuelo is looking a lot closer to his 2020 form than his 2021.‍

ST - Jesús Jiménez (7.0) | Jiménez scored his second goal in as many matches and could just be one of the signings of the season when all is said and done. After his goal, he left a bit more to be desired, but it was another decent performance overall from the Spaniard. I’m excited to see him link up with Lorenzo Insigne and Pozuelo in the summer.‍

LW - Jayden Nelson (6.0) | Nelson was great in the first half, adjusting well to a more defensive role when Marshall-Rutty left the match early on. Despite the deeper role, he still managed to cause problems for Columbus’ back line, and showed a bit of his flair. However, I thought he struggled in the second half and probably could have done better closing out Zelarayan on Columbus’ first goal.‍

SUBSTITUTIONS

LW - Achara (6.0) | Achara came into the match for Marshall-Rutty 12 minutes in, lining up on the right wing. He made a couple of runs in behind leading to a few half chances, but was largely ineffective, winning just 33 per cent of his duels. He was the first TFC player subbed off in the 55th minute in place of Ralph Priso.‍

CM - Ralph Priso (4.5) | Priso never got settled into the match after coming on in the 55th minute for Achara. He gave away possession too cheaply – completing just 60 per cent of his passes – and wasn’t seeing the field as well as we’re accustomed to. And it wasn’t his fault whatsoever, but the Reds conceded twice shortly after the youngster came on. ‍

LW - Kosi Thompson (N/A) | Nice to see Thompson come on in the 82nd minute for his MLS debut.

ST - Jordan Perruzza (N/A) | Perruzza entered the match in the 82nd minute along with Thompson. TFC didn’t really offer much going forward at that point, but he did manage to get one key pass in.