New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers: Here are your NYCFC player ratings from the steamy 1-0 loss to Nashville SC at Geodis Park.
Last week was not kind to New York City. First, there was the Wednesday night loss to a Los Angeles Galaxy playing to their potential. Then, there was this loss to an opportunistic Nashville who found a way to score despite the suffocating heat.
It’s not easy to win on the road in Major League Soccer, especially if it means living in hotels for six nights and flying 5,000 miles. But New York City looked unusually disjointed on Saturday night, when they ran up possession but took exactly zero shots on target. Your ratings reflect what you saw on the field.
Only two players in the Starting XI earned above a 6.0: You gave Maxi Moralez a 6.4, which is uncommonly low by the standards of the playmaker, and favorite child Matt Freese a 6.9, instead of his usual 8s and 9s.
You gave Santiago RodrĂguez a 5.8, which is a little harsh. Arguably New York City’s best player on the field, the 7.9 awarded by FotMob was the joint-second-highest of all the players on both teams. But we get it: You aren’t happy.
But we buried the lede: You gave Mounsef Bakrar a 2.1, which is unusually, uncommonly, exceptionally low. To understand just how low, read on.
Note: FotMob ratings are in parentheses.
Andrew Leigh
Mounsef Bakrar, off 59′ (5.7) – 2.1
Santiago RodrĂguez (7.9) – 5.8
Maxi Moralez, off 80′ (7.2) – 6.4
AgustĂn Ojeda, off 59′ (6.8) – 4.6
Keaton Parks, off 72′ (6.5) – 5.0
James Sands (7.4) – 5.3
Mitja IleniÄŤ, off 59′ (6.5) – 3.4
Kevin O’Toole (6.2) – 5.0
Thiago Martins (6.6 ) – 5.8
Birk Risa, off (6.4) – 5.2
Matt Freese (6.8) – 6.9
Jovan Mijatović, on 59′ (6.1) – 2.9
Malachi Jones, on 59′ (6.3) – 7.0
Tayvon Gray, on 59′ (6.1) – 5.2
AndrĂ©s Perea, on 72′ (6.3) – 6.0
Hannes Wolf, on 80′ (5.9) – 5.2
Player Spotlight
Mounsef Bakrar
We’re not here to discuss Mounsef Bakrar’s performance: That was addressed in the Instant Reaction that HRB ran right after the game. The title is a question that pretty much answers itself: “Time to push pause on the Mounsef Experiment?“
Zero goals, zero shots on the target. It wasn’t a good night for the striker.
Rather than revisit his 59 minutes of playing time, we’re going to look at the rating you gave him, which is 2.1.
That’s low. Like, really low. That isn’t just the lowest rating for a player in this game, it’s the lowest rating for a player this year. (The second-lowest? The 2.9 you awarded to Jovan Mijatović above.)
Actually, that 2.1 for Bakrar is the lowest number awarded to a player in the history of HRB’s Player Ratings. It comfortably beats the 2.7 you gave Talles Magno last May, when New York City lost to the New York Red Bulls 1-0. To go by your numbers, Bakrar’s performance on Saturday was the single worst outing of any New York City player in the past two seasons.
To be clear, it’s not your lowest rating this year. That would be the 1.6 you awarded to referee Alexis Da Silva after the Columbus Crew game earlier this month (we get into that below), and the 1.6 you gave to head coach Nick Cushing after the home loss to Portland Timbers in the third game of the season.
As for the lowest rating of all time, that would be the 1.2 you gave to referee Armando Villarreal after the FC Cincinnati game on May 31, 2023. Villarreal whistled off one goal for New York City, awarded Cincinnati a penalty after a controversial VAR review, and handed out 12 yellow cards.
A New York City player couldn’t possibly earn a rating that low. Right?
Oliver Strand
Nick Cushing — 3.7
It wasn’t a good night for the head coach. Last month, his rotated squad won three on the road in their five-game wining streak. This month, his rotated squad lost three in a row and were held scoreless in two consecutive matches.
Are our readers experiencing flashbacks from the start of the season, when New York City lost their opening three matches, and were held scoreless in two away games?
Victor Rivas — 5.0
No complaints.
Maybe the officials at the Professional Referee Organization are on their best behavior, and assigning New York City their better refs after the disastercclass put on by Alexis Da Silva in the Columbus Crew match on June 14. Over the weekend, PRO acknowledged that the inexperienced Da Silva incorrectly overturned his own call to give Columbus a penalty that they went on to convert, and that proved to be the game-winner.
Oliver Strand
Player of the Match
Malachi Jones
For the second week in a row, Malachi Jones is your Player of the Match.
We don’t mean to sound cynical, but the selection of Jones seems to be less about being the best player on the night than being the least-bad player. In his 30 minutes on the field, Jones took two shots (both blocked), created one chance, and completed eight out of nine passes. That’s not exactly the stuff of highlight reels.
We mean that literally: The New York City admin didn’t post a single highlight from the game, because there is nothing highlight-worthy from the game.
But the admin did post a nice little snippet, and it’s of Jones hugging Nashville Homegrown Isaiah Jones, his younger brother, after the end of the game. The 18-year-old Isaiah Jones was only just called up to the First Team, and while he was named to the gameday squad he remained an unused substitute. The feels were good all around.
Just two brothers living their dream ✨ pic.twitter.com/exTRSyYKg6
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) June 23, 2024
The 20-year-old Malachi Jones is always fun to watch, even in a frustrating game like this one. He’s still a raw talent, and needs more experience, but he plays with a surging energy and he has a sweet flow — those long, arcing runs he uses to round his defender are becoming a trademark.
He still needs to find his finishing touch. And once he does, he’ll be one of the most devastating and exciting wingers in the league.
