New York City FC Vs Toronto FC: Player ratings – Failure to threaten

New York City FC fell in humiliating fashion to Toronto FC on Friday night in a 4-0 loss. Here are the player ratings from another match in which the attack failed to threaten.

After taking a week off during the international break, New York City FC returned to face Toronto FC on the road. Both teams entered the match with some excitement behind them; both had made recent signings aimed to push their teams back into the top-tier of the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for NYCFC, their new signing did not play, and they were bombarded by the home team, ultimately hammered 4-0.

Toronto’s new playmaker, Alejandro Pozuelo, started, and dominated. He was the Man of the Match, scoring two goals with one assist. He immediately looked like one of the best players in the league.

Meanwhile, the broadcast team on YES network informed the audience that New York’s new forward, Heber, had just arrived in the United States. So, he would be unable to make his debut. The absence showed, as New York City once again proved incapable of threatening the opposition’s goal.

New York City FC only took seven shots (compared to Toronto’s 16), and managed to put just three on target all match. Toronto seemed to suffocate NYCFC at times with their pressure. However, New York City FC did carry 47% of possession, pushing the pace early in the first half. They just failed to create good chances on goal.

Since Heber was not ready to play, New York City FC had to play with a non-traditional striker. That was Jesus Medina this match, and he was asked to lead the line as though he was a striker. That did not work out. Later, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi moved into that position. That’s good, Tajouri-Shradi played there successfully in place of David Villa last season. However, he played more like a false-nine, despite being less suited for that role. Between the two, one shot was taken.

Alexandru Mitrita put in another poor performance. He took just two shots, although one of those was New York City FC’s best scoring change that rattled against the crossbar. He was less effective at taking on defenders and, for the third-straight match, he failed to provide a scoring chance for a teammate. It is as though he flat-out refuses to connect with them. That is going to be a problem moving forward.

New York City FC’s best player, Maxi Moralez, did not feature in the squad. The injury report was empty, so I imagine that was a coach’s decision. If so, it was a poor one. Moralez is the kind of player you find a place for in your starting line-up. He is clearly the most important player on the team.

New York City FC are now in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference with just three points. They looked clueless, completely bereft of ideas while attacking. The defense also was not great this match. They allowed four goals to boot.

Here are the player ratings from the 4-0 defeat.