New York City Football Club Head Coach Ronny Deila believes his team must match their level of performance on Wednesday if they are to advance in the Concacaf Champions League.
The Boys in Blue secured a 2-0 win against Santos de Guápiles in Costa Rica last week and now face the return leg of their Champions League tie on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Speaking ahead of the game, Deila stressed that while his team are ahead they will need to repeat their defensive prowess if they are to advance.
“The game [in Costa Rica] was exactly what we were thinking it would be,” Deila told reporters. “They were disciplined, they were organized. We knew we were going to have the ball a lot. We won 2-0, we didn’t concede any chances in my opinion. Then it’s about doing it again. It’s going to be a tougher game now, it’s maybe going to be a more open game. They need to attack us more. That leaves more space for us to hurt them.
“We have to defend the same way, be very solid defensively, then hit them hard when we have opportunities to break on them.”
He went on to add later: “It’s easier to play against a team that wants to attack than a team that wants to play five behind and sit in their own half almost. They are well organized, they work really hard, and that’s always hard to play against. We have to be patient, we have to take the fight to them and be very disciplined in everything we do. If we do that we have a good chance to go through. We have put ourselves in a good situation – we are 2-0 up at halftime, but there is still a half left. We have to perform at the same level that we have done in the previous games.”
The Norwegian coach also provided an update on the fitness of two players, confirming that his side will welcome Alfredo Morales back to the fold after he missed the first leg due to a positive COVID test.
“Alfredo is available and he can start the game if I feel it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “Keaton is getting better every day. He is still not a 90 minute player but we will see tomorrow how much we will use him, but he is available.”
