New York City FC Vs Toronto FC: Winners and losers – Michael Bradley shows his class

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Alejandro Pozuelo #10 of Toronto FC fights for the ball against Tony Rocha #15 of New York City FC during the first half of their game at Yankee Stadium on September 11, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Alejandro Pozuelo #10 of Toronto FC fights for the ball against Tony Rocha #15 of New York City FC during the first half of their game at Yankee Stadium on September 11, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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MONTREAL, QC – JULY 13: Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo (10) shoots the ball during the Toronto FC versus the Montreal Impact game on July 13, 2019, at Stade Saputo in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – JULY 13: Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo (10) shoots the ball during the Toronto FC versus the Montreal Impact game on July 13, 2019, at Stade Saputo in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Loser – Alejandro Pozuelo

Alejandro Pozuelo completely sold Sean Johnson with the eyes on his first penalty but the New York City FC goalkeeper wasn’t to be fooled a second time around and that miss just about summed up the Toronto playmaker’s evening.

The Spaniard has been a fantastic addition to MLS, giving Toronto a true creative presence behind Altidore and never looking far away from scoring himself. However, had Pozuelo been more clinical on Wednesday, Toronto would have been leaving home with far more than just the one point.

Pozuelo had a match-high five shots and picked up some wonderful positions but sliced a number of efforts wide when, in all honesty, a player of his quality should be finding the back of the net.

It’s hard to imagine Toronto dropping out of the playoff spots from here but when we do reach that critical point of the season, Pozuelo and Co. must be more clinical. Carlos Vela will be, Josef Martinez will be. It’s those small margins that make the difference in the post-season.