The Montreal Impact cannot be blamed for moving Tuesday’s first leg of the MLS Eastern Conference to the Olympic Stadium. With triple their usual fans in the building, the it’ll certainly have a big-game feel. The 60,000-plus fans will pad Montreal’s ticket revenue, and they’ll be nice and warm in the domed stadium.
What IMFC may not explicitly mention, though, is the tactical advantage the team draws from the synthetic turf surface on which they’ll host Toronto FC.
The Big O’s pitch is notorious for baffling opposing teams. Montreal have beaten some strong competition in the CONCACAF Champions League in that venue, most recently CF Pachuca and Alajuelense in 2015.