New York City FC suffered a massive defeat in the Eastern Conference final against Inter Miami, 5-1 on Saturday evening. While the loss certainly stings as the club prided themselves on having a sharper defensive record, it is worth noting that the current NYC team is one that skews younger and still has much to learn in their soccer IQ growth. Head coach Pascal Jansen recognizes this while also ruing some of the situations that led to the final outcome.
“To finish the season like this tells us we have a few more lessons to learn,” said Jansen after the game. “We shouldn’t be as naive as we showed tonight. There are more lessons to learn, but it is time to rest now, and our focus is on next season because we have to do better again.”
Jansen’s biggest takeaway was how the team performed in the second half. While they did manage to possess the ball as they had in previous games, they were unable to take advantage of key moments that could have shifted the tide of the contest. In particular, Miami found it difficult playing out of the back and giving the ball away. Maxi Moralez and Julian Fernandez both missed high percentage chances only for Miami to go back the other way and convert their opportunities.
While it is easy to criticize such a game, it is worth noting that City has come a long way from missing the playoffs in 2023. Last year, head coach Nick Cushing returned the club to the playoffs only to be eliminated by rivals Red Bull New York. This year head coach Pascal Jansen took them further, gaining more points in the regular season and bring the team within 90 minutes of returning to MLS Cup.
“We know it’s a process,” said team captain Thiago Martins. “We know we can grow. We know we can be better in some games but, like I said, we need to learn from our minor mistakes and we need to learn together. I’m never going to come in here and point fingers and say ‘This guy or that guy.’ No. We as a team have to learn and be better if we want to achieve something.”
With that, the 2025 MLS season comes to a close for NYCFC. Next will be the inevitable roster decisions for the club and where they go to better the team heading into the 2026 campaign.
photo from NYCFC