With New York City FC facing an uphill climb to progress to the next round of Leagues Cup following Tuesday's loss to Club Puebla, the starters returned to the fold and the Pigeons dispatched Club León 2-0 Friday night.
In front of an announced crowd of 12,149 at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Head Coach Pascal Jansen opted to field a more experienced lineup than the side that shipped three goals vs Liga MX strugglers Puebla on Tuesday, with Alonso Martínez, Maxi Moralez, and Andres Perea returning to the Starting XI.
This decision paid off as Alonso Martínez stole the show with a goal and an assist, while winger Agustín Ojeda bagged his first goal for NYCFC in over a year. Matt Fresse chipped in with a trademark penalty save against León star James Rodríguez, paving the way for a comfortable rebound win for the Pigeons.
Matthew Mangam
New York City: 3.1 xG, 9 shots, 8 shots on target, 46.8% possession, 399 passes, 82.7% pass accuracy, 18 fouls, 6 corners, 4 saves
Club León: 1.3 xG, 9 shots, 4 shots on target, 53.2% possession, 458 passes, 83.2% pass accuracy, 19 fouls, 8 corners, 6 saves
Goals:
• New York City, Alonso Martínez, 7'
• New York City, Agustín Ojeda, 32'
Attendance: 12,149
Alonso Martínez takeover
It's no secret that Alonso Martínez has a knack for scoring goals. The Costa Rican international leads New York City FC with 15 combined goals and assists in 2025, adding to his tally with a goal and an assist in Friday night's win.
Alonso Martínez opens the scoring for New York City from close range. Cred: New York City FC
New York City applied intense pressure from the opening kickoff, and Martínez found himself in goalscoring opportunities almost immediately. This pressure proved effective quickly, with the Costa Rican breaking the deadlock after barely seven minutes, firing home from close range following a well-worked corner.
Moralez swings a good ball into the box, before defender Justin Haak flicks it on with an impressive glancing header right into the path of Martínez, and El Clínico simply wasn't going to miss from that range.
Less than 20 minutes later, the Costa Rican was at the center of another goal for the Pigeons, squaring the ball across goal to Ojeda for just his second assist of the season. Since returning from international duty with Costa Rica, Martínez has six goal contributions in six matches, catapulting himself back to the top of the New York City goal-scoring charts.
It's clear how critical his efficiency and striker's instincts are to the success of Jansen's squad in front of goal, with Friday night being a perfect case study. Across 64 minutes, Martínez had just 20 touches on the ball, with only seven coming in the León penalty area.
Yet, he ended the night with all three of his shots hitting the target, a pass completion rating of 75%, and the Player of the Match award — exactly what fans have come to expect from the club's talisman.
Agustín Ojeda finally breaks through
The narrative surrounding Agustín Ojeda this season has been straightforward: When will the winger find the back of the net? Through 24 matches in the league in 2025, the Argentine has just one assist, while putting only one shot on target.
It only took Ojeda 32 minutes Friday night to finally break that drought.
Agustín Ojeda with his first goal in over 12 months. Cred: New York City FC
Following a well-worked move between Martínez and Nico Fernández, all Ojeda needed to do was place his first-time effort on frame, and he did just that. Nestling into the top right corner, it was Ojeda's first goal of 2025, and his first goal for New York City FC in 399 days, with his last strike coming in the 4-2 win over Orlando City on June 28th, 2024.
Prior to his goal, the Argentine was rather unproductive, making runs up and down the left wing with little impact on the build up around him. Following his goal, however, Ojeda flipped a switch and began terrorizing the León backline.
When all was said and done, Ojeda made great use of his speed and technical ability, completing 67% of his dribbles, 94% of his passes and delivering five accurate long balls into the NYC attacking third. He also showed great poise on defense, with ten ball recoveries while only being dribbled past once on the night.
The pressure has been mounting on Ojeda in recent weeks. Despite making 24 appearances and 10 starts, the Argentine has played just 974 minutes in the league in 2025, and had just one assist to show for it.
Jansen has continued to show faith in his young winger, remaining steadfast in his belief that Ojeda is capable of producing moments like he did Friday night on a more consistent basis.
During his post-match presser, Jansen pointed out that Hannes Wolf was supposed to start the match over Ojeda, but was replaced by the Argentine due to a minor knock in training.
The Dutchman continued, saying "He has special qualities but his output is way too low. He's working so hard, day in and day out to improve this, and that is what I see and what the outside world doesn't see. I have all the confidence I need to have to put him on the pitch."
Whether Ojeda continues to repay that faith remains to be seen, but fans will feel more optimistic knowing that the Argentine is finally up and running amongst the goals in 2025.
Nico Fernández is a problem (solver)
NYCFC's newest Designated Player is going to be a problem in MLS, solving one of the Pigeon's most glaring issues in 2025. When Santi Rodríguez was sold to Botafogo in February, ahead of the start of the MLS season, his output and presence in the No. 10 role wasn't adequately replaced, until now.
Fernández introduced himself to the Pigeon faithful during his 30-minute cameo in the 4-3 win over FC Dallas, where he assisted Martínez's match-winning goal. Following a lackluster performance vs Puebla on Tuesday in his first start for NYCFC, Fernandez reminded fans as to why he's the club's newest DP, dictating the play from midfield and operating at the center of each attacking move.
Hudson River Blue Staff
In 80 minutes, Fernandez completed 100% of his dribbles, while completing five passes into the final third. The Argentine's shining moment of the night was his link-up play with Martínez in the build-up to Ojeda's goal, dribbling past two defenders before slotting a perfectly-weighted ball in behind to Martínez, splitting the León backline with ease.
While the Argentine wasn't as effective as a creator for the remainder of the match, delivering just one accurate cross and two accurate long balls, his impact was still felt off the ball. Operating as a right winger, a No. 10, and a striker at different times in the match, Fernández applied continuous pressure in and out of possession, recovering the ball three times while winning 62% of his duels.
His presence in this squad, on the ball or not, is an X-factor the New York City squad has been lacking this season. Martínez and Hannes Wolf have done well to bridge the gap left by the departure of Rodríguez, but the addition of a competent and confident No. 10 was always needed to take this squad to the heights expected prior to the start of the season.
The Pigeons have one final match to close out the first round of the Leagues Cup, a tantalizing fixture against Liga MX heavyweights Deportivo Toluca next Tuesday, August 5th, at Yankee Stadium. Though New York City FC may not have much to show from the Leagues Cup after next week, what these matches have shown is that there's a new level to this squad that's set to be unlocked. All that was missing was a No. 10-shaped key to open that door.
• Club León, Jaine Barreiro, yellow card, foul 58'
Officials
• Referee: Reon Radix
• Assistant referees: Ojay Duhaney, Caleb Wales
• Fourth official: Oshane Nation
• VAR: Daneon Parchment
• Assistant VAR: Benjamin Whitty
