_Marcelo Flores continued his hot start to the Clausura, while Charles-Andreas Brym helped NAC earn a key point and both Jonathan David and Ismaël Koné found the scoresheet in Italy. Here’s a look at Canadians in action over the weekend._
**Marcelo Flores, Tigres**
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After going winless in two matches, Tigres got back in the win column on Saturday with a visit to Leon. Once again, Georgetown, Ont.’s Marcelo Flores played a key role in the victory. It was a return to the starting lineup for the 22-year-old midfielder, who came off the bench in the team’s 0-0 draw with Toluca last week.
Nearing the 10-minute mark, Flores almost opened the scoring. Dancing into the area, Flores shook off Rodrigo Echeverria before unleashing a volley with his right foot that sailed past the far post of Gato’s net. A visibly annoyed Flores knew he should have done better with his finish.
In the 34th, Flores forced Gato into action and he was full value for the save. Flores put Sebastian Vegas on skates, cutting back to his left foot after seemingly readying to shoot with his right, but Gato firmly palmed away his effort with a diving stop. It was the visitors’ best scoring chance of the first half.
Flores and Tigres would get their goal in the opening minutes of the second frame. With the hosts pushing for the game’s first goal, Tigres broke out the other way. At midfield, Diego Lainez slipped a fine pass for a streaking Flores down the left who ran in on goal on his own. Gato came out to cut the angle, but Flores slipped his shot through the wickets to open the scoring in the 47th and celebrating the goal with a twisting flip. It was Flores’s third goal of the season through four matches.
Less than 10 minutes later, Lainez would bag a goal of his own. Under pressure from the Tigres press, Jaine Barreiro turned the ball over only yards outside of his own area. Osvaldo Rodriguez then found Lainez at the edge of the box. Lainez turned and fired a hard volley over the outstretched Gato that clipped the inside of the crossbar and bounced over the line to make it 2-0 in the 54th.
The hosts would strike back only five minutes later, completing a fine team move. After a give and go in midfield, Fernando Beltran ran into the area and sent a ball to the far post where Diber Cambindo stretched to slide home to make it 2-1 in the 59th. The goal came at some cost to Cambindo, though, as he slid right into the post with his follow through and had some difficulty getting back to his feet. He did manage to play the rest of the match.
While that would be it for scoring, the match ended on a controversial note. Deep into stoppage, former France forward Andre-Pierre Gignac, now in his 11th season at Tigres, was booked for a forearm to the face of Echeverria as they both awaited an aerial ball. Incensed by the decision, Gignac got into the face of referee Adonai Escobedo, who promptly showed him a second yellow and sent him off. Gignac was then restrained by players from both teams from any further remonstration.
The win put Tigres on seven points through four matches of the Clausura, good for seventh in the table. They trail league-leading Chivas, still perfect through a quartet of games, by five points. Flores and Tigres return to action on Tuesday night with a visit to Hamilton, Ont. to take on Forge FC in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup tie. Their next league match is Friday when they host 17th-place Santos, who are still looking for their first victory of the season.
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**Charles-Andreas Brym, NAC**
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When you are in a relegation scrap, every point matters. You must fight tooth and nail to do whatever you can to avoid the drop. Montreal’s Charles-Andreas Brym and NAC are in such a predicament right now as the Eredivisie season kicks into the stretch drive. They played host to Twente on Friday and managed to fight back to claim a point.
The visitors got on the board in the closing minutes of the first half after some wild end-to-end action. A Twente corner was dealt with by NAC and they looked to break the other way, but goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall raced off of his line to send the ball back into the NAC half. Daan Rots then set up his younger brother, Mats Rots, whose low drive froze Daniel Bielica to make it 1-0 in the 41st. It was the only goal of the first frame.
Twente would double their advantage early in the second half. Breaking against the run of play, Sondre Ørjasæter sent a diagonal ball for the trailing Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Using the defender as a screen, the former Netherlands striker tucked a low shot inside the far post to make it 2-0 in the 51st. It was the former Norwich City man’s eighth goal on the season.
The hosts would leave it late, but they would mount a comeback. In the 61st, NAC turned nothing into something in a hurry. From midfield, Juho Talvitie did well to loft his pass over the head of Ruud Nijstad and into the path of Brym. Controlling the pass with his first touch, Brym then hammered a volley with his right foot through the legs of Unnerstall to make it 2-1. It was Brym’s second goal of the season, giving him goals in consecutive games. Brym then tried to fire up the crowd to get behind their team.
In the 82nd, Brym almost bagged a second, but Unnerstall was up to the task, diving to make a fine save on his point-blank header just a step away from the penalty spot. The ball would fall to Jayden Candeleria on the doorstep, but he somehow managed to spurn a glorious chance for an equalizer, badly shanking his shot high into the area, eventually falling into the waiting arms of Unnerstall.
Minutes later, NAC would get their goal. From a corner, the ball would fall to Brym on the edge of the area. His shot from distance took a slight deflection off of new signing Andre Ayew. Unnerstall did well to swipe it away, but his clearance was headed home by Moussa Sumano to even matters at 2-2 in the 87th. The match would end all square.
