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New York City vs Philadelphia player ratings

Tayvon Gray is your Player of the Match for his clutch goal — it's just the third time he earned the honor since we started publishing player ratings in 2023.

Tayvon Gray put in a Player of the Match performance | newyorkcityfc.com

New York City FC's stoppage-time win set the tone for these ratings, with Tayvon Gray's header in the 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia Union leading the way. Gray's 8.6 tops his best Hudson River Blue player rating for all of 2025 (7.2), and the game-deciding performance led to his first Player of the Match honors this season — and just his third since HRB introduced the feature in 2023. (He also topped the vote once in 2024, and once in 2025.)

The other strong ratings belong to players who either executed the final actions of the win, or who kept NYCFC afloat long enough for Gray's goal to matter. Matt Freese earned an 8.0 for his four saves, repeatedly holding firm during Philadelphia’s second-half push, while Agustín Ojeda also checked in at 8.0 for providing consistent width — and the cross that decided the result. Hannes Wolf’s 7.6 fits the simplest evaluation of the afternoon: He finished the opener and helped NYCFC play from in front.

New York City FC seals first win of 2026 with late drama in Philadelphia
It took them until nearly the final kick of the game, but New York City earned a 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union thanks to a 99th-minute header from Tayvon Gray.

Maxi Moralez landed at 6.7 and Keaton Parks at 6.9 for their steady, connecting work that helped NYCFC move the ball with confidence in the first half. Aiden O’Neill’s 6.8 reads like “important to the structure,” even if the second half became less about establishing a rhythm and more about surviving the Union’s pressure.

The Starting XI averaged a 7.3 rating, well above the 6.4 average earned last week in California. The tables below include the ratings given to each NYCFC player by the Sofascore algorithm in parentheses, followed by our reader-generated ratings.

Referee Chris Penso earned a 3.7, the lowest rating of the night. It's not surprising after he oversaw a chaotic game that became as much about the officiating as the play on the field.

Below, find all the rest of the NYCFC Player Ratings from the 2-1 win at Subaru Park.

New York City 2-1 Philadelphia Union: 3 Thoughts
New York City FC find a way to defeat Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park in Matchday 2 despite the chaos on the field and some sloppy play late in the game.

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