New York City FC Player Ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers — here are your NYCFC player ratings for the rough road loss to DC United at Audi Field that put New York City’s season on the brink.
Starting XI
Mounsef Bakrar (off 80′) – 3.9
Mounsef really struggled to get into the game, registering only 20 touches and 2 shots on the night. He didn’t get the level of service he’s seen in recent matches, but he could have done more to get involved.
FotMob gave the striker a 6.1.
Talles Magno (off 72′) – 5.9
I thought Talles was our most dangerous player on Saturday, even if he wasn’t at his best himself. I was disappointed to see him substituted.
FotMob gave the winger a 6.7 for his contributions.
Andres Jasson (off 60′) – 4.0
While the Homegrown came into the match in great form, he just didn’t bring that same end product we’ve seen in recent games. As usual, he progressed the ball well and was effective on the dribble, but it all just seemed to come undone when he reached the final third.
FotMob gave the American a 6.8.
Santiago Rodríguez – 5.6
I though he looked solid enough, but Santi didn’t quite take over this game in the way we needed him to. We’ve seen the DP take games by the scruff of the neck in big matches before, even as recently as last week in Miami, but it wasn’t to be on the night.
FotMob gave the No 10 a 7.1, the highest of any NYCFC player on the evening.
James Sands – 5.4
Jimmy was getting stuck in all over the field on Saturday, and seemed to relish the importance of this match to our season.
In my mind, he did his part. He broke up play effectively, and was crisp in possession all night.
With the exception of a complete takeover game, I guess there’s only so much you can do from holding midfielder in games like this.
FotMob handed Sands a 6.7.
Andrés Perea – 5.2
While no one looked quite at it down in DC, Andrés Parea continues to impress as a versatile midfield option for this NYCFC side on loan, especially with the late-season injuries to Maxi Moralez and Keaton Parks.
If there’s a way to get Perea through the door on a permanent basis, I’d be here for it.
FotMob dished out a 5.8 to the Philadelphia loanee.
Kevin O’Toole – 4.6
I think there are questions to be asked of O’Toole’s marking on DC’s first goal, where it looked like a miscommunication between he and Perea led to Steve Birnbaum’s free header and Mateusz Klich’s rebound tap-in.
Set pieces aside, O’Toole was effective going forward and created dangerous moments for himself and his teammates. On another night, he could have easily had a goal, an assist, or both.
FotMob gave a 6.6 to the fullback.
Tayvon Gray – 5.3
Tayvon wasn’t quite as comfortable in possession as he’s been in recent matches, but I thought he had a solid-enough outing. But, given the number of big chances DC were able to generate, I’m hesitant to celebrate any defender’s performance too much.
FotMob gave the Jamaica international a 6.7.
Birk Risa (off 72′) – 3.9
This was a run-of-the-mill performance marred by a brutal moment. DC United’s second goal was practically gift wrapped by Risa, who nodded the through ball straight back to Chris Durkin before slipping and removing himself from the play entirely.
I love Birk for what he’s brought to NYCFC so far, but that just can’t happen in big games like this.
FotMob gave a 5.9 to the Norwegian.
Thiago Martins – 4.9
The DP center-half looked decent enough, and wasn’t at fault for either goal in my book. But, two goals is two goals, right?
FotMob gave a 6.1.
Matt Freese – 6.0
You can hardly point the finger at Freese for either goal, can you? He made a few decent saves along the way, and was more or less mistake free for 90 minutes. That’s the life of a goalkeeper sometimes.
FotMob gave a 6.2.
Substitutes
Julián Fernández (on 60′) – 5.4
Julián came on in the 60th minute for a banged-up Andres Jasson, giving him a solid half hour to make an impact on the match.
While I was personally super excited to see him get such a run out, I don’t think he quite lived up to my expectations. Maybe that’s only because I think this kid’s potential is sky high, or maybe it’s because this lad is only 19 years old, but he didn’t quite make the impact I think he could have.
FotMob gave the young Argentine a 6.6 for the performance.
Alonso Martínez (on 72′) – 4.3
This was a bit of an odd decision in my book, as we subbed out a dangerous-looking Talles Magno for a player who has only seen 12 minutes all season.
I don’t think Alonso looked bad out there necessarily, but that was a big decision from Nick Cushing to have not paid off.
FotMob gave the Costa Rican international a 5.8.
Justin Haak (on 72′) – 4.8
Haak entered the frame in the 72nd minute as part of a double change alongside Alonso Martínez, with the tandem coming on for Birk Risa and Talles Magno.
He played deeper in this match, operating as a defender rather than occupying a midfield role. He looked solid enough on the day, and pitched a clean sheet in his 18 minutes of work.
FotMob handed the Homegrown a 6.4 rating.
Keaton Parks (on 80′) – 5.0
Keaton came on in the 80th minute for center forward, Mounsef Bakrar, in an interesting substitution from Nick Cushing. He got off one decent shot from the top of the box, but it wasn’t enough to mount the comeback NYCFC needed to keep their playoff hopes realistic.
