New York City Football Club ran out 4-2 winners against New England Revolution on Saturday.
Here's Five Points from a big win at Yankee Stadium.
Home Comforts
New York City Football Club have developed a strong reputation when playing at Yankee Stadium.
The team's form in the Bronx has been central to their success in MLS, and on Saturday they continued that tradition with a big win against New England Revolution. The combination of a passionate home crowd and sunny weather was perfect, and it seemed apt that Nick Cushing's first win came in front of the NYCFC family.
Bright Start
NYCFC’s goals for this weekend were plain and simple: win the game.
The Revs are a tough proposition for any team, and that made the first goal in this contest vital. The Boys in Blue managed to snatch it thanks to a brilliant run by Talles Magno; his final touch proving just enough to tempt Andrew Farrell into a challenge.
The fact Talles then stood up and took the penalty with such composure cemented the ideal start for NYCFC and got them on the path to a big win.
Don’t Stop Running
Taty Castellanos clearly subscribes to the theory that a striker making regular runs into dangerous areas will be rewarded.
On Saturday, it was his relentless persistence to get on the end of the ball that forced Andrew Farrell to make a late challenge and turn the game on its head. The red card and subsequent penalty swung the momentum of the game firmly in NYCFC’s favor and it was all down to Taty gambling on the idea he could get to the ball and get a shot away.
Wing Wizard
Gabriel Pereira was a second-half introduction from Nick Cushing and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
The Brazilian traditionally plays out wide but he did significant damage in a central role in place of Maxi Moralez. Where Maxi likes to inhabit space and pick passes, Gabriel offered speed and intelligence that manifested both on the ball and with runs in behind.
The game had barely restarted when he earned his first chance of the game before notching a goal minutes later.
Penalty, Penalty, Penalty
You couldn’t accuse Saturday’s game of being boring.
Three first-half penalties and a red card made for a heart-racing encounter and also landed NYCFC in the record books.
