• Matchday 1: LA Galaxy vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Sunday, February 22, 7:10 pm ET
• Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
• Forecast: A sunny, breezy, gorgeous SoCal afternoon, 69F/21C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman (English), Sammy Sadovnik and Diego Valeri (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Victor Rivas (referee), Jeffrey Greeson and Felisha Mariscal (assistant referees), Servando Berna (4th official), Edvin Jurisevic and Robert Schaap (VAR)
• Kits: New York City will debut the tri-color All Nations Kit; LA Galaxy will debut the classic white VeloCITY Kit
Major League Soccer is back! While the Northeast braces for a snowstorm, New York City FC are in sunny California to face LA Galaxy in the first Justin Haak Derby. It is one of the marquee matchups this opening weekend — the first Sunday Night Soccer of the season will have Taylor Twellman (English) and Diego Valeri (Spanish) in the Apple TV broadcast booth calling a game that will see a reformulated NYCFC missing their star No 9 will try to get past a rebuilt LA Galaxy missing their star No 10.
Before you get too excited, remember that New York City are unbelievably bad at season openers. Every single Matchday 1 in club history has been played on the road, with just two wins for NYCFC out of 11 games. Last year, New York City seemed poised to snap their six-match winless streak in season openers, but instead conceded an equalizer to Inter Miami CF in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time to settle for a 2-2 draw.
New York City | Season Openers
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 16 | -4 |
The Galaxy have an all-time franchise record of 13W-8D-9L in their 30 season openers, but LA will be looking for their first win on Matchday 1 since 2022, when they beat the defending MLS Cup winners, New York City FC.
Both teams will be playing in uniforms introduced just this season. New York City will debut the All Nations Kit, a deep blue top finished with white shorts and orange socks. The All Nations Kit is a new look for the club, a colorful departure from the back-and-neon 24/7 Kit. LA will debut the VeloCITY Kit, a white shirt with a blue sash and matching white shorts and socks that evokes the classic uniform from the David Beckham era.
Andrew Leigh
New York City vs LA Galaxy H2H
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
This will be just the eighth meeting between the two clubs, with the most recent coming in June 2024, when LA Galaxy defeated NYCFC 2-0 on a Wednesday night in Carson. The historic head-to-head tilts slightly in New York City's favor despite the fact that the Galaxy usually host these matchups — this will be the sixth game played at Dignity Health Sports Park, where New York City have won twice and lost three times.
And it will be second season opener contested by the two teams. In 2022, LA defeated New York City 1-0 when Chicharito headed in the game-winner in the 90th minute.
