In this edition of the Hudson River Blue Roundtable, John Baney, Andrew Leigh, Matthew Mangam, Mark Radigan, Abe Shire, and Oliver Strand look back on New York City FC’s run at 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, which saw the fifth-seed team upset Charlotte FC and Philadelphia Union before coming up against the buzzsaw called Inter Miami to lose in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday.
First, a gut-check
Oliver Strand: Let’s start with a double gut-check. How are you feeling about Saturday’s loss to Miami? And how are you feeling about the 2025 playoff run overall?
Matthew Mangam: Saturday’s loss to Miami wasn’t pretty. NYCFC did a good job in keeping Lionel Messi quiet for the most part, but conceded some sloppy goals against a dangerous offense. Overall, the 2025 playoff run will always be remembered, especially for that huge upset over the Philadelphia Union.
Abe Shire: I was ready for any scoreline, but there were definitely sloppy moments from NYCFC. The team did well to shut down Messi for most of the game, but Tadeo Allende was always going to be dangerous. He’s been on fire these playoffs, and I’m sure he was hungry to chase down that record for most goals in a single playoffs. I agree with Matthew, though, that the win over Philadelphia will not be forgotten. I thought they were going to get revenge?
Andrew Leigh: Hate seeing the season end with that kind of loss, even if it played much closer than the scoreline would indicate. The performance in Philadelphia made it feel like a “team of destiny” run to lifting MLS Cup might happen. Miami is simply too stacked and too in-form, though; they weren’t going to be upset by a shorthanded, imperfect version of NYCFC. The 2025 playoff run was impressive at times and frustrating at others, but it ultimately feels like New York City made it as far as they deserved to go.
Mark Radigan: Saturday was a miserable end to a glorious playoff run and put an unfortunate stain on a remarkable first campaign for Pascal Jansen. Miami is a juggernaut and played like it, picking apart the defense just like they did at Citi Field in September. But overall, winning three of four matches on the road in the playoffs is no easy feat, and caps off an impressive 2025 MLS Season.
John Baney: As bad as that 5-1 scoreline looked, anyone who watched that game live will know that NYCFC played Miami really tough for about 75% of the contest. That last 25% however, was hard to watch. But overall, losing on the road to the most expensive MLS squad ever assembled, with several key NYCFC players missing, is nothing to hang your head over. That was still a phenomenal playoff run from NYCFC – one that fans will remember for a long time.
Was the Inter Miami game winnable?
OS: Do you think the Miami game was winnable for New York City? Or is there no multiverse in which this injury-depleted NYCFC squad can beat a star-packed Miami that totally, absolutely are in compliance with MLS salary cap rules?
AL: It was winnable in that Miami lost 13 other times this season and could be beaten again in a one-off, but I don’t think New York City had any hope of outscoring present-version Miami in this game. Even if Julian Fernández converts, I’m not sure I believe NYCFC had enough to go toe-to-toe with them for up to 120 minutes.
MM: There is a small universe in which NYCFC win that game. If Julián Fernández scored that golden chance to make it 2-2, NYCFC would’ve had the momentum to go on and score the game-winner. But that’s not the reason NYCFC lost: Sloppy defense, bad awareness, and miscommunication were on full display as Miami buried its chances.
MR: Given that Miami strolled into Queens and pumped four goals past Matt Freese barely a month ago, I think there was only a small universe where NYCFC had the best defensive performance of the season and squeaked past Messi & Co. And I agree, if Fernández buries that chance, then we’re talking about a totally different contest.
JB: Call me crazy, but if you gave NYCFC 10 cracks at that game, I bet they’d win two or three of them? What frustrated me about that particular performance was that NYCFC beat themselves as much as anything else. This game was defined by individual defensive errors from NYCFC. They created the same amount of scoring chances they had all playoffs – they just couldn’t take them, and Miami absolutely could.
AS: Against a team that totally, absolutely are in compliance with salary cap rules, winning is difficult. Miami would have found a way.
No Andrés + no Alonso = no bueno
OS: Do you think NYCFC could have gotten it done with Andrés Perea and Alonso Martínez healthy and at the top of their games?
