FotMob didn’t think much of the quality of play in yesterday’s Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup between New York City FC and CF Montréal. No player in the NYCFC win earned a rating of 8 or higher, never mind the god-like 9.1 bestowed on Maxi Moralez in last Monday’s win over Inter Miami.
Instead, the football soccer analysis website and app handed out a few ratings of 7.9, and gave Player of the Match honors to Montréal midfielder Alistair Johnston even though he didn’t score, didn’t register an assist, and was on the losing side of the 1-3 scoreline. It was a strange choice for the algorithm to make given that NYCFC goalkeeper and captain Sean Johnson made a season-high seven saves, and was arguably the single reason why Montréal vastly underperformed their xG, scoring just one consolation goal late in the game despite enjoying 63.9% possession, taking 18 shots, and creating eight big chances according to FotMob.
In other words, NYCFC won because Johnson was in the goal.
