NYCFC have the best defense in MLS

The New York City FC defenders are so good that you hardly notice them.

When the team climbed back into the playoff zone after scoring three goals against Toronto FC on Sunday, it was the attack that grabbed the headlines. After all, it was NYCFC’s anemic goal production during the first six months of the season that was most in need of fixing.

New York City were held scoreless eight times in their first 26 games, and scored just once in another 11 games. With three goals against Toronto on Sunday, and two against Orlando City last Wednesday, the attack is finally looking dangerous. It’s among the Top 10 in the league.

And NYCFC’s defense? Why, it’s the best in MLS by a wide margin.

MLS Goals Allowed by Team, 5 Most Recent Games: Top 10

* Currently in the playoff zone

New York City logged their third consecutive clean sheet on Sunday and have allowed just one goal in their last five games. No other team in the league comes close. The US Open Cup-winning Houston Dynamo allowed the second-fewest goals in that span with four total, three from open play. To put that in context, the league’s five-game average is 7.6 goals allowed, while the median is 7.0 goals allowed. (The table below shows the goals allowed for the Top 10 teams in MLS; you will find a table with all 29 teams at the end of this post.)

That single goal against came courtesy of a soft penalty awarded to Ryan Gauld of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Dating back to the end of August, NYCFC haven’t allowed a single goal from open play.

Matt Freese and Birk Risa and Thiago Martins

It’s no accident that those five games featured Matt Freese in goal, and center-backs Birk Risa and Thiago Martins anchoring a back-four. It looks like head coach Nick Cushing finally found a defensive formula that works.

In four of the previous five games, injuries and transfers forced Cushing to play a back three featuring a rotating cast of Maxime Chanot, Thiago Martins, Risa, Tayvon Gray, and Justin Haak, depending on who was available. Luis Barraza was in goal for all of those five games, as he had become the de-facto starter without ever officially being named the team’s No 1.

NYCFC allowed nine goals in those five games, all from open play. New York City earned just two points from a possible 15 during the run.

True, all five of NYCFC’s most recent games were played at home, while three of the previous five were played on the road. But you see that the NYCFC defense now feels more settled and more steady. Risa might not have the dramatic intensity of Chanot, the defender he essentially replaced, but just seven starts into his NYCFC career and the 26-year-old is establishing himself as one of the more consistent performers on the team.

Risa and Thiago Martins form a conservative, even cautious pairing, and that’s OK. They move in tandem, and rarely leave the other exposed. We all loved how former NYCFC center-back Alexander Callens made the occasional thrilling foray into the opposition’s box by dribbling through the opposition like a midfielder, but when he did he abandoned his post. Risa feeds the NYCFC attack with his exquisite long balls without giving up his defensive positioning.

The two are developing a partnership with Freese, who is Cushing’s current choice for goalkeeper. Freese made just seven league starts all season, but was in the net for NYCFC’s five most recent games. In those five games he made 13 saves – and let in that one penalty – for an unreal save percentage of 92.9.

A good offense is the best defense

The offense deserves some credit for the team’s defensive performances. Teams are forced to be more cautious with NYCFC’s now-dangerous attack, and give a little room to a midfield and defense that they relentlessly pressed in the past. Now, NYCFC’s opponents can be punished when they push too high.

MLS Goals Scored by Team, 5 Most Recent Games: Top 10

* Currently in the playoff zone

That gives more room to James Sands and Andrés Perea to work in the midfield, which in turn allowed the defense to remain composed and keep their shape.

In the past, NYCFC’s midfielders and defenders were relentlessly harassed by both high-pressing and possession teams that acted with impunity: If NYCFC recovered the ball, they didn’t do much more than pass it around the defense and hope that some space opened up. More recently, NYCFC has shown how they can move the ball quickly, and create a chance out of nothing.

In the second goal against CF Montréal on August 30, Thiago Martins stops dead and makes a simple pass to Risa, who then sends Mounsef Bakrar a long pass that puts him clear on goal. The entire sequence takes 10 seconds to go from the foot of Thiago Martins to the back of the net:

The emergence of Andres Jasson as a goal-scoring threat, the return to form of Santiago Rodríguez, and the newfound confidence of Talles Magno contribute indirectly to the team’s defensive solidity. When they make trouble in the attack, the other team is forced to be more cautious when not in possession.

NYCFC’s next opponents: Inter Miami, DC United

The only two MLS teams to be among the league leaders in both defense and offense are NYCFC and Houston. Atlanta United and Inter Miami score often, but they have leaky defenses: Atlanta allowed eight goals in their last five games, and didn’t post a clean sheet, while Miami let Atlanta score five in one game, and Sporting Kansas City score two the game before that.

NYCFC’s matchup with Inter Miami will pit the best defense in the league against one of its top attacks.

Or will it? NYCFC’s defensive core of Freese, Risa, and Thiago Martins will undoubtedly start, but Miami might be without Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. Miami is still dangerous, and scored four against Toronto without Messi and Alba last week. But they’re also inconsistent, and managed just one stoppage-time consolation goal in last night’s 2023 US Open Cup Final loss to Houston.

The following week, NYCFC will face a DC United that had one of the stingiest defenses in MLS until last week’s head-scratching performance against the New Jersey Red Bulls, in which they gave up five goals to a team that had only scored 25 goals all season up to that point.

This Saturday, NYCFC will face a Miami that may not be as good as recent numbers suggest, but that are still dangerous. The following Saturday, NYCFC will face a DC United that are better than recent numbers suggest, and that will be desperate to climb back into the playoff zone.

For both games, NYCFC will have a defense that is good and getting better with every contest.

MLS Goals Allowed by Team, 5 Most Recent Games: All Clubs

* Currently in the playoff zone

MLS Goals Scored by Team, 5 Most Recent Games: All Clubs