It didn’t take long for Lorenzo Insigne to make his presence felt in Toronto. Il Magnifico played a clever back-heel flick to assist captain Michael Bradley on his second goal of the match. The goal, scored just before the break, was Toronto FC’s record-setting fourth of the first half.
Insigne nearly picked up his first MLS point only minutes into the match. His inswinging corner kick found an unmarked Jonathan Osorio at the second post, but the Canadian’s volley finished just over the bar.
Meanwhile, ex-Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi made his Toronto FC debut as well and outshined his Euro-winning teammate. Bernardeschi assisted on Bradley’s first goal with a corner kick of his own. Bradley won the ball at the first post and glanced a delicate header perfectly into the top corner at the far post.
Bernardeschi outdid himself about 20 minutes later. The right winger picked up the ball about 25 yards out and fired a powerful shot into the bottom corner to score his first ever goal in MLS.
Toronto FC coach Bob Bradley elected to substitute both Insigne and Bernardeschi at the half. That will ensure the Italians are well rested for Toronto’s Canadian Championship final against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday.
Though they played only 45 minutes each, Insigne and Bernardeschi gave Toronto a much needed boost in energy and confidence. The 4-0 victory ended Toronto’s five-game winless streak and was the reds’ first clean sheet of the 2022 campaign.
The victory was a good start, but Toronto has plenty of work left to do. Cincinnati, who currently occupy the 7th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference, are now only six points clear of Toronto with 12 matches remaining.
Meanwhile, before he played even a single minute in MLS, Insigne was named to the 10-man MLS All-Star team that will participate in the skills competition during the Allstar festivities on August 20th.
