By Canadian Press

Ignacio Piatti has Toronto FC’s full attention ahead of MLS Eastern final

Nov 18, 2016 | 11:45 AM

TORONTO — Elegant and dangerous, Montreal Impact attacking midielder Ignacio Piatti has Toronto FC’s full attention going into the MLS Eastern Conference final.

Toronto players know you lose track of the Argentine at your peril.

“He’s their danger-man,” said veteran Toronto defender Drew Moor.

Lethal on the counter-attack, Piatti will trigger much of the Montreal offence when the two Canadian rivals square off at Olympic Stadium on Tuesday in Game 1 of the two-legged series that will send the winner on to the MLS Cup final against either Colorado or Seattle.

Piatti scored 17 goals and added six assists this season, meaning he was directly involved in 47 per cent of the Impact’s 49 goals. Five of his goals were game-winners.

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He has another three goals and an assist in playoff wins over D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls.

“Piatti doesn’t need many looks to put something in the back of the net or set somebody else up,” said Toronto coach Greg Vanney.

Excellent on the ball, the 31-year-old Impact star can twist defenders into knots and be deadly in sight of goal. At a salary of US$425,000, according to the MLS Players Union, Piatti is also one of the league’s biggest bargains.

“You can put him up there along with Giovinco as maybe one of the MVP snubs (this season),” said Toronto fullback Steven Beitashour, who will look to be up close and personal with Piatti on Tuesday.

“He’s definitely a world-class player, he’s got such good quality. He’s just one of those players that you always have to keep an eye on because you can shut him down 10, 11, 12 times but then that 13th time — whatever (if it’s) the 70th, 80th minute — he’ll get a great chance and then put it away most likely.

“You just non-stop have to be aware of him, where he is and try to limit as many chances as you can.”

Piatti tormented the Red Bulls in the Eastern semifinal, using his right foot to flick the ball past Chris Duvall at the edge of the box and then ignoring the onrushing Aurelien Collin to hammer a left-footed shot home.

Piatti will no doubt play a key part in Toronto’s choice of formation Tuesday. TFC has been playing with a back three of late, pushing its fullbacks up high. Previously it had used a 4-4-2 variation, utilizing a midfield diamond with captain Michael Bradley at the base and Jonathan Osorio ahead of him.

In some quarters, the belief is width of the 3-5-2 could open up space for Piatti to work his magic.

“Whatever system we play, I think we’ve got to be very aware of him,” said Vanney. “He’s clever, regardless of the shape we decide to go with. He’s a guy who defends up to a certain point, enough to help his team, then immediately he’s finding a transition position so that they look for him in the counter-attack.

“Regardless of our shape we have to know where he is at all times, even when we have the ball because he is the first guy they look for. (Striker Matteo ) Mancosu, assuming he’s ready to go, is not that different. He a guy that gets into good spots when you least expect it and finds these little gaps and holes.”

Moor knows Piatti likes to ghost into position.

“He kind of likes to drift off your shoulder a little bit. He’ll kind of hide from you when we’re in possession. and then they look for him to break … If you give him time and space he can pass the ball, he can beat you one on one and he can score from just about anywhere.

“So certainly he’s their danger man right now but he’s got some other good players around him.” 

They include Mancosu and the speedy Dominic Oduro, a former TFC attacker who patrols the opposite flank to Piatti.

For Toronto defender Eriq Zavaleta, the key is to limit Patti’s space and opportunity.

“It’s going to start with the defensive pressure up front and to then get numbers around Piatti as quickly and as fast as possible because in open spaces he’s as good as it gets in this league.”

“Ideally it’s a team effort,” added Beitashour. “But you kind of want to keep him in front of you, you don’t necessarily want eyes in the back of your head. You want to make sure the eyes in the front are keeping a good distance on him and making sure he’s always near.”

Vanney says Toronto will make life a lot easier by grabbing an early lead, forcing a Montreal team that likes to counter-attack to open up.

Including pre-season, the Amway Canadian Championship and league play, the two Canadian rivals have played each other six times this year.

Toronto won two, lost one and there were three draws.

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press