The current MLS Cup champions are back to their scoring ways.
A week after thrashing Real Salt Lake 6-0 at home, New York City FC put five goals past Toronto FC to complete a stirring 5-4 comeback win on Sunday evening at Citi Field.
“We attacked from the first minute to the last minute. We continued to create chances, and we didn't lose our temper, concentration or discipline,” said head coach Ronny Deila after the game. “It's the first time in club history that we came back from a 2-0 deficit and that says something about the mentality in the team, the belief and the talent.”
This win, however, wasn’t as gratifying as the one last week against RSL. NYCFC found themselves in a hole after Toronto went up 2-0 after 27 minutes. And though the Pigeons found a way to come back, they had some nervy moments towards the end after allowing two late goals from the Canadian side.
Despite those shortcomings, Deila said he was “not very worried about the defense.”
“It’s the [easiest] thing to do when it’s the defense, and the offense is always the hardest,” he explained. “We don’t concede a ton, maybe they had five chances. That's a couple too much, you have to expect them to create one or two chances. I’d rather win 5-4 than 1-0, that's more fun for everybody.”
Midfielder Keaton Parks, who scored his first goal of the season on Sunday, agreed with his manager and brushed aside the slow start to the game, focusing instead on how NYCFC answered offensively after being down by two goals.
“We knew we’re a better team, we could have dominated the game from the start if we had brought the energy, but we started off slow and we never worried,” he said. “We kept playing our soccer and brought the energy and it paid off.”
It’s not difficult to remain confident in the team’s abilities after scoring 11 goals in two games, eight of which have come from their star strikers. Taty Castellanos has five to his name, while Thiago Andrade has scored three.
“They’re all great players, especially Thiago with his speed, that helps a lot if you ever get stuck at all,” said Parks of the Brazilian attacker. “You can just play a ball over the top and he’s going to beat most of the league to the ball.”
Andrade, who scored four goals in 21 games last season, has already reached that mark in just seven games in 2022. He explained that Deila’s decision to play him out wide has been the main reason behind his improvement.
“It has been helping me a lot more, giving me a lot more freedom and space to play,” said Andrade. “We have a great front three with Taty Castellanos up top and we have been progressing and working hard. Obviously, you have seen the results since the semifinal of the Champions League against Seattle so I feel like I have really been playing well in this position.”
