Los Angeles FC sends expansion Austin FC to loss in debut

<p>LOS ANGELES &mdash; 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>LAFC played without top goal scorer Diego Rossi, and then lost former league MVP Carlos Vela to an early injury.</p>
<p>FC MONTREAL 4, TORONTO FC 2</p>
<p>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. &mdash; Mason Toye scored in the third minute and Montreal led the rest of the way in the season opener for both teams. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>ATLANTA UNITED 0, ORLANDO CITY 0</p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. &mdash; Brad Guzan had three saves to help Atlanta United to a tie with Orlando City in the season opener for both teams. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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