On Wednesday, New York City FC traveled to California to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy for the first time since 2022. The Pigeons just ended their winning streak after they fell to the Columbus Crew. The players had issues during the match, but it did not help that poor refereeing took place during the game.
NYCFC was thus optimistic that they would triumph in their fourth straight away game. They would have to defeat the very skilled LA Galaxy in order to accomplish it. Before the game, the team had 31 points, good for third place in one of their greatest seasons to date. It is obvious why they are succeeding with players like Riqui Puig, Dejan Joveljić, and Joseph Paintsil in the major roles.
Luckily, Puig, who has a minor knock, was not a problem for NYCFC. Better yet, the defence was strengthened by the return of Thiago Martins and Kevin O’Toole to the back line. Most people believed that the Bronx side had a chance to win something, even with LA posing a threat.
As they say, it’s the hope that kills you, and the outcome will regrettably disappoint NYCFC supporters. NYCFC lost their second straight match, going down 2-0 to the LA Galaxy. During the game, the Pigeons reverted to old routines that, in the worst sense, felt all too familiar.
NYCFC falls to the LA Galaxy
NYCFC didn’t perform badly. Instead, much like their defeats from the previous year and the first few months of 2024, the outcome was the product of errors. They had chances to score and contended with LA. Exploiting those opportunities was the problem.
The home team is, of course, a fantastic squad. They have demonstrated their abilities without their star player, Puig. They can be without a couple of their great players because of the tremendous level of quality. They were competitive, but the Pigeons held their own. Once more, the problem was that no one knew where the net’s reverse ended.
The opening goal for the Galaxy came from a defensive error. While he was seeking for someone to pass to, James Sands was playing it a little too loosely. As a result, he made a bad pass and lost the ball. LA had plenty of room to shoot because they were near the box. When Gabriel Pec first attempted to take a shot, the Pigeons obstructed his path. But in the 41st minute, Joveljić, their leading scorer, quickly put his team ahead after winning the ball.
It didn’t get any better as NYCFC trailed 2-0 in the 49th minute. They allowed a lot of room for the Galaxy to go down the right side, which allowed Diego Fagúndez to make a couple passes before winning it. The midfielder passed Matt Freese with ease because the defence failed to mark him. Notably, this goal was scored just after Birk Risa was substituted for Strahinja Tanasijević at halftime.
The outcome of the game most likely would have been different if NYCFC had played offensively like they did during their lengthy homestand or winning streak. They lacked the killer instinct on goal and were unable to locate the back of the net. Only four of the team’s thirteen shots were on target, and the majority of the shots were not dangerous. But when everything was said and done, they were simple saves.
The most crucial lesson to be learned from this defeat is that NYCFC needs to make sure they don’t continue to struggle to score goals. They will also be playing five of their next seven games away from home. It is imperative that they prevail in a couple of those games and avoid going back to where they were unable to win away from home.
It was great to be successful recently. At this point, NYCFC is going through a very challenging time where failing is always an option. It doesn’t have to be as impressive as their eight victories in ten games, but they can’t let their position in the Eastern Conference rankings collapse. Get back up and discard your old patterns.
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