Fresh off a closely contested win against FC Cincinnati, New York City FC (NYCFC) has a chance to extend its unbeaten run to six matches in MLS play this weekend against D.C. United at Yankee Stadium on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET).
City occupies the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, dangerously close to the drop, while the Black and Reds are bottom of the table. However, NYCFC has had troubles this season showing up against teams lower in the league table than them, losing six of 14 matches played so far.
“We’re coming off two quite impressive results,” NYCFC manager Pascal Jansen said Thursday. “For us, it’s simple. It doesn’t matter who we play; it’s about us and only us, and how we get ourselves into the playoffs in the best possible shape. D.C. is one of the teams that we have to face. Their results haven’t gone their way, but that is something we prepared for this match. But then it’s again, all about ourselves.”
The Boys in Blue are on a three-win bounce for the first time under Jansen — beating Dallas 4-3 away from home before the Leagues Cup, and Alonso Martínez scoring two separate winners against Nashville and Cincinnati. They have also been boosted by the return of captain Thiago Martins from knee surgery, who started against Cincy.
Martinez has been in deadly form. The Costa Rican scored four goals and notched an assist in four previous outings for the Pigeons. His goal tally for the season has gone up to 16, and he has displaced Maxi Moralez as NYCFC’s third-top scorer in club history with 30 across his City career.
No one else at City has hit double digits this season, and while Martínez is enjoying a purple patch of form while scoring decisive goals, others must contribute on the scoresheet for NYCFC to make a final push up the league table with eight matches left. It does not seem to worry Jansen, though.
“Many clubs have a top striker who represents a huge amount of goals for their sides,” Jansen said. “That’s no different in our team. Hannes [Wolf] is also in a good moment, scoring his goals and making sure that he has the assist. [Andres Perea] is joining in more. We have Nico [Fernández Mercau], who’s been added to the team, and Maxi [Moralez], who prepares goals. We’re not worried about that aspect at all.”
Wolf follows Martínez with nine goals, while contributing five assists in 25 league matches.
Nonetheless, the side has looked more settled since its four-match road trip at the end of July, during which they picked up seven out of a possible 12 points. Aidan O’Neill and Perea have started in four consecutive matches as the midfield pivots in Jansen’s 4-2-3-1 formation, providing a solid base for the team to build out play from the back.
“We’ve had a bit of stability, the starting 11 hasn’t changed too much,” O’Neill said on Thursday before the match. “That’s obviously down to good performances and good results. Something’s just really switched in us in terms of what all our roles are in the team, and how to score goals and not concede too many. Our understanding of each other and where we are on the pitch is getting better and better every week. That’s made us go on a good run of fixtures.”
O’Neill, in particular, had a standout match against Cincinnati. He dictated the team’s tempo with a 94% pass completion rate while winning over half his duels. The Australian has become a mainstay for NYCFC when fit. He has also been an inspired signing, especially after the side lost Keaton Parks to injury early in the season.
“I’ve just hit stride here in terms of understanding my role, other people’s roles, and movement from other players in the team,” O’Neill said. “A role of mine during those [last two] games was to try and shut those guys down and make sure they don’t get opportunities because they’re quality players, and they can punish you. I enjoyed that, to be honest.”
