Colorado Edges Montréal 1-0 Behind Aaronson’s Penalty

(Denver, CO = Won Jeong) The Colorado Rapids defeated CF Montréal 1-0 to move into seventh place in the Western Conference.

Colorado earned the victory in an MLS regular-season match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Sept. 12, with midfielder Paxten Aaronson converting a first-half penalty that proved to be the game-winner.

The match also drew attention with Dante Sealy, who had been with Colorado just two weeks earlier, starting at forward for Montréal against his former club.

Colorado has recently undergone a significant reshaping of its attack. After parting ways with Sealy, the Rapids added Sayed Abu Farkhi, Ibrahim Sadiq and Morgan Whittaker. During the same period, the club sent leading striker Rafael Navarro to St. Louis.

Colorado found itself under pressure almost immediately.

In the second minute, as the Rapids attempted to play the ball out of their defensive end, possession fell to Montréal defender Viktor Radojević. He fired a right-footed shot from in front of goal, but Colorado goalkeeper Nico Hansen made the save. The chance carried an expected goals (xG) value of 0.32, making it one of Montréal’s most dangerous opportunities of the match.

In the 13th minute, Sealy took aim at his former club. He collected the ball near the Colorado penalty area and curled a powerful left-footed shot toward goal, but the ball bounced in front of Hansen before the goalkeeper collected it.

After surviving Montréal’s early pressure, Colorado gradually began to take control.

In the 32nd minute, Georgi Minoungou fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the Montréal penalty area, forcing goalkeeper Sébastian Breza into a save. Minoungou continued to threaten and tried his luck from distance in the 35th minute, but his shot went wide to the left.

Colorado increased the pressure late in the first half.

In the 40th minute, Rob Holding connected with a shot in front of goal following a set piece, only to see the ball strike the crossbar.

The Rapids did not have to wait much longer for another opportunity.

Donavan Phillip drove into the right side of the Montréal penalty area and was brought down by a challenge from Radojević. The referee pointed to the penalty spot.

Aaronson stepped up in the 43rd minute and calmly drove his right-footed penalty into the bottom-right corner, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.

It proved to be the only goal of the match.

Colorado continued searching for a second goal after halftime.

In the 48th minute, Darren Yapi worked his way through the Montréal defense and attempted a right-footed shot, but it was blocked.

Colorado then changed its attack in the 54th minute, replacing Yapi and Phillip with Abu Farkhi and Whittaker.

Whittaker quickly made his presence felt.

In the 62nd minute, he took aim with his left foot from outside the Montréal penalty area, sending a low shot toward the far side of the goal that narrowly missed to the left.

Whittaker helped create another dangerous opportunity in the 70th minute. He delivered a quick, low ball from the right toward the middle, where Hamzat Ojediran arrived and struck a right-footed shot. Breza made the save, and Wayne Frederick followed up on the rebound, only to be denied by the Montréal goalkeeper as well.

Colorado kept pressing.

In the 75th minute, Aaronson unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but Breza was again there to make the save.

Whittaker had another opportunity in the 89th minute, breaking down the right side and shooting from a tight angle. Breza stopped the attempt, leaving Whittaker still searching for his first Colorado goal.

Montréal, meanwhile, continued pushing for an equalizer. Sealy was particularly dangerous against his former team, putting left-footed shots on target in the 77th and 87th minutes. Hansen stopped both.

Colorado ultimately protected Aaronson’s goal through the final whistle to secure the 1-0 victory.

Although the final score was separated by only one goal, Colorado held the statistical advantage for much of the match. The Rapids finished with 59.3% possession compared with Montréal’s 40.7% and outshot the visitors 17-11. Colorado put six shots on target, while Montréal recorded five.

Colorado also held a significant advantage in passing. The Rapids attempted 549 passes with a 90.5% completion rate, compared with Montréal’s 385 passes at 84.2%.

The difference was even more pronounced in expected goals, with Colorado producing 2.3 xG compared with Montréal’s 0.8.

Still, the Rapids may feel they left goals on the field. Despite producing 17 shots and 2.3 xG, Colorado scored only once — from the penalty spot.

At the other end, Hansen stopped all five of Montréal’s shots on target, preserving the clean sheet and all three points.

With the victory, Colorado moved into seventh place in the Western Conference, behind LAFC and three points ahead of eighth-place Portland.