FotMob says Keaton earned a 6.4.
Player of the Match
Talles Magno
The people have spoken: Talles Magno is officially back in the good graces of NYCFC fans. Regardless of New York City’s playoff situation this season, the bounce-back of Talles Magno down the stretch has been a bright spot for fans and players alike.
Everyone’s rooting for the kid, and it’s great to see him playing with more confidence. Now, I just hope he stays…
Head Coach
Nick Cushing – 2.7
I felt for Nick after the Miami match, where his team was mere seconds away from an absolute statement win on the road. I thought we did more than enough to win that match.
How does that one cliché about falling and getting back up go again? After a gut punch in Miami, how did we respond? We lost to a DC United side that, by the end of the night, was eliminated from playoff contention and without a head coach.
In my opinion, the starting XI was spot on, but the substitutions were questionable. But above all, the team didn’t rise to the occasion on the mentality level.
No matter how you split it, squad mentality is the responsibility of the manager, and it’s been lacking all season.
Referee
Fotis Bazakos – 3.8
I don’t know what y’all are talking about—we literally had a DC goal called back for no reason and still lost 2-0. The referee did not impact this result.
Broadcast Announcers
Eric Krakauer, Lloyd Sam (Apple TV) – 5.0
A middle-of-the-road rating for this Apple duo, though it’s an improvement on the 3.9 mark they earned from readers for calling NYCFC’s match with Charlotte FC back in July. Voters seemed to have fewer issues with ex-Red Bull and DC United player Lloyd Sam this time around.
“we literally had a DC goal called back for no reason”
That’s on the assistant and (especially) the VAR, not the center.
“The referee did not impact this result”
DC’s first goal came from a set piece awarded because of a phantom foul–a challenge that Bazakos was letting go all night until that moment. Even Lloyd Sam said as much on the broadcast.
Agreed. The no call on VAR was lucky, but appeared correct to me as the DC players knee was offside. I know that’s a lucky break…but it’s correct. I’d give a 7 rating to the VAR.
The ref on the other hand was very inconsistent and was letting the game get out of hand. I really like Tavon showing some grit because the ref was letting the game get dangerous.
I actually think it was incorrect, that it should have been a goal… but that the correct protocol was followed, as that was far too close to overturn without computerized assistance.
The very fact that we disagree shows that it’s neither clear nor obvious.
typoattack gets it
As usual!
I’m looking forward to an end-of-season review. Of course it’s a drag that we didn’t do better, but as with any parity-driven league, it’s not shocking. I was very psyched about the Apple deal, and now I think it’s a nightmare. I have always been an MLS apologist, but now I feel for the first time that the league is going in the wrong direction.
Curious why you think MLS is headed in the wrong direction? Seem to have successfully pulled off a pretty significant new media/rights deal, even if the Apple broadcasts and MLS product on there still could use some improvements. Leagues Cup and the new playoff format? Even if you have issues with those, in general it feels like the quality of teams is improving and should improve more if they loosen some of the $ rules post-Messi.
I think Bakrar’s limited touches and to some degree Jasson’s subdued performance was, in large part, due to an effective game plan by DC and Wayne Rooney.
That seemed pretty obvious to me by the 15th or 20th minute.
That said, Cushing should have made adjustments at the point to break up that game plan. For all intensive purposes, it was a must win game. They should have tweaked the formation and roles to disrupt what DC was doing on defense and try to exploit any confusion for chances.
Two games in a row that Cushing hasn’t been able to change his game plan to match the opponent, then.
Remember last week against Miami we set up to block Busquets from any service, and completely silenced him in the first half. Then Tata moved Busquets higher up the pitch, and we struggled to adapt.
paycheck-by-paycheck living style soccer seems Nick’s philosophy. agreed that we haven’t seen enough ‘flexibility’ from Cushing’s game management both in plan & contingencies. it could also be from the shallow depth of the squad. look, such unexpected starry return of 37yr old midfielder was the only overdrive of the team playing like a capable professional team and it immediately diminished by the same player’s season ending injury. every other game looked more like gambling—let’s put it together and see what’s happening.
’23 season is a total combo of individual incompetency + misplaced players due to shallow depth on top of adamantly narrow-minded aka lack-of-creativity managing.
I think there’s a case to be made that NYCFC making it to the playoffs would not be the best thing for the club long term. This team has fatal flaws and needs work. They need goal scoring help for sure. They need at least one MLS All Star level star to build the team identity around for sure. Arguably(or not so arguably), they need a different manager. I understand that this is a rebuilding club, but the last thing you want is to be a team that ends up being endlessly mid-table, which seems to be the ceiling for the current rebuild. Getting a knocked out in a wildcard game might convince higher ups that NYCFC has been a better team than the team we’ve watched most of 2023.