When New York City FC takes the field to face the Philadelphia Union in Sunday's Eastern Conference Semifinal showdown, things will feel eerily similar to 2021.
That year, NYCFC faced Philadelphia without three key players after losing Keaton Parks and Anton Tinnerholm to season-ending injuries, and Taty Castellanos to a one-game suspension after earning a red card against the New England Revolution.
This time, New York City will once again be without three key players after losing Andrés Perea and Alonso Martínez to season-ending injuries, and Aiden O'Neill to a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation while playing Charlotte FC. These come on top of losing Parks to a season-ending injury once again earlier this year.
To understand exactly how Sunday is 2021 redux for NYCFC, let's rewind to nearly four years ago.
December 5, 2021: Philadelphia 1-2 NYCFC
NYCFC, in the midst of an impressive playoff run, faced the higher-seeded Philadelphia at Subaru Park in the Eastern Conference Finals without Tinnerholm, Parks, and Castellanos.
That October, Tinnerholm suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon against Nashville SC — an injury that kept the right-back off the field for the following eight months. Because of Tinnerholm's unavailability, a largely untested 19-year-old Tayvon Gray stepped up to become the starter. He hasn't looked back since.
Parks's season ended just a few games later, after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot from his popliteal artery in his lower right leg. Then-head coach Ronny Deila compensated by putting out a double-pivot with Alfredo Morales and James Sands. The shift paid off.
But the biggest blow to New York City was Castellanos. The striker, who had 21 goals in all competitions, was riding a six-game scoring streak. He was the closest thing in the league to a guaranteed goal, scoring in both the 2-0 playoff win over Atlanta United and the 2-2 shootout win over New England. But he was sent off late in the New England game for a challenge that saw him earn a second yellow card, which kept him out of the match against Philadelphia. Delia replaced Castellanos with Héber, who made his first start since tearing his ACL in September 2020.
Despite those key absences, NYCFC prevailed with an epic 2-1 come-from-behind victory to advance to their first-ever MLS Cup. Substitute Talles Magno, who was 19 years old at the time, scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute when he sent a close-range shot past Matt Freese, then with the Union.