MR: Without question. The playoffs are a different beast following the regular season, and anything is possible. With a fully fit Martínez partnered with Hannes Wolf and Nico up front, and supported by pivot Perea and Aiden O’Neill in midfield, NYCFC can beat any team in the league.
MM: Yes, 100 percent. Miami’s defense has improved, but it still isn’t super strong. Alonso Martínez has scored against Miami before and probably would have done so again. As for Andrés Perea, he would’ve been crucial in winning aerial duels and completing tackles to help win possession for NYCFC.
AL: I don’t think they win even with both Perea and Martínez available. The game might have looked different, maybe it gets leveled at a certain point, but I also don’t think adding both players would have put NYCFC at a clear advantage over Miami.
AS: Yeah, but at least it would have been more competitive. The broadcast mentioned that Maxi Moralez and Nico Fernández preferred to play out wide, and it makes sense given their profiles. Beyond Perea’s height and Martínez’s goalscoring threat, we were missing a proper striker.
JB: It would’ve helped! But again, this game was lost in bad moments defensively, by the very players that led NYCFC to this point of the season in the first place. Maybe Alonso buries a rogue one-v-one, and that changes the game states, but it wouldn’t have changed any of the chaotic moments at the back that cost NYCFC this game.
2025 was a vast improvement over 2024
OS: In his postgame press conference, Pascal Jansen said that his goal at the start of the season was to outperform what the team accomplished last year. That’s literally true, with NYCFC winning three games and drawing one to make it to the conference final this year. But does it feel true?
JB: It feels true because it is true. Pascal raised the floor of this entire squad with his ability to inspire and further develop his players. Signings like Raul Gustavo and Aiden O’Niell helped bolster that core. The addition of Nico Fernández Mercau, however, was a true ceiling-raiser, the sort that can lead NYCFC to greater goals than “improving on last year” in the coming seasons. That is, if this squad finally gets proper support from the front office…
AS: Definitely true, and it’s all Pascal. He brought the best out in everyone; we saw a resurgence from Hannes Wolf, flashes of brilliance from Jonny Shore, and a new role for Justin Haak. I’m excited for next season.
MM: Yes, this year was a huge improvement from last season. NYCFC was extremely competitive against the best teams in MLS and went from one of the worst road teams in the league to one of the best. If it wasn’t for ugly losses to DC United and CF Montréal, NYCFC would’ve finished even higher in the Eastern Conference.
MR: Without question. This squad showed grit and resiliency, along with the ability to rebound from difficult results in order to turn the tide, especially on the road. Plus, Jansen’s tactical prowess allowed him to get the best out of many players who took massive steps in 2025, particularly Wolf and Justin Haak. I agree with Matt, too. Pick up wins in those DC and Montréal fixtures, then this is an all-time year for New York City.
What would you have done differently?
OS: Armchair manager time. What would you have done differently?
AL: This could have been the game to start Mitja Ilenič. Maybe having multiple defensive-minded players on the right side of the field helps limit Jordi Alba’s impact a bit, plus Ilenič did score and look dangerous in the season-opening draw the last time they visited Miami. Then you’re looking at Agustín Ojeda coming off the bench when needed, a role he filled effectively late in the regular season.
MR: I wouldn’t have started Jonny Shore in defensive midfield in the Miami game. Not fair to thrust a teenager into a position of that magnitude. I would’ve pushed Haak into that defensive midfield role, moved Maxi Moralez to the No 10, and started Wolf wide left of Nico through the middle. It was win or go home, literally no reason why your second top scorer started the match on the bench.
JB: I don’t think Pascal got much wrong on the day. Messi, who had more goal involvements so far in the playoffs alone than any NYCFC starter had in the entire regular season, was limited to just 49 touches, his least of the playoffs so far. The assist he grabbed was practically gift-wrapped by Martins, holding everyone onside. Shutting down a super-sonic Messi was surely the game plan — they just got beaten in other areas of the pitch through largely preventable individual errors.
MM: I can’t think of anything I would’ve done differently, lineup-wise. NYCFC’s offense could’ve looked more threatening at times, but it doesn’t help that they lost Alonso Martínez halfway through their playoff run.
AS: I would have moved to a front three of Wolf-Nico-Ojeda to start the second half.
