New York City FC player ratings are determined by you, the Hudson River Blue readers: Here are the NYCFC player ratings after the penalty shootout loss to Charlotte FC in Round One of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Lost opportunities, squandered moments: New York City ended Game 2 of the MLS Cup Playoffs in a scoreless draw, then lost to Charlotte on penalty kicks to even the series, and your ratings reflect the disappointing result. NYCFC weren’t up to the moment, but the Starting XI earned a surprisingly strong 6.8 average rating from our readers.
Credit goes to the defense, who were on their game. Matt Freese (7.6 rating) made three saves to log his third consecutive clean sheet against Charlotte, then saved Ashley Westwood’s penalty in the shootout to give NYCFC the advantage — there’s a reason why he’s this game’s Player of the Match. And as Mark Radigan pointed out in his Game Recap, the entire back line put in a shift: Raul Gustavo (7.0) completed more passes than anyone on the field, Tayvon Gray (7.0) completed the most tackles and drew three fouls, while Thiago Martins (7.3) won 100% of his duels, made 10 clearances, and committed zero fouls.
Bonus: Raul Gustavo and Thiago Martins converted their penalties, as did Justin Haak. The NYCFC defense went three-for-three in the shootout.
Matthew Mangam
The lowest rating of the night belongs to Head Coach Pascal Jansen (4.8), whose decision to stick with the same lineup and formation that beat Charlotte last week let him down. Charlotte’s Dean Smith won the battle of the head coaches this round: He adjusted, Jansen didn’t.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Alonso Martínez (6.3) – 6.3
Nico Fernández Mercau, off 82′ (7.5) – 7.1
Andrés Perea (7.1) – 6.4
Maxi Moralez, off 67′ (6.7) – 6.4
Aiden O’Neill (7.5) – 6.8
Justin Haak (7.6) – 6.7
Kevin O’Toole, off 67′ (7.0) – 6.5
Tayvon Gray (7.3) – 7.0
Raul Gustavo (8.1) – 7.3
Thiago Martins (7.8) – 7.0
Matt Freese (8.3) – 7.6
Hannes Wolf, on 67′ (6.5) – 6.3
Agustín Ojeda, on 67′ (6.0) – 5.3
Julián Fernández, on 82′ (N/A) – 4.9
Player Spotlight
Thiago Martins
The NYCFC captain had himself a game. Thiago Martins was the best defender on an afternoon when both teams put up clean sheets, leading all players across relevant stats: The center-back made 10 defensive actions, with 10 clearances, eight recoveries, and five headed clearances. The Brazilian partnered with Gray to quiet Wilfried Zaha (10 goals and 5 assists in league games, silencing an attack that featured Idan Toklomati (11 goals and 2 assists), and Kerwin Vargas (6 goals and 3 assists).
Numbers aside, Thiago Martins did Thiago Martins things. He out-sprinted attackers, made smart plays, and brought composure to a defense that was tested by Charlotte. He’s quick, but he doesn’t rush things: The defender is as calm as he is decisive.
New York City will need another strong performance from the captain on Friday if they’re to extend this playoff run.
Mark Radigan
Pascal Jansen – 4.8
Just last Thursday, we wrote in the Player Ratings that “In the battle of head coaches, Jansen soundly defeated former Premier League gaffer Dean Smith.”
This game flipped the script. It was Charlotte’s Smith who out-coached Jansen, doing just enough to get a draw on a narrow Yankee Stadium field that doesn’t suit Zaha’s wide game, then trusting 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Kristijan Kahlina to get the win.
Was Jansen too predictable? Maybe. There’s not too much flexibility in this squad right now. Either you start Hannes Wolf on the left in the familiar 1-3-2-4, or begin the game with him on the bench in a 1-4-5. Jansen picked the latter for the second consecutive game, and Charlotte contained a formation that bewildered them last week.
Now the series returns to Charlotte, where once again Jansen is faced with the task of beating a team that lost just three league games at home this year. He did it once already. Now let’s see if he can do it again.
Rubiel Vasquez – 5.0
It was one of those nights when the ref didn’t have a great game, but still managed a higher rating than the gaffer.
Player of the Match
Matt Freese
It’s easy to lose sight of Freese’s strong performance after the disappointing ending to this game. The goalkeeper has kept Charlotte scoreless for 270 consecutive minutes, making nine saves over those three games and keeping out two penalties – first against Zaha back in September, then against Westwood in the shootout on Saturday.
One of those saves brought Freese’s career tally to 300.
One aspect of the game that won’t make it onto the stats sheets was the vicious glare that Freese faced in the first half. Two-thirds of the field was in shadow, but a sun that sat low in the sky was pointed directly at the NYCFC goalkeeper, forcing Freese to spend stretches of the game with one hand shielding his eyes. The sun almost got the better of Freese – he looked a little slow to move on a couple of shots – but it didn’t do any damage in the end.
That said, Freese earns this POTM with just 33.3% of the vote, the fifth-lowest share out of the 40 games played this year in all competitions. Nico Fernández Mercau wasn’t far behind, ditto Thiago Martins and Gray — who did well to frustrate Zaha on the flank. But Freese is a deserving winner, and takes his third postseason POTM dating back to last year’s Round One games against FC Cincinnati.
Good point about Freese and the glare. Sometimes the stats don’t tell the whole story.