New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers — here are your NYCFC player ratings for the 1-1 draw with a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami CF in South Florida on Matchday 6.
A draw with Inter Miami CF in 2024 seems like a solid result, but New York City FC finds itself in need of more than occasional one-point gains given the slow start to the team's season.
Nick Cushing's side walked out of Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. with a point thanks in large part due to a few gargantuan saves from goalkeeper Matt Freese and a well-taken equalizing goal from a little-used player making his first start for the club, attacker Alonso Martínez.
This was a Miami playing without Lionel Messi, though that seemed to intensify the efforts of striker Luis Suárez, who peppered Freese with shots and did manage to give the home team the lead thanks to yet another NYCFC set piece defending breakdown.
Your player ratings showed Freese more love for his brilliance in goal, rewarded Martínez for his nice finish and vital role in securing the road point, and also pointed a particularly unhappy finger in the direction of the team's first-choice striker, Mounsef Bakrar, who remains goalless this season (and received a match-low 4.1 rating from the voters).
It seems right that there would be a mix of admiration and disappointment reflected in player ratings for a road draw in which New York City FC was fortunate to keep the match level in the face of some great Miami chances, and also unfortunate to once again waste golden scoring opportunities in front of goal that could have seen them gain three points on the night.
Player of the Match honors might not come as much of a surprise, but you should read on to see who else got high and low grades in this draw that feels very much like the quintessential draw, where both teams walk away thinking they could have won and slightly disappointed they didn't.