The point kept NAC 17th in the table on 16 points, tied with bottom side Telstar. They trail 16th-place Heracles by one point and Volendam, in the final safe spot, by two.
The Eredivisie’s promotion-relegation format differs from others in Europe. The bottom two teams, 17th and 18th in the table, are directly relegated to the Eerste Divisie, while the two top clubs in the second division are promoted. The 16th-place team in the Eredivisie then takes on the third-place team in the Eerste Divisie for the final spot in the top flight.
NAC returns to action on Friday with a visit from 13th-place Excelsior.
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**Ismaël Koné, Sassuolo**
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After ending a seven-match winless run with a 1-0 win over Cremonese last week, Montreal’s Ismaël Koné and Sassuolo were looking to win consecutive matches for the first time since Sept. 28 and Oct. 3 and only the second time this season with a visit to relegation-threatened Pisa. Koné, on loan from Marseille, was handed a fourth-straight start.
The visitors would open the scoring in the 25th from the returning Domenico Berardi. The former Italy winger made his return to action after a two-month absence in a substitute appearance against Cremonese. The Pisa match was his first start since Nov. 28. Taking a ball down the left from Kristian Thorstvedt, Berardi kept both Rosen Bozhinov and Samuele Angori at bay before rifling home from an angle to beat Simone Scuffet with a fine shot.
Koné almost doubled the lead in the 45th. Taking a pass from Berardi, Koné’s first touch was a good one, dinking around Antonio Caracciolo, to give himself room for a shot. But his low drive was turned away by Scuffet, who had come out to cut the angle. Koné threw his hands over his head in disbelief, unsure of how he was unable to score.
The visitors made it 2-0 in the dying seconds of the first half. An Armand Lauriente corner was punched away for Scuffet as far as Berardi just inside the box. Cutting back inside, his low drive was deflected by Caracciolo and past a helpless Scuffet to make it two to the good for Sassuolo in the second minute of stoppage.
After Switzerland midfielder Michel Aebischer made it 2-1 in the 51st with an absolute rocket, Koné restored the two-goal lead in the 58th. Marked by Angori, former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic squared for Koné, who was lurking completely unmarked near the penalty spot. Koné smashed home with his right foot for his fourth league goal of the season to make it 3-1, the scoreline on which the match would finish.
Koné’s day ended in the 73rd when he made way for Luca Lipani.
The back-to-back victories took Sassuolo to 29 points and 10th in the table. They now have a 12-point cushion over Fiorentina in 18th. They also trail Como by 12 points for the final European place. Sassuolo is next in action on Sunday when they host Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram and the rest of league-leading Inter.
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**Jonathan David, Juventus**
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It’s safe to say Jonathan David is getting comfortable in Serie A. David set up a goal and scored another, his fourth in five league matches, as Juventus romped to a comfortable 4-1 win over Parma at Il Tardini. It was the second time in under a month that the Ottawa-raised David had a goal and an assist in the same match.
After Chico Conceição came close on two fine chances in the early stages, the Bianconeri finally opened the scoring in the 15th. A Conceição corner found an unmarked Gleison Bremer at the near post to head home with aplomb. Mateo Pellegrini had jumped to head it away, but the Brazil centre-back got there first.
Juve doubled their advantage in the 37th. Manuel Locatelli lofted a deep ball to David down the middle. Back to goal, David dinked the ball over to the oncoming Pierre Kalulu. Darting into the area, the France right-back crossed the ball for Weston McKennie, who went airborne with a right-footed effort to make it 2-0.
Parma was handed a lifeline early in the second half. Just inside the box, Alessandro Circati sent a ball across the face of goal with Sascha Britschgi making his way to the far post. Before the ball could get there, Andrea Cambiaso, despite having time and space for a clearance, inexplicably turned it into his own net in the 51st to make it 2-1.
Juve restored order only minutes later. From a Locatelli free kick, Fabio Miretti lofted a ball towards the far post for Bremer, who headed it towards the front of goal. McKennie’s header rattled off of the crossbar and fell to David. His header appeared to be headed over the line, but Bremer flew in to poke it over to make it 3-1 in the 54th. Just missing out on the goal himself, David was credited with an assist on the play.
David got his marker in the 64th. Conceição struck a hard, low drive that was met by a diving Edoardo Corvi in the Parma goal. His parry, though, fell right into the path of David, who calmly tucked home to put the match well out of reach at 4-1. The goal was David’s fifth in the league and seventh across all competitions.
After a winless run of five matches, Luciano Spalletti’s side has now won three straight in the league. The victory put Juve on 45 points from 23 matches and into fourth in the table, jumping Roma for the final Champions League place. The Bianconeri now begin a difficult run of fixtures. On Thursday, Juve visits Atalanta in a Coppa Italia quarter-finals tie. They return to league action on Sunday at home to Lazio before a massive visit to Inter on Feb. 14. Then on Feb. 17, Juve visits Galatasaray for the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie.