The Black-and-Red are back on the road to face Toronto FC at BMO Field, where they hope to extend their winning streak following two consecutive home victories.
This week has already been a busy one for the Black-and-Red. D.C. United moved up the Eastern Conference standings after a decisive home win against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday. Christian Benteke and Hosei Kijima scored to overcome the visitors in a 2-1 nail-biter of a match. On Tuesday, they claimed victory in an Open Cup match against Charleston Battery at Audi Field. The Open Cup win is special, as D.C. United hasn’t made it past the Open Cup Round of 32 since 2019 or the Round of 16 since 2013.
Toronto has had a challenging start to the 2025 season. They currently sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and have been dealing with a fluctuating roster. Most recently, the Reds suffered a 2-0 loss to the New England Revolution. While Toronto has star power in Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne, they have struggled to find consistency.
Troy Lesesne is optimistic about what we can expect from the Black-and-Red over the coming weeks. “We’re excited for this period of time,” he said. “All players, all staff like being able to play in matches and test yourself… our roster is going to be really important… there’s more depth not only in numbers but in quality, and we’re going to be able to see that through this month.”
Hear everything head coach Troy Lesesne had to say in the pre-game press conference here.
Let us know your thoughts about tonight’s match in the comments below and be sure to join us live here during the game to chat with your fellow supporters.
Key Player: Christian Benteke
The captain remains a consistent scoring force for D.C. United. His leadership on and off the pitch is noticeable; truly, when Benteke isn’t present, we feel the impact.
Watch Out For: Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne
Toronto’s star players pose a threat on the pitch and bolster the team’s attack. Bernardeschi has recorded two goals and two assists in 10 starts.
Challenges: It has been a busy week for the Black-and-Red. Troy Lesesne will need to balance minutes to keep the squad fresh and avoid injury.
Previously: D.C. last met Toronto for the season opener in February, where they played to a 2-2 draw at Audi Field.
Toronto FC Availability:
Out: Markus Cimermancic (lower body), Deandre Kerr (lower body), Richie Laryea (lower body), Jonathan Osorio (upper body), Henry Wingo (lower body)
Questionable: None
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Dominique Badji (thigh), Lukas McNaughton (thigh), Gabriel Pirani (knee)
Questionable: Lucas Bartlett (calf), Christian Benteke (quad), Jackson Hopkins (ankle), João Peglow (thigh)
Location: BMO Field
Kickoff time: 4:30 pm ET
Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
At least we don’t have to deal with Laryea or Osorio, the most annoying Canadians ever to kick a ball.
Maybe TFC will let Insigne play? Is that good or bad for DCU?
Kerr is also out. Do they have an adequate replacement?
Mateusz Klich is starting again for Atlanta (in Chicago today). Is he a player that could have been helpful to DC United, instead of paying for him to play for Atlanta? Not sure I understand how this works.
This is the greatest enigma of the season. Sure enough, as soon as we did it, Miami needed help from MLS for doing the same thing a few days later, and PRESTO, a new rule gave Miami a pass. KDB to Miami.
Sigh…Bartlett gives up a free kick in a dangerous spot.
And we’re off.
Benteke makes the start, Peglow doesn’t make the bench.
I believe Peglow is still hurt…yeah the injury report lists him as questionable with a thigh injury.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/league-reports/player-availability-report/
Oh, yeah, I knew it was for injury rather than behavior
Continue to like Kijima, really jonesing to see him connect and combine with better attacking partners than Stroud. The latter is industrious, but not effective usually.
We’re holding on, clogging the box, but gotta get to these shots from outside
Look, not saying it’s perfect or that we won’t fuck up soon, but this is much smarter soccer tactically than Lesesne did early in the season.
What a flurry from TFC there. Nice work by Barraza.
Definitely concerning to see this constant pressure form TFC. The dam will break.
Maybe, or maybe Toronto are using up a ton of energy and we could catch them overcommitting. Granted, not a ton of speed up top to counter, but could happen
It’s far more exhausting to do this emergency defending.
I mean, defending can be tiring, but it seems like Toronto are shooting their load now
I’d also say that a combination of endless high pressing and then having to sprint back to defend deep is the most exhausting, and we’re not doing that recently. Midblock is holding.
Dam collapse
They have two DPs, I don’t know if this proves your point
Really stinks that Peglow is out, we could use him running the flanks
When was the last time you saw 2 minutes of first half stoppage time? Feels like forever
For an almost no shots and I believe no shots on target half, I’m strangely satisfied. It’s gotta be messing with TFC’s heads that they couldn’t score, and their home form has been bad. If we nick a goal, think a combo of fan dissatisfaction and desperate, frustrated play may be on for us.
This particular strategy is really reminding me of pre-Audi Field Ben Olsen teams. Let the other team take loads of not so great shots, and run forward and counter attack like 3 times a game. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely having flashbacks to like 2017
I disagree that TFC were getting lots of not so great shots. Dam has broken, but TFC were getting a lot of good looks.
Some were solid, absolutely. But they only had 0.94 XG on 13 shots. That’s not a great rate
And the dam has broken…and the route will begin.
I’m not convinced that we’re in for a rout, but I am convinced that a) Enow really removed himself from that play we conceded on and b) Stroud is proving that we should have gotten a better, dyed in the wool right winger as a starter this offseason.
Dang, own goal makes it tougher
We concede, but does anyone else think that we were screwed by Enow’s understanding of space on the recovery? He couldn’t have been dumber about his role there
And Own Goal gets in on the action.
Not clear to me what Bartlett was trying to do there, but I’d also say the same about Enow, allowing Bernardescchi to have such space to run at the goal.
My general argument for why this game has gone south is that it helps to have multiple talented DPs… scratch that, it’s required to compete.
Also, I’m somewhat bemused that Insigne’s time in MLS hasn’t looked more like this all along, sucks he’s awake for this one.
I’m calling it. DC United will not make the playoffs. I get that this is on the road, but if they’re getting this owned by TFC, I’m not sure DC United will win any more games in MLS play.
Glad to see Zouhir and Peltola coming on. Peltola looks so much like Lucas Bergvall. I mean, literally — his face/hair. I wish he had more than a fraction of the talent Bergvall has.
Leal’s corners are just better than anyone else’s on this team.
Schnegg gets called for a once in a generation false throw
So how many more goals are we giving up?
Lesene might be close to done after this one and if DC fire their coach and don’t make a new hire until next season then our complacent ownership can justify making little to no investment during this summer window 😉
Owners: Trust the process!
Die-hard fans: What process?
Owners: Trust that we have one!
They have one in that one doesn’t exist.
What’s frustrating is, I think if we started anyone but Enow centrally, and had an actual right wing star on the wing instead of Stroud, Insigne doesn’t get off the leash and we create a ton more meaningful chances.
We’ve almost narrowed it to one a few times this half, we’re not far off. Still, with real care about the organization from the owners this offseason, this would be a walk in the park.
Schnegg keeps getting beat.
Toronto just flat outplayed us.
Why are we not seeing Kristian Fletcher on the field, or even on the bench?
So the New York Red Bulls dropped a 7-0 result on the LA Galaxy yesterday.