New York City's 2025 Leagues Cup campaign got off to a dreadful start, losing 3-0 to Club Puebla at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
NYCFC fell to 2W-2D-4L all-time against Liga MX sides and currently sits at the bottom of the Major League Soccer Leagues Cup group.
Here are three thoughts from the lackluster defeat in Harrison, New Jersey.
Hudson River Blue Staff
1. Nicolás Fernández gets his first start
Nicolás Fernández's NYCFC debut was nothing short of perfect in Friday's 4-3 win over FC Dallas. After coming on in the 61st minute, the 25-year-old assisted Alonso Martínez's 84th-minute game-winning goal, which also completed his hat trick.
Fernández made his first New York City start in tonight's loss. He only played the first half, but didn't look as impressive as he did against Dallas. Nico completed 10 of his 12 passes, played one pass into the final third, and had two touches in Puebla's box.
It's clear Nico Fernández is on a minutes restriction after joining the club from Elche CF's offseason, so he'll likely play at least 60 minutes on Friday night against Club León. We could also get a look at how he will play alongside Maxi Moralez that night, that is, if the 38-year-old sees minutes that night.
John Baney
2. Puebla dominates opening 45, fires up crowd
The crowd at Sports Illustrated Stadium was mostly Puebla and Liga MX fans, as expected. They were loud right from kickoff, largely due to Puebla captain Juan Manuel Fedorco's goal off a corner in the second minute.
Puebla opens the scoring | Courtesy Leagues Cup
NYCFC looked sloppy from the start, as Puebla put up three shots on goal in the first 18 minutes. It took until the 24th minute for New York City to register an attempt on goal — and that was a scuffed trivela from Julián Fernández.
Puebla made it 2-0 in the 38th minute via substitute Emiliano Gómez. It started with Puebla attacking NYCFC's weaker side — the team targeted Nico Cavallo at left-back — before playing a pass across the face of goal to a wide-open Gómez, who wouldn't miss from close range.
Emiliano Gómez makes it 2-0 to Puebla | Courtesy Leagues Cup
New York City thought they had a penalty three minutes later, but the call was overturned after a lengthy VAR review as they trailed 2-0 at halftime.
NYCFC fought back in the second half, but several misses from Martínez and saves from Puebla goalkeeper Jesús Rodríguez kept New York City scoreless.
Hudson River Blue Staff
3. Seymour Reid starts over Alonso Martínez
With NYCFC playing Dallas just four days ago, head coach Pascal Jansen was forced to rotate against Puebla.
On the wings, Agustín Ojeda and Julián Fernández filled in for Andrés Perea and Hannes Wolf, respectively. Defensively, Cavallo and Strahinja Tanasijević slotted in for Kevin O'Toole and the injured Thiago Martins.
But the most interesting change was 17-year-old Seymour Reid getting his first-ever New York City start with Martínez on the bench. Reid, who was signed to a homegrown contract on May 27, 2025, climbed through the NYCFC academy quickly and made his presence felt, scoring nine goals in 13 games with NYCFC II.
Reid became the youngest player in New York City history to debut with the First Team at 17 years, 18 days old, in the 0-0 draw with Columbus Crew on March 22, 2025.
Tonight, Reid's rawness and lack of experience showed. He played 65 minutes, totaling one off-target shot and four touches in Puebla's box. He was dispossessed twice and didn't win any of his aerial or ground duels.
With Mounsef Bakrar all but gone, Reid will likely be the backup to Martínez unless a more experienced player is brought in. It's clear Reid has athleticism and drive, but his game isn't fully developed as the teenager remains an unfinished product.
Andrew Leigh
