Dániel Sallói Answers Nicolás Fernández as Toronto FC and NYCFC Draw 1-1 Again

Toronto FC and New York City FC have apparently decided that 1-1 is their love language.

Nicolás Fernández Mercau put NYCFC ahead with a low strike from distance in the 29th minute, substitute Dániel Sallói equalized in the 70th, and the two Eastern Conference sides drew 1-1 at BMO Field on Saturday evening. It was the second straight 1-1 between them in a month, after the same score at Yankee Stadium on July 31. Toronto pushed its unbeaten run to five matches. NYCFC is now winless in five. Neither side got the win it wanted.

Toronto Pushes, Fernández Punishes

Toronto had the better of the early exchanges. In the ninth minute, Markus Cimermancic had a shot blocked and Alonso Coello followed with a drive from outside the box that Matt Freese pushed over for a corner. Walker Zimmerman had a header blocked in the 14th minute, and Benjamín Kuscevic headed a Djordje Mihailovic corner over the bar in the 24th, a few minutes after picking up a yellow card.

NYCFC barely threatened in that stretch, then scored with its first real chance. In the 29th minute Agustín Ojeda found Fernández Mercau, who cut inside from the right and drilled a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner. According to the AP, it was his 14th goal of the season. NYCFC's own recap measured it at 25 yards, and nobody at BMO Field was arguing.

Toronto kept coming. Zimmerman headed a Mihailovic set piece wide in the 41st minute, and Mihailovic forced Freese into another save from long range in first-half stoppage time. NYCFC went into the break ahead even though Toronto had created most of the first-half chances.

Fraser's Bench Changes the Game

NYCFC nearly doubled its lead right after the restart. Luighi fired over from a Fernández Mercau corner routine in the 47th minute, and Andrés Perea sent an effort high and wide in the 51st.

Robin Fraser responded in the 55th minute, sending on Matheus Pereira for Kobe Franklin and Sallói for Derrick Etienne Jr. The game tilted almost immediately. In the 59th minute Zimmerman met a Mihailovic cross with a header that Freese palmed away, and Coello tested Freese again in the 68th.

The equalizer arrived in the 70th minute. Toronto's club recap says Coello sprang Theo Corbeanu into space, and Corbeanu's cross found Sallói, who timed his run and finished with his left foot from the middle of the box. ESPN credits Corbeanu with the assist; Toronto also counted it as Coello's fifth assist of the season.

From there it was a slog. Mihailovic forced another Freese save in the 73rd minute, and NYCFC's injury problems did not help. Thiago Martins was replaced by Malachi Jones in the 75th minute because of an injury, and Keaton Parks gave way to Jonathan Shore two minutes later, also because of an injury. Luighi sent an 86th-minute effort high and wide from an Ojeda cross, and Mihailovic blazed a stoppage-time free kick over.

The final chance belonged to NYCFC. Seven minutes into added time, Mitja Ilenic struck from the right side of the box and Luka Gavran made his only save of the night.

Freese Keeps NYCFC Afloat

Freese was the best player on the field. He made five saves, three of them in the second half, including a Zimmerman header and two long-range efforts that could have flipped the result. NYCFC was out-shot 14-6 and put only two shots on target, so his work was the reason they left with anything. NYCFC completed 491 of 552 passes, a tidy number that produced very little in the final third.

Fernández Mercau did what elite attackers do on quiet nights: he took his one real look and buried it. He also picked up a yellow card in the 40th minute in a game that featured six of them, three for each side, as referee Malik Badawi kept a busy notebook.

For Toronto, Sallói was the difference-maker off the bench. Per the club, the goal was his 13th goal contribution of the season, six goals and seven assists, and extended his streak of recording a goal or assist to four straight MLS matches. Mihailovic was Toronto's most dangerous creator, with three shots and a string of deliveries that kept Zimmerman busy in the air.

The Turning Point: The 55th-Minute Double Switch

NYCFC had a lead, the ball and a plan. Fraser's double change broke it. Within four minutes of the substitutions, Toronto had a header saved, and within 15 it had the equalizer, with Sallói finishing the move. Sometimes coaching is as simple as putting a hot player on the field and letting him be hot.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Toronto 14, NYCFC 6.
• Shots on target: Toronto 6, NYCFC 2.
• Saves: Freese 5, Gavran 1.
• Possession: NYCFC 59.4 percent, Toronto 40.6 percent.
• Corners: Toronto 7, NYCFC 2.

What It Means

Toronto moved to 5-10-7 with 25 points and is unbeaten in five: the 1-1 at NYCFC on July 31, a 2-1 home win over New England on Aug. 15, a 3-3 draw with Charlotte on Aug. 19, a 2-1 win at Inter Miami on Aug. 22, and Saturday. The AP noted Toronto has lost only once in eight games since the World Cup break. Chicago visits BMO Field next, per the club.

NYCFC moved to 7-7-8 with 28 points. The five-match winless run includes three draws and back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Nashville SC is next, according to NYCFC.

Groundhog Day at BMO Field

Bill Murray kept waking up to the same day. These two keep waking up to the same scoreline. Two meetings in 29 days, two 1-1 draws, two teams that both felt they deserved more.

The difference this time is direction. Toronto is trending up and doing it with depth. NYCFC has a goalkeeper in top form and a playmaker who can score from anywhere, but it needs wins, not just points.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from the AP, Toronto FC (torontofc.ca) and New York City FC (newyorkcityfc.com); no postgame quotes were published on the official pages consulted.