New York City FC head coach Ronny Deila knows the narratives. The New England Revolution are the juggernauts who set a new single-season points record en route to winning the Supporters’ Shield.
The Cityzens, he said, were picked by many pundits to miss the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs entirely.
But rather than shocking the world and silencing critics, NYCFC are focused on making club history when they visit the Revs on Tuesday evening in the Eastern Conference Semifinals (7:30 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes).
“We've been on a good run now with a lot of good results and good performances. And we want to keep on going,” Deila said in a media conference call Sunday afternoon. “We believe we can do big things and if we can get through this, it will be the best season ever in the club's history. And that's something we want to achieve, but to do that we have to have a top, top performance and that's what we are focused on every day.”
Deila holds a great deal of respect for a Revs team he said “works really hard for each other” and manager Bruce Arena, who “has been through this 100 times in this league.” But he also believes NYCFC are far closer to New England’s level than the 22-point gap in the regular-season standings.
That was evident in their three regular-season meetings as New England first beat NYCFC, 3-2, at Red Bull Arena on June 19. Then the Cityzens earned a measure of revenge with a 2-0 victory at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 28 before the Revs claimed a 2-1 win over a 10-man NYCFC Sept. 11 at Gillette Stadium.
“I think it's two very good football teams. Every game we are playing against them is very, very even and I expect this game to be very even as well,” Deila said. “At the same time, they have been very effective this year. They won almost every game they have played. So we need to be at the level we were against Atlanta. If we do that, I think we will match them and then we have a chance to win and that's my only focus.”
During that loss in Foxborough, Alfredo Morales was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 53rd minute. Tajon Buchanan scored the decisive goal 12 minutes later.
“I don't think it's so clear,” Morales said of the No. 1-seeded Revs as a favorite. “I have a lot of respect for them. They played a tremendous season, obviously. Maybe everybody will say they're the favorites, but I think we're at least on the same level. And this is how I approached the game. And also with my teammates, we go there to win and I don't really care who we play.”
The other big storyline going into this meeting will be New England’s 23-day layoff since a Decision Day defeat to Inter Miami CF, while NYCFC are unbeaten in their last six, including that 2-0 Round One win over Atlanta United.
Will the Revs lack sharpness? Will NYCFC’s form carry over and give the No. 4 seed an upset?
“That's impossible to say,” Deila said. “The game has all the answers. ... We can just control what we can do.”
While not offering up a bold prediction on the final result, Morales assured NYCFC won't be intimidated when they step on the Gillette Stadium turf.
“I'm pretty confident and I'm pretty positive that we will be the better team,” Morales said. “This is what I work for and this is what we want to achieve.”
