New York City FC Vs Tigres UANL: 3 things we learned – Game management
1. Heartbreak, again
Three of the four teams that have progressed through the European Champions League Round of 16 stage this week has kept a clean sheet at home. Five of the eight teams that qualified for the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League kept a clean sheet at home. You might be able to see where I am going here.
New York City FC had largely controlled the game and deserved the win. But in the closing stages, they were seemingly set to have to settle for a draw. That was until Sean Johnson could only parry a shot from distance straight to Eduardo Vargas who slid the rebound home in essentially the last kick of the game.
As history tells us, keeping clean sheets at home correlate very strongly to qualification in two-legged Champions League ties, and when playing a match over 180 minutes, game management, being aware of the situation, and acting accordingly are all important responsibilities that every player and team must master. On this occasion, NYCFC learned a harsh lesson.
Next. Montreal Impact Vs Olimpia: 3 things we learned. dark
There is still 90 minutes to play, of course. And New York City FC proved that they can cause Tigres enough problems to not be written out of this contest. But their challenge became a whole lot tougher with that final goal, which was criminal to concede.