Over the last eight games, New York City Football Club have not been beaten and have had clean sheets in the last five games. Even without star striker Valentine Castellanos, the boys in blue found a way to win against Chicago on Sunday evening in Queens.
The score was only 1-0, but NYCFC dominated in every statistical category that mattered. They enjoyed 62% of the possession and outshot Chicago, 15-10, allowing just one shot on goal. In fact, they were just twenty-five seconds away from breaking the Major League Soccer record for longest streak without a shot on target. Sean Johnson was forced to save a shot in the waning seconds of the game to keep the streak unbroken.
Their run of form has been exceptional since their Concacaf Champions League run ended and you have to track back to April 2nd for their last loss in any competition. Since then, they have scored 24 goals allowing their opponents to only tally eleven. That is an average of just allowing one goal a game while scoring nearly two and a half.
May 22, 2022; New York, NY, New York, NY, USA; New York City FC forward Talles Magno (43) and Chicago Fire defender Boris Sekulic (2) fight for the ball during the second half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
They currently sit second in the East one point behind Philadelphia, but with a game in hand on the Union. In fact, they are back in the race for the Supporter’s Shield sitting just three points behind LAFC with a game in hand. They are playing some of their best football and scarily have room for improvement.
Ronny Deila spoke after the game Sunday about the team’s form. “I said before we performed the whole season, we had three losses in the beginning of the season because we were traveling too much, we were not home, there was no energy in the battery so then we got average but even though we could not get more out of those games we lost. Now we are consistent, we are preparing well, we are having energy because we are home and have normal days… very positive that we our bottom effort was really high and we picked up results in every game and is deserved.”
May 22, 2022; New York, NY, New York, NY, USA; Chicago Fire midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (10) controls the ball against New York City FC forward Thiago Andrade (8) and defender Malte Amundsen (12) during the first half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Sunday’s win, although not as lopsided as some have been in the past few games, signaled they can find results without Castellanos, who is almost destined to move clubs in the summer transfer window. Heber stepped up nicely in his absence scoring the game’s only goal and picking up man of the match honors in the process.
Perhaps Sean Johnson summed it up best after the match. “It’s a lot of hard work that goes into it. Days like this show that we have to be on the same page as the guys in front of me. Everyone has worked so hard to get to this point in time. The offense side of things is impressive but to be a high caliber attacking team is tough to do. We aren’t complacent and we are committed to excellence no matter who we are playing. I think that’s what separates a good team from a great team. We want to establish ourselves as a top team and we are on the way to doing that.”
With their current run of form, NYCFC have proven that they are indeed a very good team. They have an open cup match midweek with New England and then a Saturday game against Minnesota before the international break. If they can keep getting results and scoring goals they will head into the summer feeling great.
