At the start of the day, with 11 games left and five points behind the last wildcard playoff spot, the Revolution were running out of time to get the season back under control.

“Every game is a cup final,” said coach Caleb Porter before Saturday’s game at Stade Saputo in Montreal.

The artistic 5-0 victory against CF Montreal on Saturday gave the Revolution real momentum in the playoffs, both in terms of content and in the table.

Carles Gil recorded two assists on his return from a calf injury that kept him out of action since late June.

Luca Langoni, the 22-year-old Argentine forward signed from Boca Juniors earlier this month, scored a goal and an assist in his MLS debut.

Bobby Wood, who has struggled with injuries all season, proved he is getting back into form with his first MLS brace, scoring four goals in his last three games, including the Leagues Cup.

And Aljaz Ivacic, who was signed in April, saved four times to secure his third clean sheet.

All of this resulted in the Revolution achieving their highest goal total in a game since 2022 and the most in an MLS game since July 21, 2021 against Inter Miami.

The last time Gil played for the Revolution, they beat FC Cincinnati for their fourth consecutive win, their biggest win of the season up to that point.

The Revolution (8-14-2, 26 points), unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, also moved up to 13th place in the Eastern Conference, just 2 points behind ninth-place Atlanta United, the last wildcard spot.

Wood scored both goals in the first 37 minutes. In the seventh minute, Gil sent a ball up the sideline to Bye, who passed it to a sliding Wood, who steered it past Montreal goalie Jonathan Sirois into the top right corner.

Thirty minutes later, Wood was sitting in the box with the ball at his feet and, as he rose to his feet, he slid it over the line with his heel, giving the Revolutions a 2-0 lead that lasted until halftime.

In the 71st minute, Gil pushed the ball towards the byline and played it to Vrioni, who slid it in front of the feet of Nick Lima, who fired it into the left post for his first goal of the season.

Vrioni, who came on for Wood in the 66th minute, scored himself in the 79th minute and Langoni capped off goals by Dylan Borrero and Ian Harkes four minutes later.

Brendan Kurie can be reached at [email protected].