February 28, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Thomas Müller (13) celebrates scoring on a corner kick by midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) (not pictured) against Toronto FC goalkeeper Luca Gabran (1) in the first half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Image Thomas Müller scored a first-half assist to lead the Whitecaps to a 3-0 win over Toronto FC in Vancouver on Saturday night.
Brian White also scored in the first half, and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made three saves in his second consecutive clean sheet to open the MLS season.
With the win, Vancouver (2-0-0, 6 points) improved to 4-0-1 in its last five regular season games against Toronto.
The Reds (0-2-0, 0 points) are now 6-9-4 in 19 MLS meetings against their Western Canadian rivals.
Toronto, which was down 3-0, had a golden opportunity to take the lead early in the second half. Djordje Mihailovic thought he would get Toronto on the board in the 55th minute, but the midfielder was flagged for offside.
And in the 74th minute, Takaoka made a diving save on Toronto midfielder Jose Cifuentes. It was the Reds’ first shot on goal.
Vancouver controlled possession by making 5 effective shots in the first half.
Aziel Jackson was awarded a penalty kick in the 24th minute of the first half after being awarded a penalty kick by Walker Zimmermann. In the ensuing penalty kick, Müller opened the scoring with a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner past Luca Gabran.
12 minutes later, Sebastian Berhalter’s corner kick was headed by Matthias Borda to Müller, and the German midfielder fired a left-footed shot into the goal.
Another Berhalter corner in first-half stoppage time found Gavran out of position and allowed White to score with a right-footed strike.
Vancouver next travels to Portland for their first away game of the season next Saturday. Toronto visits Cincinnati next Sunday to conclude a three-game road trip to open the season.
–Field level media
