Charlotte FC Report: Week 22, 2022
Last week, Charlotte FC was down, then they received a huge momentum boost. They were defeated by Inter Miami CF, 3-2. Charlotte scored two goals early in what was a later matchup due to a rain delay. The two goals came from the leg of Yordy Reyna, but the Charlotte defense couldn’t contain Miami in the 2nd half. I forgot to mention the Chelsea/Charlotte FC Friendly in last week’s article, but I didn’t really have much to say to be honest. It is a friendly after all. Nevertheless, it wound up being a huge, huge game for Charlotte. Charlotte pulled off the upset in a penalty shootout. The refs ruled that there would be a winner after a regulation draw and Charlotte got the win. The lone regulation goal came from Daniel Rios on a Penalty after Brian Romero drew the hand ball penalty. This win means nothing on paper, but it will be one that will last for the club. This doesn’t hurt Chelsea whatsoever because of the fact that this is a preseason match for them and they weren’t playing at full strength. As for Charlotte, to go toe-to-toe with one of the biggest powerhouse clubs in the world is a big accomplishment. If you watched the game, you could tell that Chelsea was by far the better team, but sometimes all it takes is a couple lucky breaks and that’s just what happened to Charlotte in the closing seconds of regulation. Hopefully that momentum will ride strong into this matchup going across the border.
MLS
The home club is facing Toronto FC and luckily for Charlotte, Toronto is struggling. They’re currently 27th in the MLS and have been on a skid. However, they appear to be bolstering their roster. They will have two Italian stars make their debut tonight in Toronto. Wingers Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne are both making their debuts tonight and the timing is unfortunate for Charlotte, but that doesn’t mean the two strikers will be cohesive right out of the gate. Bernardeschi last played for Juventus FC and Insigne played for Napoli and both are considered top MLS talent. Insigne signed over a month ago but had a calf injury that has held him out since then, but Bernardeschi signed last week. It will be interesting to see how this lineup changes with these two additions and hopefully Charlotte can contain them tonight. Toronto gives up a lot of goals. They give up the third most, however, their scoring output is similar to that of Charlotte.
Yacs