Atlanta United vs. CF Montreal: Eullaffroy Confident Despite Early Success

Interim CF Montreal head coach Philippe Eullaffroy has stated he still has "lots of tricks in his pocket" when discussing the team's progress under his leadership. Eullaffroy took temporary charge earlier this month following Marco Donadel's dismissal and has since guided Montreal to consecutive MLS victories.

A 1-0 win over New York City FC, courtesy of Prince Owusu's 18th-minute strike, lifted Montreal to 11th in the Eastern Conference. Their next challenge is an away match against Atlanta United, who sit just two points behind them in the standings.

When asked how close his team is to executing his vision, Eullaffroy emphasized there is significant room for growth. "I think we have only reached 20% of what I would like to do," he said. "I say that because I have a lot of tricks in my pocket. Some tricks need time to develop. If we are already doing the 20% well, next week we might add 5% and continue improving. But we must respect the players' learning curve—they need time to become consciously competent."

Meanwhile, Atlanta United ended a five-game winless streak (D1 L4) with a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC, thanks to goals from Tristan Muyumba and Aleksey Miranchuk. They followed this with a 2-0 U.S. Open Cup quarter-final win against Charlotte FC, showing signs of resurgence under Tata Martino.

Martino acknowledged the boost in confidence, saying, "These are the results we've been searching for. Each game, we feel closer. It’s good for the team’s belief in our process, but we must not overvalue it at this stage of the season."

**Players to Watch** **Atlanta – Aleksey Miranchuk:** Scored his fifth goal of the season against Toronto. Only Josef Martinez (8) and Miguel Almiron (6) in 2018 have netted more in Atlanta’s first 11 matches of a season. **Montreal – Prince Owusu:** His sixth goal of the campaign secured the win over NYCFC. Since June 2025, he has scored 15 of Montreal’s 35 regular-season goals.

**Match Prediction: Atlanta Win** Atlanta holds a strong home record against Montreal, winning six of eight regular-season meetings (D1 L1). They have also lost just one of 18 home matches against Canadian teams (W11 D6). Montreal, however, enters with back-to-back wins for the first time since September-October 2024.

**Opta Win Probability** Atlanta – 43.6% Draw – 26.8% Montreal – 29.7%