NYCFC expectedly falls to Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup despite fight | OneFootball

Entering Sunday’s match, New York City FC knew they had a tough task ahead of them when they faced Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., or Cruz Azul, at Sports Illustrated Stadium.  The crowd appeared bigger than Thursday’s game, and technically, it was considered a home game for the Liga MX side.  And without a doubt, there were plenty of Cruz Azul fans, making the match feel like a home game for them.

That support helped. While NYCFC put up a fight, the team lost 2-1 to Cruz Azul. It was much closer than anticipated, but the loss likely means that the Boys in Blue will play their last game on Thursday in the 2026 Leagues Cup.

Pascal Jansen only slightly rotated the squad, for he started the same eight of the 11 starters from the first Leagues Cup match.  Then, NYCFC won 2-0 against Club Santos Laguna, S.A. de C.V., and that was the matchup the Pigeons were expected to win.  But by keeping players like Matt Freese and James Sands in the lineup, and bringing Nicolás Fernández Mercau back into the starting lineup, the head coach showed that he was serious on Sunday.

Still, with all the injuries, it was a predictable result that the Boys in Blue would not win.

NYCFC puts up fight in loss to Cruz Azul

The first 15 minutes of the fixture were a little lackluster for both teams.  Cruz Azul had the leg up with attacking chances, but any threat on Freese was taken care of with ease.  Max Murray continued to impress in his second start, showing Jansen that he should be considered for more minutes during the rest of the Major League Soccer season.

It was not until around the 19th minute that NYCFC had a decent attacking moment, when Agustín Ojeda made a great run on the right side of the pitch.  He kept possession to get the ball to Fernández Mercau, who sent the ball just wide.

Just a few minutes later, Ojeda had an injury scare as his ankle rolled in a way it should not have on a tackle. However, fans sighed with relief when the Argentine returned to the pitch.

While the Mexican side remained more threatening than NYCFC, Talles Magno had a great chance around the 34th minute.  He had some space in front of him from outside the center of the box.  Looking ahead, he slightly curled the ball towards the ground of the goal, but the ball went wide.

Sadly, just a minute later, NYCFC failed to clear the ball a few times.  This led to a stellar shot from Cruz Azul’s Agustín Palavecino, and he powered the ball past Freese.  It was an awful defensive lapse, and really, the fault did not lie with one or two individual players.  Rather, like there are team goals, this was a team goal allowed.

The Boys in Blue were given a lifeline, though, in stoppage time of the first half.  NYCFC had a free kick from right outside the left corner of the box, and Fernández Mercau sent a solid ball into the box.  Murray, who was in the box on the right side, powered himself through players, jumped high, and headed the ball into the back of the net.  That was his first goal for the club, and it tied the game.

Afterward, the Pigeons were a little more comfortable competing with Cruz Azul.  In the second half, both teams had attacking sequences and some chances.  The Mexican side remained the stronger side in terms of that they put the ball on target.  At this rate, since it appeared NYCFC was trying to be as successful as possible, it was easy to assume that Jansen would put out substitutes with a little more experience or those who often start.

And he did, bringing on Mitja Ilenič, Malachi Jones, and Kevin O’Toole for Nico Cavallo, Tayvon Gray, and Ojeda in the 59th minute.  In fact, Ilenič attempted the first decent shot of the second half in the 62nd minute.  However, a deflection led to an easy save for goalkeeper Kevin Mier.

But despite the decent fight from NYCFC, who was again at a disadvantage with their squad strength, gave up the second goal.  In the 78th minute, José Paradela scored via a deflection off Sands, preventing Freese from even trying anything.  There was nothing to be done when it came to the shot.  Yet, before the shot, the defense could have been a little better.

That was the winning goal, though, and the expected result came to fruition.  Of course, it was not expected that NYCFC would compete at the level they did for most of the match.  It was easy to believe that the MLS team would have been dominated by Cruz Azul.

Instead, no matter who was on the pitch, the Bronx side put up a fight.  They introduced the thought that maybe NYCFC could get something from the fixture.  They might not be going home with any points, but at the very least, the players can be proud.