3 things we learned from Toronto FC’s wild 7-5 aggregate win over Montreal Impact in the MLS Cup playoffs

At the end of one of the best games and series in MLS history, Toronto FC is heading to their first ever MLS Cup final. They overcame a first leg deficit to defeat Montreal Impact 7-5 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they needed extra time to do it, winning 5-2 on the night.

The second leg was extremely physical from the first whistle, and Jozy Altidore was lucky to escape a nasty challenge without a booking in the 13th minute. He flew into Hernán Bernardello dangerously, causing the Montreal midfielder to injure his shoulder. He also appeared to have a head injury, but was allowed to continue. Bernardello was eventually subbed off at halftime.

Montreal added to their series lead in the 24th minute, capitalizing on some poor defending. Patrice Bernier muscled Michael Bradley off the ball to start the move and Dominic Oduro finished it, putting the Impact up 4-2 on aggregate.

But Toronto quickly fought their way back into the game. In what would become a theme in the match, they took advantage of some poor set piece defending in the 37th minute to get on the board. Nick Hagglund had his shot saved off Sebastian Giovinco’s delivery, but Armando Cooper was in position to finish the play.

Cooper should have drawn a penalty just a minute later, but referee Jair Marrufo missed the foul by Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush. But thankfully for Toronto, they didn’t have to wait much longer to take a lead in the series. After Altidore and Giovinco had a discussion about changing the corner play, Altidore lost his marker and headed into the back of the net at the near post to tie the series up at 4-4, giving Toronto the lead on away goals.

Toronto couldn’t hold onto the lead long, though they were the unlucky victims of some poor officiating on Montreal’s next goal. The Reds’ defending was terrible on the build-up to Ignacio Piatti’s shot and goal, but it should have been waived off -- Oduro was interfering with play and was a mile offside.

But the Impact’s set piece defending would let them down for a third time. They switched off completely in the 68th minute, letting Hagglund get a free header to tie up the series on both aggregate score and away goals.

The next 22 minutes plus stoppage time were extremely nerve-wracking for both teams. The game stayed wide-open and the defending questionable, but no one could find the back of the net, and the teams headed to extra time.

It looked like Toronto had suffered a horrible blow six minutes into extra time when Giovinco pulled up injured and had to be substituted, but TFC took the lead just two minutes later. Steven Beitashour was allowed too much space on the right flank to play a cross into the box and Benoit Cheyrou -- the man who replaced Giovinco -- got on the end of it to poke past Evan Bush.

Two minutes later, Toronto sealed their trip to the MLS Cup Final with a goal by Tosaint Ricketts, but it was all about the assist from Altidore. He won the ball in midfield and beat two defenders with his pace, a silky turn, and some power to set up the goal.

By virtue of their regular season record, Toronto will host the MLS Cup Final on December 10, when they’ll face the Seattle Sounders. Whoever wins, we’ll have a first-time MLS Cup champion.

Hernán Bernardello stayed in way too long

MLS has a concussion protocol, and has been very vocal about taking head injuries seriously. That protocol did not appear to be followed on Wednesday night. Bernardello was very clearly not right after his challenge with Altidore -- he looked dazed and players on both teams looked genuinely concerned for his safety. For the 30 minutes following the injury that he played, he didn’t look sharp at all. It’s ridiculous that the Impact didn’t substitute him immediately.

Jair Marrufo was terrible

Thankfully, there was enough great attacking and questionable defending to keep the referees from being decisive, but ... yikes. Marrufo and his crew had a genuinely horrible game. Not booking Altidore set the tone for the rest of the match, where he let a half-dozen other bookable offenses go. He also missed a clear penalty and an offside goal. Quality of officiating has been arguably the biggest problem with MLS in recent years, and it doesn’t look like much has changed.

What an all-time classic series that was

OK, enough with all the bad stuff -- that was one of the best series in the league’s history. Between the 12 goals, the wild back and forth swings, and the two deafening crowds, it had a little bit of everything. The tempo was ridiculous, neither team held the ball in midfield -- it was just non-stop action. The MLS Cup Final has a tough act to follow.