New York City FC’s Struggles Continue

New York City FC finds itself in a tough spot after a recent 2-0 away loss to Inter Miami, which was led by Lionel Messi. With only five matches left in the season, the club doesn’t seem inclined to alter its game strategy.

Prior to the match against Miami, NYCFC experienced one of its most disappointing defeats of the season in Chicago. This latest setback has pushed them below the line for the Major League Soccer playoffs.

When asked about the possibility of making changes to reignite the team’s performance, head coach Pascal Jansen emphasized that the coaching staff already evaluates their strategies before each game. “We do that when we make our plans and try to put a winning team out there every game,” he noted. “So that makes no difference going into the stretch of five that is that remains to be played.”

The team hasn’t tasted victory since mid-September, when they secured a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake. That match now stands as their only victory in the regular season since the Leagues Cup break in August, a period during which they’ve struggled to maintain leads.

Miami took the lead in the first half, thanks to Germán Berterame, who capitalized on excellent team play, followed by Rodrigo De Paul, who netted a goal during stoppage time just before halftime.

In a reflection of NYCFC’s recent misfortunes, Nicolás Fernández Mercau missed a penalty kick in the dying moments of the second half that could have prevented the shutout.

Jansen commented on the team’s performance, stating, “It remains a very bad stretch, and you can see the confidence in the team is a little weaker at the moment, which is something that is explainable given the stretch we’re in. But [our] strengths and weaknesses, I don’t think they have either been more exposed or become different throughout the stretch, that is something I don’t believe.”