New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers: Here are your NYCFC player ratings for the 2-1 win against the New England Revolution on Matchday 4 at Yankee Stadium.
New York City FC was back in the Bronx on a misty March evening to play the New England Revolution. It was a quiet crowd of 19,000 throughout most of the game in which NYCFC struggled to complete passes and produce quality chances. Even Pascal Jansen said so after the game, but a win is a win, and NYCFC finds themselves in seventh place in the East after four matches.
New England got their first goal of the season at the hands of an ugly Thiago Martins own goal that was misplayed on an attempted clearance from the defender. The game’s second goal was intentional, and Julián Fernández showed how dangerous he could be, using his speed down the wing to allow Hannes Wolf to tee him up for a goal. On number three, Alonso Martínez scored a spectacular goal that will show up on his highlight reel, taking an impressive shot off a rebounded save.
The starting XI averaged a 7.0 rating and Alonso Martinez topped the charts with a rating of 8.2.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Andrew Leigh
Alonso Martinez (7.9) – 8.2
Hannes Wolf, off 81′ (7.4) – 7.0
Julián Fernández, off 66′ (7.7) – 7.6
Jonathan Shore, off 66′ (6.6) – 7.1
Maxi Moralez (7.7) – 7.1
Keaton Parks (8.1) – 7.4
Justin Haak (7.2) – 6.9
Thiago Martins (6.3) – 5.2
Nico Cavallo, off 29′ (6.6) – 6.1
Mitja Ilenič (6.9) – 6.7
Matt Freese (7.2) – 7.4
Birk Risa, on 29′ (6.5) – 6.5
Strahinja Tanasijević, on 66′ (6.7) – 6.2
Agustín Ojeda, on 66′ (7.1) – 5.8
Mounsef Bakrar, on 81′ (n/a) – 5.1
Player Spotlight
Keaton Parks
A recent anonymous survey by The Athletic of executives around Major League Soccer saw one exec name Keaton Parks as one of the most underrated players in the league. Parks has shown signs of consistency, and against New England, he proved why he belongs on this list. Anyone can look at the scoreline and point to Alonso or Julián Fernández as the difference-maker, but Parks quietly won NYCFC this game.
Parks played all 90 minutes and looked confident on the ball. According to your ratings, his 7.4 made him the highest-rated New York City outfield player who didn’t score a goal.
Per FotMob: offensively, he completed 90 percent of his passes and created a chance. Both of his shots were on target, testing New England goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. Defensively, he made six clearances, all headed, and won nine duels. Parks was reliable on the attack and used his height to his advantage on both sides of the field.
Parks’ first attempt was delivered from a corner kick that glanced off his head and forced a save from the goalkeeper. It would have been a go-ahead goal in the ninth minute, ensuring a comfortable lead for NYCFC. He redeemed himself though, and created a clear-cut chance in the 68th minute. Alonso’s notably acrobatic goal resulted from Parks’ shot through traffic, which drew a diving save from the goalkeeper and rebounded to Alonso. Parks did all the work to set up the Costa Rican striker.
What a hit by Alonso Martínez 😮💨
(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/4tjeGiMdy4
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 16, 2025
Parks was arguably the best player on the field; you don’t need goals or assists to be considered so. He had the most impact on the game, which warrants attention. At the end of the season, many will remember Alonso’s picturesque goal and not Keaton’s performance. Performances from Parks will continue to go under the radar, which may be how he thrives – underrated.
Pascal Jansen – 7.5
Pascal Jansen is turning out to be one of the best head coach hires of the offseason, seeing out his second win of the season through four games. He played the same Starting XI as last week with one change: Nico Cavallo replaced Kevin O’Toole, who served a one-game suspension after a red card against Orlando City. Jansen seems to have found something that works game in and game out, a claim most clubs in MLS can’t make.
He is also proving why he has a solid track record with young players. Jonny Shore is getting a run of starts, Hannes Wolf was given enough time to find his groove, and Julián Fernández is finally showing signs of breaking out. This is a side whose talent looks right up Jansen’s alley.
Malik Badawi – 4.8
Player of the Match
Alonso Martinez
The striker won NYCFC another game. Despite doubts that he would perform well to start the season, Alonso is playing superb soccer under Pascal Jansen. He has made the spot his own and can be credited with making the difference in this game.
The name’s Martínez, Alonso Martínez.
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc.com) February 28, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Even when second-string striker Mounsef Bakrar entered the game, it was for Hannes Wolf on the wing and not for Alonso. Pascal Jansen clearly believes in him and he is repaying that faith. NYCFC named him Player of the Match. Following suit, he’s your player of the match, taking 64% of the vote and earning the honor for the second time this season.
Again, he demonstrated his quality and precision this season with his one shot on target finding the back of the net. His 24 touches, 7 of them in the opposition’s box, are a product of his ability to play in the half-spaces and appear in open space. Defenders often don’t know how to defend him and this was the case when he scored, unmarked.
He didn’t win as many duels on Saturday – he didn’t need to – because his profile and the style of play that Pascal Jansen dictates allows him to thrive outside of the middle. He stretches the defense and creates space for himself and his teammates. This NYCFC team is a perfect set-up for him.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Alonso start drawing comparisons to Taty Castellanos. The similarities are striking. Both began their NYCFC careers playing on the wing, a failed experiment. Both later got chances at the striker position and quickly became fan favorites, finding success and becoming top strikers in the league.
All Alonso needs to do now is score four goals against Real Salt Lake. But in the meantime, we can bask in his goal-scoring ability while we watch and wait.
i voted for Keaton, too. it was his game. he’s become a really interesting hybrid of a progress-prone box2box + defensive but offensive MD. it’s like a moving AI hub if we took a drone shot of his move corresponding to others. with a bit of sharpening at the shots—i mean that was a fine shot that Alonzo finished, blames to the goalie’s instinct to deny the Keaton’s 1st attempt—he’ll become something. such a unique MD we’ve got.
Agreed (and also voted for Keaton). Put his stamp on the game, and not just with his scoring chances. Got to add, on a more sour note, that Ref. Badawi earned the “needs corrective lenses” award in my book.
Hope Cavallo can return soon! It was a short window but he looked very much at ease in the system. That said…I also really liked us with three at the back and wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.