New York City stumbles at home, losing 2-1 to DC United

New York City FC fell victim to the "trap game" once again on Saturday night, losing 2-1 to Eastern Conference strugglers DC United at Yankee Stadium. Off the back of two convincing wins over Eastern Conference contenders Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati, the Pigeons fell flat in The Bronx, as DC squeaked away with only their fifth win of the campaign.

Justin Haak seemed to have NYCFC in cruise control early in the first half, with a 19th-minute strike breaking the deadlock, setting the tone for what looked like a fourth-straight Major League Soccer win for the hosts. But two goals from DC forward Gabriel Pirani on either side of halftime flipped the game on its head, killing New York City's promising late-season momentum in the process.

Pigeons play down to competition — again

NYCFC have beaten Philadelphia, Nashville, Cincinnati (twice), and Orlando (twice) in 2025. Those are four of the Top Five teams in the MLS Eastern Conference, as of results through Saturday, August 30th.

Also in 2025, New York City lost to New England, Dallas, Montréal (twice), Atlanta, and now DC. Each of those five teams sits 11th or lower in their respective conferences. It's not a good pattern, and that doesn't include the shutout loss to USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the US Open Cup.

During one of the most crucial stretches of the MLS calendar, New York City continues the painful trend of playing down to lesser opposition, this time dropping all three points at home against a side whose last win came on May 31st.

Though the lineup remained unchanged from the team that walked into TQL Stadium and stole three points from FC Cincinnati last week, the performances couldn't have been more different. Against Cincinnati, NYCFC were disciplined and determined. Against DC, the Pigeons looked out of sync, lacking the fight and fire needed to break down DC's low block and create genuine chances on goal.

The attack lacked a clinical edge, while the midfield struggled to link the pitch together and create any clear-cut attacking chances for players like Alonso Martínez and Hannes Wolf to get on the end of.

The opportunities for the hosts to blow the game open were there for the taking. NYC had nine corners and whipped in 14 crosses, yet the delivery was consistently poor and allowed for DC to consistently clear their lines without any trouble.

To United's credit, head coach René Weiler made sure his side was organized and difficult to break down, building off their impressive performance last time out vs Inter Miami. Even still, the visitors only managed to put two shots on target.

Unfortunately for NYC, both found the back of the net, giving DC just its third multi-goal game since the start of June. The first came off a corner, the fourth set-piece goal NYCFC allowed this year. And the game-winner came against the run of play when Christian Benteke released Gabriel Pirani with a line-splitting pass that had the DC forward one-v-one with Matt Freese. You could argue that the first goal was lucky, but the second was pure quality from a team that haven't had many bright moments this season.

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Attacking struggles cause for concern?

During his post-match press conference, head coach Pascal Jansen delivered a blunt assessment of what went wrong for NYC Saturday night: "Our attacking play was not fast enough, not creative enough, not clinical enough."

He was completely right.

NYC dominated possession with over 60% of the ball, and fashioned 10 shots with that possession. Yet, only four of those strikes hit the target, and just one, Haak's 19th-minute goal, found the back of the net. As a team, NYC finished the match with an expected goals (xG) rating of 0.52, a horrific return against a defense that's conceded 54 goals so far this season, the third most of all MLS clubs.

Martínez was a non-factor on the night, as was Nico Fernández. The former failed to register a single shot in a match for the first time all season, while the latter mustered just one shot as the Argentine continues to struggle in front of goal since arriving from Elche CF at the end of July.

New York City's lone goal-scorer, Justin Haak, popped up with a lovely striker's finish on the stroke of 20 minutes, curling in a first-time effort past Barraza into the bottom right corner. It was just his second career goal for New York City FC, coming 784 days after his first in the 1-1 draw vs Columbus back on July 8th, 2023. But even Mr. Versatile couldn't escape the criticisms of Saturday, as Haak's poor defensive positioning directly led to DC grabbing the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute.

But be that as it may, if the starting CB with a single professional goal to his name is the most threatening attacking player on the pitch, there are more serious issues that need to be addressed.

Martínez and Wolf have done well leading the line for NYC this season, with the duo boasting 29 goals and assists between them. For both of them to go ghost against a defense as poor as DC's, with NYC in the thick of the MLS Cup Playoff race, raises serious concerns over this squad's ability to compete in high-stakes playoff matches against sides with much higher defensive standards.

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NYCFC fell for a trap game to lose at home to conference-worst DC United.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

Costly dropped points, playoffs draw closer

New York City's final stretch of the MLS season is a gauntlet, that much is clear. That's what makes dropping points vs an opponent like DC United so costly.

Having already dispatched Nashville and Cincinnati following the resumption of league play after the Leagues Cup, the remaining schedule for NYC does not get any easier.

Not one bit.

With seven matches remaining in the MLS Regular Season, NYC has one week off before playing four matches in 11 days. The Pigeons travel to Chicago on September 13th, before hosting 7th-place Columbus on the 17th, 3rd-place Charlotte on the 20th, and 6th-place Inter Miami on the 24th.

Charlotte has won an astonishing eight MLS matches in a row as the North Carolina side continues to shoot up the table, while Inter Miami has reached a second Leagues Cup final in three seasons and will face off against the Seattle Sounders tonight at Lumen Field with the trophy on the line.

Following that jam-packed stretch, NYC still has to face off against the rival New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium on September 27th, before traveling down to the Supporters' Shield front-runners Philadelphia Union for a matchup on October 4th.

Points will not be easy to come by over the next few weeks, making strong performances against teams like DC United all the more important, serving as an opportunity to bank points in the midst of one of the most competitive and tightly contested MLS regular seasons in recent memory.

Pascal Jansen, his staff, and his players will be kicking themselves that they didn't get more out of this contest, but they only have themselves to blame. The Pigeons have been playing down to lesser competition all season long. It got the club eliminated from the US Open Cup and Leagues Cup, and it now adds much more pressure to the shoulders of a squad desperate to escape the wild card and secure a home playoff match in 2025.

New York City FC 1-2 DC United | Official Highlights