Leagues Cup has created a weird new break point in the lengthy MLS season. It's now natural to look at a year in pre- and post-Leagues Cup sections.
In 2024, New York City FC began the post-Leagues Cup portion of the schedule in a much better position than in 2023, but in both years, that first performance with MLS Back (not MLS Is Back, no one outside of Portland, Oregon needs to revisit that) ended in disappointment at Citi Field.
Another late lead evaporated, like it did in Cincinnati in Leagues Cup 19 days ago, though the 2-2 draw with Chicago Fire was still a point gained to bring the team up to 39 after 26 MLS matches, fifth in the Eastern Conference but still three points behind the Red Bulls for fourth and the promise of home-field advantage in the newish best-of-three round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The deflating loss 2023 NYCFC produced at Citi Field in their post-Leagues Cup opener against Minnesota United FC meant the team had just 26 points after 25 matches, another setback for a squad actively trying to integrate a slew of new summer signings while needing to string together a run of wins to grab one of the final playoff spots.
Of that wave of new talent to join in the summer of 2023, Julián Fernández, Mounsef Bakrar, and Birk Risa carried the highest expectations upon arrival, and all stepped straight into roles in Nick Cushing's squad.
They all still play important roles in the team, but a year later, it's now Alonso Martínez making the biggest on-field impact, scoring goals in bunches as the least-heralded member of that big summer transfer class. He also happens to be doing it while playing a relatively new position, striker, where he's established himself as a clinical finisher and the clear-cut best choice as a starter.
Martínez didn't arrive as the player meant to fill New York City's void at striker—he was a wide midfielder and winger with some limited experience as a center-forward. Yet he's been producing as New York City's No 9 while the player with the actual jersey number, Bakrar, is falling out of Cushing's rotation, and while the potential other heir apparent striker, 19-year-old Jovan Mijatović, is still trying to find a first MLS goal.
Andrew Leigh
This year's team is on much more solid footing in the Eastern Conference playoff race thanks in large part to Martínez's emergence as a striker, a potentially season-altering decision made by Cushing and company.
Where else would goals be coming from, considering newly-signed attacking players like Hannes Wolf, Fernández, Bakrar, Mijatović, and Agustín Ojeda have all had ups and downs and, to varying degrees, have yet to make clear how many goals they can be relied on to contribute over a full, lengthy MLS season.
Confidence in this 2024 team would be much higher heading into the home stretch of MLS games had New York City seen more of a return on their recent attacking investments, and if the team had avoided making a habit out of giving up late leads in damaging fashions. It happened in their first-ever home opener loss, it happened in the Leagues Cup group stage disaster in Cincinnati, and it happened the least-worst degree tonight at Citi Field to start this post-Leagues Cup run-in.
It remains as difficult as ever to get a good read on what's to come for this year's squad. As Hudson River Blue executive editor Oliver Strand laid out in his piece surveying The State of New York City FC at the conclusion of Leagues Cup, the team finds itself in a good spot in the standings, doesn't have a roster in flux like it did for most of 2023, and has a slate of tough-but-not-impossible fixtures to close out the regular season.
Oliver Strand
While things seem lined up neatly for New York City to reach the playoffs, it's also not clear what this squad is capable of doing once in them. They've gotten back to being tough to beat at home, yet they've also blown multiple late leads in home games, wouldn't have a home-field advantage if the MLS Cup Playoffs began today, and still remain far less dangerous as a creative and attacking force when they play games away from home.
Letting two points slip away in this manner at home against the Fire doesn't do much for the vibes heading into this last stretch of league games. The team is still the youngest in the league—it's always Kids Night when you start a 17-year-old fullback and bring on a 19-year-old striker as a sub—but the improvement from 2023 to 2024 has raised expectations, as have a handful of standout team performances to this point in the season.
The roster is settled and a first-choice Starting XI has started to show itself, but it's still extremely hard to figure out the identity of this year's New York City FC.
