New York City FC is an excellent team at home, where they can take advantage of their uniquely-sized ballpark. On the road, they are good at not losing, but fairly average overall. Any guess when they last beat a playoff team on the road? May 11, when the light blues knocked off LA Galaxy. Since then, New York City has done an admirable job of grinding out a point here and there, but when they win on the road it’s against teams like Cincinnati, Colorado, and Vancouver.
NYC’s bread and butter is control of a game through possession and minimizing the space available after turnovers. That’s why Yankee Stadium offers such a big structural advantage — when you can’t move the ball out of a congested area following a turnover, you end up giving it back, and with so much attacking talent on the pitch, New York City will bang one past you in transition eventually.
Some credit must be given to Dome Torrent’s back line. The fullbacks are asked to move up and down the flanks all match, and the center backs often leave the center to cover. This takes coordination, and over the course of the season that understanding has turned into one of the club’s strengths.
Another strength? The City Football Group’s extensive scouting network. Alexandru Mitrita and Heber have both arrived to fill in the hole left by David Villa, and Gary Mackay-Steven is tricky even as he tries to find his footing in MLS. Losing Villa means a huge weapon is missing up front, but NYC invested heavily in their attack, and now they have quite a few talented players that can heat up and dominate a match. Also — Maxi Moralez remains extremely good.
In the end, this enemy is the best team in the Eastern Conference. They will take home the crown at the end of the season and sit out the first round of the playoffs.
But the Union, along with Atlanta United, are fully capable of going blow-for-blow with Yankee Stadium’s other residents, and Philly will aim to show that on Sunday, October 6 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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