New York City vs Charlotte player ratings

New York City FC player ratings are determined by you, the Hudson River Blue readers: Here are the NYCFC player ratings from the 1-0 away win over Charlotte FC in Round One of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.

New York City returned to their winning ways when it mattered most, snapping a two-game losing streak by beating Charlotte for the first time at Bank of America, and becoming the first team in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs to get three points on the road.

Your player ratings align with the impressive away win, with the Starting XI earning 7.2 on average. Even then, your numbers trail what the FotMob bot handed out — with the notable exception of Alonso Martínez, who earned an 8.7 from our readers and is the runaway pick for Player of the match. And your 8.0 for Matt Freese is a full half-point lower than that of FotMob, which named him POTM. No worries: He’s in our Player Spotlight this week.

Head Coach Pascal Jansen’s 8.2 marks the seventh time this year he earned higher than an 8.0 rating — by comparison, Nick Cushing pulled off that feat twice last year, and just once in 2023. Even the referee found some love from our readers, with Jon Freemon’s 6.2 beating out the 5.5 you gave him after the loss to Philadelphia Union on Matchday 33. As the saying goes, a satisfying 1-0 win in the playoffs raises all boats.

Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.

Player Spotlight

Matt Freese

There are two parts to a 1-0 win. There’s the goal, which earned Martínez POTM honors (see below). Then there’s the clean sheet, which is earned by the team but is credited to the goalkeeper. And for good reason: Freese made four saves at Bank of America Stadium, blanking the hosts while facing down an xG of 0.96.

Freese’s shot-stopping abilities were crucial in the second half, when Charlotte were the better team and controlled more than 60% of possession, taking seven shots and placing three on target. Freese’s composure and reflexes kept them off the scoreboard, saving two shots taken from inside the penalty box.

A performance like this one is important to a New York City that can have trouble scoring goals. NYCFC have just five goals in their last five games played, but with Freese between the sticks, it’s possible to win games decided by fine margins.

Matt Freese a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year

The New York City FC shot-stopper is one of three players up for the end-of-year award, and he’s also nominated for Save of the Year.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

Player of the Match

Alonso Martínez

Let’s cut to the chase, and fixate on Martínez’s goal.

To start, the Charlotte attack might have been missing their two biggest stars in Wilfried Zaha and Pep Biel, but the defense was at full power, with all starters rested and ready to play. And still, Martínez slalomed through the back line like they were playing on low power mode. Even if you’ve seen it from the tactical cam used in the Apple TV broadcast, it’s worth it to take a moment to watch it slowed down and shot from a field-level view to see just how thoroughly he beats six Charlotte players and the goalkeeper:

Now, let’s look at two key moments that turn what might have been a nifty run towards the top of the box into a game-winning goal.

First, there’s the elegant pick set by Maxi Moralez, who uses all 115 pounds packed into his 5’3″ frame to stop the 6’1″, 176-pound Tim Ream dead in his tracks. That creates about three feet of space between the right foot of Ream and the left foot of defender Adilson Malanda. Martínez uses that space, but not in the way you’d think. Instead of charging into that gap, Martínez rolls the ball behind the left foot of Malanda, then rounds the defender on the other side. Malanda lunges for Martínez, realizes the ball is nowhere in sight, and then turns to see Alonso send his shot past goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.

It’s best viewed from a reverse angle shot from behind the goal:

In that one moment, Martínez shows his soccer balling brilliance, turning a confident run into the best goal scored so far this postseason. Malanda literally doesn’t know which way to turn, pivoting in one direction, flapping his arms in another, but he’s so far behind Martínez mentally that all he can do is watch the NYCFC striker make his run.

But even then, Martínez needs to get his shot off past the diving Kahlina while being closed down by Ream from one side and Nathan Byrne from another. He sends the ball at mid-thigh height so close to Kahlina that he doesn’t have time to lower his arms and block the shot. It tucks in perfectly in the gap between Kahlina’s hip and armpit and into the net.

It’s not just a good goal, it’s a great goal, and deserving of a POTM honor with 85% of the vote.

Alonso Martínez: ‘Letting it flow, letting it go’

In this exclusive interview, Glenn Crooks talks to New York City FC striker Alonso Martínez about his goal-scoring mentality, winking at Matt Freese during the Gold Cup, and transferring to Alajuelense for one game’s gate receipts plus 20 soccer balls.

Hudson River BlueGlenn Crooks