New York City FC backed up their Campeones Cup triumph with a much-needed 2-0 win over Hudson River Derby rivals New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
Despite lifting another trophy in the week, the Pigeons have been in freefall, taking just five points from their previous 10 MLS games.
However, confidence was clearly flowing and after less than a minute, NYCFC were already 1-0 in front as Alexander Callens – who opened the scoring against Atlas in mid-week – scored from close range after Santiago Rodriguez flicked on a Maxi Moralez corner.
Rodriguez would turn from provider to scorer in the 23rd minute, bullying Lewis Morgan at the far post and applying an easy finish from another recycled Moralez set-piece.
The Red Bulls thought they’d pulled one back in the 37th minute when Elias Manoel picked up the rebound from an Aaron Long header, firing the ball beyond Sean Johnson. However, a VAR review showed that both Long and Manoel were offside, leaving RBNY with a mountain to climb in the second half.
In reality, they never even looked like taking the first uphill steps, let alone scaling that peak, registering just one shot on target throughout the match, and being outclassed by their local rivals.
That said, RBNY remain in third place and safe in the home Playoffs spots, while NYCFC have moved just one point behind with this victory.
Read on for full player ratings from Yankee Stadium:
Santi Rodríguez steals in at the back post to make it two ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/FqHVsiYAyt
— New York City Football Club (@NYCFC) September 17, 2022
GK: Sean Johnson – 6/10 – A couple of nervous moments but managed to get the job done.
RB: Tayvon Gray – 5/10 – A quiet afternoon. Wasn’t tested defensively and didn’t offer too much going forward.
CB: Thiago Martins – 6/10 – About as easy an afternoon as you could hope for.
CB: Maxime Chanot – 7/10 – Excellent on the ball and got through his defensive work without fuss.
LB: Alexander Callens – 9/10 – Had a goal and a goalline clearance within 11 minutes and didn’t let up from there. Always a threat from set-pieces and solid defensively.
CM: Nicolas Acevedo – 7/10 – Cleaned up almost every loose ball that crossed his path and kept NYCFC ticking.
CM: Maxi Moralez – 7/10 – A little quieter than usual from open play but caused no end of trouble from set-pieces.
RW: Gabriel Pereira – 7/10 – Provided the assist for Rodriguez’s goal and looked dangerous throughout the first half before running out of steam.
CAM: Santiago Rodriguez – 9/10 – Provided…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…