New York City FC improved to ten games unbeaten with Wednesday night’s victory over Sporting KC.
Strengthening the team’s MLS Playoffs bid thanks to Jack Harrison’s 85th minute winner, the Boys in Blue showed great powers of consistency to overcome a strong rival amid torrid conditions at Yankee Stadium.
One of the protagonists in this deserved win was NYCFC.com Man of the Match Andrea Pirlo, who put on a masterclass in ball retention, producing one of his best performances of 2017.
The Italian’s inclusion was one of five changes to Patrick Vieira’s XI as the Frenchman absorbed nine enforced absences to great effect.
For Patrick, the performances of Andrea and Tommy McNamara in the heart of midfield were two of the most pleasing aspects of the night as his team won in adversity, not for the first time this season.
Andrea seemed to make himself available to receive the ball throughout the course of Wednesday night, helping the home team keep possession before moving it on intelligently, making incisive forward passes to drive NYCFC into SKC territory.
Not only that, the Italian also got his hands dirty and helped to win the ball back, adapting to the slick conditions to make interceptions and tackles which turned defense into attack.
All in all, a pleasing night’s work for Andrea who could play a big role in the Regular Season’s run-in and, hopefully, beyond…
READ:Five Things We Learned from NYCFC 1-0 Sporting KC
Key Moment…
It didn’t end up leading to a goal but it so easily could have…
Andrea’s movement was exceptional as he rode the challenge in the center circle before a beautiful dinked ball out to the wing for Jonathan Lewis.
The Rookie’s ball in had the right idea behind it but just got a meter or so ahead of Sean Ugo Okoli who had read Lewis’s intentions.
In Patrick’s Words…
"Both Andrea and Tommy were fantastic. They worked really hard and were really smart. I want to give them both a lot of credit."
The Fans Said…
In Numbers…