The good…
OS: What was your biggest playoff highlight?
MM: I feel like there’s only one right answer here: The stunning 1-0 win over Philadelphia at Subaru Park. Knocking off the Supporters Shield winners without three starters, courtesy of 38-year-old Maxi Moralez coming up big against the Union – once again – felt cinematic.
AL: I’ll go with Matt Freese standing on his head to see out that 1-0 win in Philadelphia. Too many unreal saves to count, and that they were all against his former team and with zero margin for error, made it all the more impressive and memorable.
AS: Game 1 against Charlotte: It was a clutch away win to set the tone for the series. But it was also one of the last times we saw a full-strength NYCFC at their best. I’m thinking Perea’s height for the assist, Alonso’s run through traffic, from well above the box, to score. Savor the highlights, because we won’t see this next season.
MR: Game 3 vs Charlotte for me. The momentum was fully in Charlotte’s favor after Game 2, and having to hand Charlotte just its fourth home loss all season (and its second in a week) looked beyond improbable. But Jansen got it right, and the Pigeons looked like the side clicking on all cylinders that fans have truly longed for all season long. It was glorious, and capped off another chapter in the budding rivalry between Eastern Conference heavyweights.
JB: That sweeping team goal in the Philadelphia game will go down as one of the greatest goals in NYCFC’s playoff history. For it to be finished off by Maxi Moralez, the club legend, the Philly KILLER, in what could be his last playoff triumph for NYCFC, is poetry.
…and the bad
OS: Your biggest disappointment?
AS: The conditions of the field when Alonso tore his ACL.
MR: Can’t argue with Abe. Losing Martínez to a fluke knee injury from playing on a field of concrete with a rug on it just days before the biggest game of the campaign stings. It stings just as much as losing your most versatile midfielder to a fluke leg injury in the dying moments of a Game 3 you’re already winning ahead of a contract year. Injuries stink.
JB: Agreed with Abe and Mark. Losing Perea and Alonso didn’t just put a damper on NYCFC’s 2025 playoff run, but raised some serious questions about the roster build going into 2026. For all of NYCFC’s growth this season, how much of that will be offset by losing such key guys ahead of next season?
MM: Has to be the Miami game. NYCFC weren’t expected to win, but losing in that fashion after solid defensive performances against Charlotte FC and Philadelphia is disappointing.
AL: That MLS chose to schedule these playoffs the way they did. The fact that playoff teams send away some of their best players for two weeks of international duty on the verge of playing their biggest club games of the season, leading to scenarios like Martínez ripping up his knee on shoddy Concacaf turf — unendingly disappointing and all I can still think about weeks after the injury.
Who’s with Vancouver?
OS: Will you be watching the MLS Cup Final on Saturday? If so, who do you want to win, and why?
AL: If Miami doesn’t win, they might set the record for most on-field tantrums thrown during one sporting event. That said, I will be watching and rooting for neither team, but instead rooting for the game to be an entertaining trainwreck that gets decided in some bizarre, only-in-MLS way.
MM: I will be watching MLS Cup on Saturday. It’s so easy to root for Vancouver — it’s been one of the best teams in the league all season, even before Thomas Müller arrived. The Whitecaps are a well-coached team that is finally getting the headlines – largely because of Müller – and have defeated Miami before this season.
AS: I’ll watch only because I know I’m going to miss MLS. I’m backing Vancouver and multiple goals from Brian White, for the USMNT’s sake.
MR: I’ll watch for the spectacle that is Messi vs Müller competing for the right to be the first player to win the World Cup and MLS Cup in their career. It has 2014 World Cup Final vibes, and I’m all for it. Plus, seeing a Vancouver side that was completely written off before the start of the season complete the fairy tale and humble Inter Miami once again would be a satisfying end to the 2025 MLS season.
JB: There’s a small voice in the back of my head telling me that Messi winning MLS Cup is good for the league, in the same way it was when David Beckham lifted the cup way back when. But, there’s a much louder voice in the front of my head reminding me at the top of its lungs how villainous this Inter Miami team was all year long.
I’ll absolutely be watching, and I’ll absolutely be rooting for Vancouver.
