New York City Football Club overcame Inter Miami CF 2-0 on Saturday night.
Here are Five Points from a big win in the Bronx.
Summer In The City
The atmosphere on Saturday was once again memorable.
Another special night at Yankee Stadium was provided by the brilliant backing of supporters and helped inspire the team to victory. The players and staff alike know the advantage NYCFC’s home fans grant them, and it was clear to see on Saturday night against Inter Miami.
The team will now embark on a three-game road trip that will take us up to mid-August, but embarking on that with the platform of another three points provides great momentum.
Turnover
While we often discuss the quality of NYCFC’s possession-based game, we saw the impact of a familiar trait on Saturday in the form of pressing.
The team’s opening goal – scored by Maxi Moralez – came as a direct consequence of the team pressing Inter Miami in their own half. By doing that Santiago Rodríguez caught Miami’s defence in an attacking shape. DeAndre Yedlin was pushed up and the space he vacated allowed Moralez to run off the central defender’s blindside and squeeze the ball past the goalkeeper.
This was one of several instances in which NYCFC used high pressure to create high-quality chances, and on a different night, it could have seen them enter the break with a greater advantage.
Metronome
In soccer, sometimes the simplest decision is also the hardest one.
NYCFC needed a patient approach against an Inter Miami side at times wanted to soak up pressure and catch them on the break. That put a greater emphasis on being smart on the ball, and that intelligence was exemplified by Alfredo Morales.
The U.S. international is known for physicality and tough tackling, but he showed his quality and intelligence on Saturday evening by keeping the ball moving and rarely wasting a pass. Morales recorded an impressive 98.7% pass accuracy against Miami and made sure the central lane of the field was not an avenue of opportunity for Miami.
A key aspect of the victory, Morales’ performance deserves tremendous praise for setting the tone to victory.
Clinical Cameo
Nick Cushing knew the importance of a second goal.
The interim head coach turned to his bench on the hour mark to introduce fresh attacking recruits in the form of Gabriel Pereira and Héber – the latter tapping home a second goal for NYCFC fifteen minutes later.
The Brazilian forward has been a huge influence for NYCFC of late. His goals against FC Cincinnati and FC Dallas earned the Boys in Blue four points on the road, while Saturday’s goal helped secure NYCFC important breathing space as they saw out the game. The Brazilian continues to make the most of every opportunity given to him, and the team feels that benefit.
Space
The art of defending is defined by managing space.
Put simply, the more space you have to manage the harder it can be to defend. NYCFC's use of a high line affords a lot of responsibility to his defenders, in particular his center backs.
Alex Callens and Thiago Martins knew the combination of Gonzalo Higuain and Alejandro Pozuelo posed a significant attacking threat, but their ability to manage space and make smart defensive decisions was central to the team’s clean sheet – NYCFC's third in a row – and something not lost on Cushing.
“I actually thought our two central defenders were incredible tonight," he said. "They were really strong with the ball. They were incredible at pushing the line and playing a real high line at times. In the box, they did their job exceptionally well. I thought by far our central defenders were our two star performers today.”
