New York City earn two points in Leagues Cup opener

Leagues Cup returned to the Big Apple on Sunday night, with Yankee Stadium playing host to its first tournament match of the season as New York City FC drew Liga MX side Querétaro FC in a scoreless draw then earned the extra point after winning the penalty shootout 4-3. New York City now lead Leagues Cup East Group 1 with two points.

A clutch save from Luis Barraza in the penalty shootout was easily the climax of a forgettable night of soccer. For 90 minutes, the game was a chaotic, zombie-like affair lacking poise or creativity.

An aggressive match from the jump, both sides combined for a whopping 27 fouls as they attempted to assert physical dominance over their opposition. Challenges flew in left and right, and it seemed that the game was being paused constantly due to a foul, for a player to receive treatment, or both. And yet, despite the constant barrage of tackles and scuffles between players, there was little action to be had anywhere else for either side, especially in front of goal.

It genuinely seemed like no player was capable of scoring. So, it was fitting that a match in which true goalscoring chances were few and far between, was decided via a penalty shootout. After Querétaro captain Kevin Escamilla, taking the third penalty for his team, fired his attempt off the crossbar, striker Jovan Mijatović found the back of the net for the first time since joining New York City to give the home team the lead. Then second-choice keeper Barraza stepped up and saved the attempt from Ronaldo Cisneros to secure two points for the Boys in Blue.

Aggressive, yet dull

New York City entered this match in fifth place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, with 38 points after 25 games. That's in contrast to Querétaro, who suffered four straight defeats to open the Liga MX Apertura season and currently sit in dead last. For a match played between two sides far apart in terms of quality, one would've expected a dominant showing from the Boys in Blue.

Rather, fans witnessed a New York City side lacking any clinical touch or true creative spark. It seemed that the players were more focused on physically dominating each other, with nearly all attacks for both sides ending in either a foul being called, or in a tame effort towards the goal.

For Querétaro, who are a side that operates a man-to-man style defense, unlike most MLS sides, this played right into their hands. Before the first half ended, both Mounsef Bakrar and Talles Magno were issued yellow cards for retaliatory fouls against Querétaro players. It continued into the second half, when striker Jovan Mijatović came on as a substitute and received a yellow of his own for getting in the face of a Querétaro defender. The Mexican side did well to get in the heads of the NYCFC players.

Thankfully for the Boys in Blue, Querétaro were just as ineffective in front of goal as the hosts. Chances came and went for both sides throughout the match, but there wasn't much quality to be seen. The two combined for 29 total shots, but only 10 those were on target, and none troubled either goalkeeper.

But even that stat doesn't paint the whole picture. It was an absolute snooze-fest for those in attendance and watching at home, with neither side deserving to get anything out of this match.

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Barraza steps up

New York City Head Coach Nick Cushing made several changes to the Starting XI he played tonight. Keaton Parks, Santi Rodríguez, and Hannes Wolf were all dropped due to illness or injury. It showed. New York City lacked creativity and composure despite Maxi Moralez playing the full 90 minutes.

Cushing made one change purely for the sake of rotation, and that was bringing in Barraza for first-choice goalkeeper Matt Freese.

Barraza, whose last appearance for the First Team was back on August 26, 2023, when New York City fell to FC Cincinnati 3-0, has found it hard to get a sniff in the Starting Xi given Freese's stellar campaign between the sticks thus far. That said, Barraza took hold of the opportunity given to him last night with both hands. Barraza was arguably NYCFC's best player on the pitch, making five saves during regulation time in addition to the point-winning save in the penalty shootout.

Barraza was the key to Cushing's side walking away any points at all vs Querétaro.

New York City fans can take comfort in having such a capable goalkeeper in a backup role. This performance proves that Cushing can call on Barraza should Freese needs rotating or picks up an injury.

And who knows, Barraza may just assert himself as the keeper of choice for the rest of Leagues Cup play if he builds off this momentum.

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A dire lack of creativity

New York City FC's lack of creativity going forward and inability to convert chances shouldn't be a surprise. This has been a worrying trend all season.

However, Sunday night's matchup, against a dreadful Querétaro side who sit bottom of the Liga MX table, proved that this concern is much more serious than just hoping that Mounsef Bakrar, Jovan Mijatović, and Talles Magno find their feet.

Though Cushing rested some key starters, including Rodríguez and Wolf, arguably the two most creative players in the squad, the gulf in class between the two sides on paper was wide enough to expect at least some attacking advantage from the Boys in Blue. Yet NYCFC struggled to create any concrete chances from the opening kickoff despite Moralez pulling the strings in the midfield.

Left-back Christian McFarlane's close-range header was as close as Cushing's side could come to breaking the deadlock during the first 45 minutes of the game. It was only kept out thanks to some impressive reflexes from Queretaro's Guillermo Allison.

Talles Magno was in the Starting XI for the first time this year after his heroics in the 2-2 draw vs Atlanta United on July 17th. But the Designated Player wasn't a factor on the left vs Querétaro. The Brazilian managed just two shots before being subbed off in the 69th minute. Both shots were on target, but they posed no challenge for Allison in net.

The lack of offensive output should be troubling. However, when asked about the squad's clear struggles to create and finish off chances in the final third, Cushing seemed rather unbothered by what he saw Sunday night.

When asked specifically about the possibility of bringing in new talent to help bolster the front line during the summer transfer window, Cushing answered, "When I look at the team, I'm really content with the squad that I've got."

It was a strange comment to hear in the press room. Being content with your squad when you're comfortably in the playoff spots is one thing, but it's another when that same squad fails to score a goal in 90 minutes against the worst team in Mexico's top flight.

It comes after a four-game road trip in which New York City took just three points out of a possible 12, scoring only four goals.

Is this squad crying out for help? A First Team that need more depth, and more creativity? Or was this a heavily rotated side holding their own against a physical ima MX opponent in a game that might not factor much in the club's ambitions for the season?

If it's the former, additions need to be made if this squad are to remain competitive come the start of the MLS Cup Playoffs. If it's the latter, then this game was played as if it counted as much as Manchester City's friendly loss to AC Milan in this same stadium on Saturday afternoon.