NYCFC give up lead in stoppage time, draw Inter Miami to open 2025

The Pascal Jansen era has officially begun. And what a start it was.

New York City FC drew 2-2 with Inter Miami in a game that felt like three points dropped. NYCFC conceded early but capitalized on a Tomás Avilés red card to tie the game up and eventually took the lead early in the second half. But a Miami reduced to 10 players had the last laugh, scoring in the 10th minute of stoppage time to snatch a point.

There's a lot to unpack from the first Major League Soccer game under Jansen's belt.

A shaky start

Heading into the season opener against Miami, New York City were without two important starters: Thiago Martins and Tayvon Gray. Jansen slotted in Strahinja Tanasijević and Mitja Ilenič to fill in for the two injured defenders.

To make matters worse, NYCFC officially announced the departure of Santiago Rodríguez to Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas in Brazil's Série A less than two hours before kickoff. Rodríguez's transfer didn't come as a surprise, but it meant that New York City were without the engine of last year's attack, and took the field with zero Designated Players in the lineup.

From the opening whistle, Miami was all over New York City. It didn't take long for the home side to open the scoring as Tomás Avilés benefitted from a well-worked ball assisted by Lionel Messi.

It didn't look good for NYCFC – Miami were in complete control due to its effective press. All New York City could do was play a long ball to Alonso Martínez and try and find him in behind. But that strategy worked in the 22nd minute.

Maxi Moralez – now wearing the #10 shirt after the departure of Rodríguez – played a perfectly weighted pass to Martínez, who controlled it down before being pulled back by Avilés. Referee Alexis Da Silva sent off Avilés with a straight red, but because the challenge happened on the edge of the box, New York City were given a free-kick.

On the set piece, Moralez played a pass to the back post to Ilenič, who struck the ball with his right foot from a difficult angle. It was NYCFC's first goal of the season, and the second of Ilenič's career.

"It felt good, I saw the space there and I saw Maxi on the ball – I think we all know what we can expect when Maxi has the ball – so I just went there," Ilenič said. "To be honest, I did not expect that I would get the ball but with Maxi you never know. I go there, I got a good first touch, and I just put it in the net.

Ilenič hit the Cristiano Ronaldo "Siuu" celebration when celebrating the goal.

"I'm a big fan of Cristiano to be honest, so that was basically my dream, to do it in front of Messi," Ilenič said.

Mitja really is that guy 🐐 https://t.co/EorQGzpSlc pic.twitter.com/vhBOmSXQni

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 23, 2025

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NYCFC didn’t win their season-opening match for the seventh straight year, but they got a great performance from Alonso Martínez and a promising first glimpse of how Pascal Jansen will run his ship.

Hudson River BlueAndrew Leigh

Upset in Miami?

With the score tied at 1-1 heading into the second half, it felt like New York City could walk out of Chase Stadium with at least a point. Miami was down to 10 players, so the opportunity to also steal all three points was entirely on the table for NYCFC.

In the 55th minute, Jordi Alba passed the ball right to the feet of Martínez. With Martínez in the final third with time and space, El Clínico struck again with a perfect finish into the back of the net.

As the match went on, New York City started to sit back more, allowing Miami to get back into the game. Jansen brought on Jonathan Shore and Nico Cavallo, giving the two their MLS debuts.

Matt Freese made some impressive saves – including a Messi free-kick – to keep NYCFC in the lead, but things would change in stoppage time.

HE'S SO GOOD 🥶 pic.twitter.com/EsnGu0Xoom

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 23, 2025

The referee added 11 minutes of stoppage time after reviewing a potential Ilenič handball earlier in the half. The call was confirmed as no handball, but the VAR review took several minutes.

In the 10th minute of injury time, Messi found Telasco Segovia, who lifted the ball over Freese's head and into the goal for the late equalizer.

It was a crushing blow for New York City, which had been so close to defeating Miami and winning its season opener for the first time since 2018.

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New York City FC were two minutes away from their first opening day win since 2018.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

The Pascal Jansen era has begun

The tie is a promising result, and the future looks bright under Jansen. The Dutch coach was pleased with the result but thinks his side could've taken a 3-1 lead in the second half.

"Even though (Miami) had the late equalizer, I think we had two or three moments that we should've played out more accurate in order to score the third goal," he said.

The tough sledding continues for NYCFC, who will face LAFC on the road next Saturday night. New York City will hope Martins and Gray are healthy for the West Coast matchup.

"We were just a little too short; that sums it all up. But on the other hand, an away game starting against Miami is always a challenge, and I think my boys took on the challenge with a brave heart, and they were very courageous. I think we controlled some parts of the game the way we wanted to, especially out of possession, even though they went down to 10 men. But then again, it's always very, very sad to concede a late equalizer," Jansen said.