New York City FC fell behind early and couldn't complete the comeback against Minnesota United FC at Yankee Stadium, falling 2-1 to the visiting Loons.
New York City now sits staring at two straight defeats, with Pascal Jansen's team unable to erase the negativity that permeated since the team lost 4-3 in shambolic fashion in Atlanta last weekend.
With the Minnesota match now complete, here are four thoughts at the final whistle from what was a disappointing afternoon for the home team in the Bronx.
1. Flat from the start
The match could not have started worse for New York City, and it came right on the heels of the cataclysmic ending in Atlanta last weekend. Having squandered that 3-1 second-half lead at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a response was needed and expected from NYCFC as they returned home. Instead of coming out sharp and with an edge, New York City got cut open and conceded inside the first two minutes of the match. Mitja Ilenič and Thiago Martins both pinched slightly too far up into the midfield and when Minnesota forced a turnover, the Loons wasted no time stringing together a lethal counterattack between Kelvin Yeboah, Joaquin Pereyra, and the opening goalscorer Tani Oluwaseyi.
You don't want to start your home games this badly on the back foot, but it's how NYCFC started its Sunday afternoon. They faced a similar uphill battle in the New England Revolution match on Matchday 5, but that was a self-inflicted error. Minnesota instead pounced on the eagerness of NYCFC's defenders to get upfield while in possession, and the visitors put themselves in the driver's seat from the jump.
2. Early hooks
Pascal Jansen watched his team fall behind by two goals, with Minnesota creating chances to be ahead by even more, and decided he couldn't wait until the halftime break to change things up. Birk Risa's return to the Starting XI was short-lived, as was Julian Fernández's afternoon, with both players removed at the 40-minute mark in favor of Strahinja Tanasijević and Mounsef Bakrar, respectively. The subs were an obvious attempt by Jansen to wake his lethargic and second-best team up before halftime, and it almost worked, given NYCFC earned a penalty kick shortly before the half, one they failed to convert.
Singling out Fernández and Risa might have been harsh but it was also justified. Julián struggled in possession and turned the ball over right before the Minnesota counter which opened the scoring in the second minute. Risa looked out of sorts playing next to Thiago for the entirety of his shift, as both center-backs seemed to get caught out of position and not on the same page with a little too much frequency during the first half. Bakrar entering for Fernández let NYCFC play with two strikes up top, with their formation becoming a three-at-the-back one by the 60th minute when Mitja Ilenič was removed for Agustín Ojeda.
Jansen threw the proverbial kitchen sink at his team's problems against Minnesota, but nothing actually turned the tide for the home team. Bakrar struggled to make much of an impact while paired up top with Martínez, and while NYCFC dominated possession, they didn't put a single shot on target to test Dayne St. Clair in the first 70 minutes of the match. Their first on-target attempt occurred at 76' and it wasn't followed by a flurry of other, better looks, as the NYCFC attack continues to look lost in the final third.
3. Played to the Loons' strengths
The match played out exactly how Minnesota would have wanted. They took a lead almost instantly and were able to take control of the match in their own, slightly counterintuitive way. Minnesota feasts on the counterattack and doesn't need to have lots of possession or control of the flow of the game to cause teams problems. That's what they did to NYCFC: The Loons had under 30% possession of the ball, but they created the biggest chances of the game and actually should have scored more than their two goals, with Matt Freese making a few good saves to keep his team hanging around.
Kelvin Yeboah and Tani Oluwaseyi looked dangerous all day, attacking midfielder Joaquin Pereyra had two assists, and the Minnesota attack did what it had to do to punish NYCFC. There was no reciprocal threat coming from NYCFC, perhaps because this game played out exactly how Minnesota would have wanted.
4. A 'complete' roster?
Pascal Jansen has consistently brushed aside questions about NYCFC transfer needs or parts of his roster that might need improving when asked, even going so far as to say the following when asked about the depth of his squad prior to the recent trip to Columbus:
Jansen on the #NYCFC roster: "We have a complete roster. Obviously we have our attention on the market still because the window is open, but we have a complete roster. I'm perfectly fine with the guys that we have at the moment and that's where I'm going to focus on until things change."
— Hudson River Blue (@hudsonriverblue.com) March 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Watching NYCFC struggle to deal with Minnesota defensively, and watching NYCFC struggle to break down the Loons while in possession, should raise some questions about the completeness of that roster. Maxi Moralez was again starting and playing all 90 minutes as the central attacking midfielder, but again didn't have much of an impact on the proceedings while his team played from behind all day.
Alonso Martínez has done the bulk of the goalscoring, but he didn't deliver in this game while on penalty kick duty – a responsibility that previously fell to one Santiago Rodríguez, who had an excellent record of converting his PKs. Speaking of Santi, his ability to create chances from nothing and set up shots for both himself and his teammates is sorely missed in this New York City squad. Minnesota's version of a player like Santi or Maxi, the Argentine Pereyra, recorded two assists at Yankee Stadium. That's the kind of player NYCFC is still missing this season, even as Sporting Director David Lee projects an air of confidence about the team's plans to be active during this and the next transfer window.
Jansen might be technically correct in calling his roster "complete," in that he's got the required number of players for MLS competition. Yet it's not the kind of complete roster you'd expect of a team serious about pushing for trophies or playoff success in 2025. They keep putting two goalkeepers on the bench on Matchdays and keep turning to teenagers like Jonathan Shore to pick them up and put in MLS-caliber performances early in their careers, all signs that more help is desperately needed to make 2025 a year to remember (for good reasons).
Andrew Leigh
