At 37 years old, not too long removed from knee surgery, and in what might be his final days as a New York City FC player, Maxi Moralez remains as important as ever.
When Moralez has played this season, he has changed New York City's attacking dynamic and made the team doubly dangerous, especially when deployed alongside fellow advanced playmaker Santiago Rodríguez.
Even though there's a bunch of other new, younger attacking talent in place – like Santi, Hannes Wolf, Alonso Martínez – Moralez remains integral to NYCFC's chances of advancing with the season hanging in the balance with a decisive Game 3 to be played against FC Cincinnati on the road at TQL Stadium.
NYCFC will need Maxi Moralez to rediscover the form he was in right before the team lost on Decision Day against CF Montréal if they are to make the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals and host the Red Bulls in a first-ever postseason Hudson River Derby.
Yes, the New York City attack came to life with Maxi Moralez back in the Starting XI at Citi Field in Game 2. That NYCFC attacking revitalization wasn't on account of Moralez's individual performance, though, as he had one of his quieter games while playing 70 minutes in the 3-1 win.
His game was muted based on what we've come to expect from the 2024 version of the attacking midfielder, who on a per-90-minute basis during the MLS regular season was responsible for 6.29 shot-creating actions, 7.59 completed passes into the final third, and three key passes, per FBRef.com.
Moralez hasn't been able to approach those numbers in his three most recent appearances, starting with the Decision Day loss in Montréal and continuing through these first two playoff games against FC Cincinnati.
He's averaged 59 minutes played in these three matches but has been held at or below three shot-creating actions in each, with only one key pass in each of the two playoff matches against Cincinnati (and zero key passes in the regular-season finale in Canada). While he completed eight passes into the final attacking third in the shutout loss in Montréal, that number has been two and three, respectively, in the first two playoff games against Cincinnati.
This relative attacking cold spell for Maxi comes after a five-match stretch – against Philadelphia, Inter Miami, the Red Bulls, Cincinnati, and Nashville – in which he looked like he'd returned to something close to his peak MLS form.
He had one goal and two assists across those matches, and had five or more shot-creating actions and played multiple key passes in each game, averaging 73 minutes played.
Health might be a factor for Moralez at this late stage of the 2024 season. Nick Cushing confirmed after the Game 1 loss in Cincinnati that his 37-year-old Argentine was dealing with an injury and the team decided not to start him as a result of that injury concern.
He's not been unhealthy enough to be kept out of action, but just how much does Moralez have in the tank at this point? Does he have one more big playoff performance in him, or possibly a string of big playoff performances, since that's what it would take if NYCFC is to both advance and win their first playoff meeting with their biggest rival?
Moralez no longer looks like a 90-minute player, playing a complete game only four times across his 24 appearances (14 starts) in all competitions this season. He still produced elite attacking stats on a per-90-minute basis when he has seen the field, and has done it against the teams NYCFC will need to get through in these next two potential playoff matches.
NYCFC proved it can beat Cincinnati with a less impactful version of Moralez in the attack, but adding the "best" version of Maxi, the playmaker who flashed that he could still make key plays throughout much of this 2024 season, to an in-form Rodríguez might be enough to break through that stout Cincinnati back line and pull off a Game 3 upset.
Oliver Strand
If it’s critical for the New York City defense to hold Luciano Acosta quiet in this decisive Game 3, it’s also critical for Moralez to turn back the clock and produce a vintage midfield maestro performance to pick apart that Cincy back three of Miles Robinson, Teenage Hadebe, and Chidozie Awaziem.
The future for Maxi-at-NYCFC is uncertain, as per the official MLS club roster profiles released in September, Moralez has no contract or contract options with the club beyond 2024.
He's said goodbye to New York City FC once before, and if this is to be his last go-round playing for the club, fans and team alike will be hoping he's able to conjure a few more nights of magic before the end arrives.
