Nashville rallies for 2-2 draw with Montreal

Hany Mukhtar scored the equalizer in the 77th minute and host Nashville SC once again rallied from two goals down to post a 2-2 draw, this time over CF Montreal on Saturday.

Down 2-0 for the second consecutive week, Nashville (0-0-2, 2 points) stepped up the pressure and cut that deficit in half when Jhonder Cadiz took a perfect corner from Randall Leal and bounced a header past Montreal keeper Clement Diop at the 54-minute mark. It was 23 minutes later that Mukhtar leveled the match while placing the ball through traffic and into the low-left corner of the net.

While Nashville continued to pepper Diop and the Montreal net, outshooting the visitors 18-9, it could not complete the comeback with a victory. Nashville overcame the same two-goal deficit last weekend in a 2-2 home draw against FC Cincinnati to open the 2021 campaign.

For the second straight week, Montreal's Mason Toye opened the match scoring. Much like his goal in the 4-2 victory over rival Toronto FC last weekend, Toye curled the ball in from just outside the top of the box in the 13th minute. With that score, Montreal (1-0-1, 4 points) has recorded a goal in a league-record 22 consecutive road contests, according to MLS.

Nashville nearly scored through Mukhtar around the 20-minute mark, but it was Montreal that would extend its advantage. On the pursuit, Zachary Brault-Guillard's attempt sailed over the head of Nashville keeper Joe Willis, but went off the crossbar and in to make it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.

Romell Quioto, who assisted on Toye's goal, nearly made it 3-0 early in the second half, but missed wide right after evading a sliding Willis. Shortly after, Nashville made its way on to the scoresheet and toward a comeback.

Nashville has already conceded four goals through two home games this season after yielding just nine total there in 2020.