NYCFC first defeat against LAFC away game
BMO STADIUM (Mar 01,2025) — New York City FC spent Saturday night on the West Coast, facing LAFC at BMO Stadium and suffered their first defeat of the season against LAFC on Saturday.
A tight game saw both sides reduced to few clear-cut chances. That changed in the 86th minute when Ryan Hollingshead gave LAFC the lead. That goal was enough for the hosts to emerge 1-0 winners on the night.
New York City FC kicked off this season with their first two matches on the road, ending with one loss and one draw. This marks the fifth time they’ve started a season away from home, having done so in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Across these seasons, including the current one, their record stands at seven losses and three draws.
New York City FC has played their second match five times on the road and six times at home. Altogether, New York City FC has a record of 4W-3L-4D when playing their second match of the season, scoring 16 goals, conceding eight goals, and collecting five clean sheets.
New York City has been held scoreless five times when playing their second match of the season.
This is New York City’s fourth consecutive time that they have played their second match on the road. Overall, when playing their second match on the road, New York City FC has a record of two draws and three losses, scoring one goal and conceding five.
New York City FC has held one clean sheet, which occurred on March 5, 2022 against Vancouver Whitecaps in a 0-0 draw. On the other hand, New York City has been held scoreless four times.
New York City FC and LAFC meet for the fourth time in the MLS Regular Season. In four meetings New York City FC has a record of 1-1-2 (W-L-D) against LAFC, scoring six goals and conceding six.
LAFC holds the edge in total shots with 57, while New York City has recorded 54. However, New York City leads in shots on target, registering 20 compared to LAFC’s 17.
Moralez tops the current squad in minutes played against LAFC, accumulating 297 minutes across four matches.
New York City FC holds a 1-1-1 (W-L-D) record on the road against LAFC, with four goals scored and four conceded.
New York City FC has played every team in the Western Conference except San Diego FC.
New York City FC has played a total of 78 matches against these teams with a record of 33-26-19 (W-L-D), scoring 123 goals and conceding 100.
When facing these teams on the road, New York City FC has a total of 40 matches with a record of 13-17-10 (W-L-D), scoring 45 goals and conceding 55.
Defenders Thiago Martins and Tayvon Gray made their season debuts, with Gray starting the match and Martins coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese made four saves against LAFC, matching Sean Johnson’s all-time single-game record for New York City FC.
This marks the second consecutive match in which Freese recorded four saves, as he did previously against Inter Miami CF.
On what was said to the team after their performance…
“The one thing I will say that we shared after the match in the dressing room is that you can play an even match – because I think the game was in balance [throughout the match] – but details will always make a difference once the game is in balance. It can be a set piece on offense or defense, and today it was one moment where they’re [LAFC] in attack, and we don’t have the situation under control yet. We give away our advantage [after] being in a good position, and we get punished for it… I believe my guys are quick learners, and unfortunately, this is a moment where we still have to understand that different behavior is required in order to stay away from these types of situations.”
Overall thoughts on the game tonight…
“As I mentioned earlier, the game overall was in balance. It was a tough game away. LAFC is a strong squad with good players. It was a very competitive game, a very tight game. However, details will make the difference when a game is in balance. Unfortunately, [because] of one detail right before when we conceded a goal—we switched off for just one or two seconds, and we got punished for it. So, that’s the biggest difference in this game.”
On what the team can learn from tonight going into the home opener…
“I thought we were progressing the ball well. I thought we were breaking them down in the midfield and I think we had an overload, and we were finding Maxi [Moralez] behind the lines and sometimes Alonso [Martínez]. As long as we moved the ball from side to side, they had a lot of space on the outside… We weren’t very dangerous in the final third. I think we needed to be better on the ball, pay attention to the details and finish things off, create chances. I don’t think we were very dangerous tonight.”
On the home opener against Orlando and playing at home…
“I’m very excited to get back home and play in front of our fans again. It’s been a long time… So I’m very excited to get back to New York and obviously just be home with my family, too. It’s time for a win as well… but we’ll learn from this. We’ll move forward and we’ll bring a strong performance home for the fans.”
Pascal Jansen’s side entered the match fresh off a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami CF and were eager to secure a positive result.
Jansen made two changes to the starting lineup from last week, with Tayvon Gray and Mounsef Bakrar replacing Mitja Ilenič and Agustín Ojeda.
Unfortunately for Gray, his night was cut short after an early injury forced him off, with Ilenič stepping in after just eight minutes.
Despite the early setback, City started brightly. Alonso Martínez tried his luck with a long-range strike that skipped just wide of Hugo Lloris’ post.
At the other end, Denis Bouanga remained a constant threat on the counter for LAFC. A surging run just before the 20-minute mark required a combined defensive effort from Keaton Parks and Strahinja Tanasijević to halt the danger.
The hosts grew into the game as the half progressed but struggled to turn their momentum into clear-cut chances by the half-hour mark.
In the 32nd minute, a well-worked passage of play down City’s right ended with Justin Haak firing a shot from distance, though his effort failed to hit the target.
City’s momentum continued to build, and soon after, a low cross from Ilenič nearly deflected past Hugo Lloris.
Jansen’s side finished the half on the front foot and were able to limit LAFC to zero shots on target during the opening 45 minutes.
The second half started at a fast pace, with both sides creating early opportunities.
For City, a sweeping counterattack saw Martínez nearly open the scoring, before Hannes Wolf came close minutes later after Haak’s well-placed pass found him in space. The Austrian drove toward goal but couldn’t find the accuracy to trouble Lloris.
City made a pair of substitutions in the 60th minute, with Maxi Moralez and Bakrar making way for Andrés Perea and Ojeda.
Bouanga was desperate to break the deadlock and tested Freese with a vicious drive from a narrow angle that forced City’s goalkeeper to palm the ball away from danger.
Ilenič, dipping half-volley was on target, but did not trouble Lloris. City’s final changes of the night saw Julián Fernández and captain Thiago Martins enter in place of Wolf and Tanasijević.
Despite enjoying the better of the second half, City fell behind in the 86th minute after Bouanga’s cross was cleared into the path of Ryan Hollingshead to score.
A foul on Haak late on gave City a chance to swing in a freekick. Fernández produced a dangerous delivery, but none of his teammates were able to get a meaningful touch on the ball.
City continued to press for an equalizer until the final whistle but were unable to find one, meaning they suffered a first defeat of the season.
