MLS, Soccer

NYCFC Draw with LAFC puts Playoff Chances in Balance

FLUSHING, NY — It’s getting late for NYCFC and if there is a run to the MLS Cup, they may have to run the gauntlet. After a 1-1 draw Saturday night with LAFC at Citi Field, coach Pascal Jansen and his team know the mission.

This latest draw has followed a script for NYCFC upon their return from a hiatus of World Cup play, with goals difficult to find. A draw is not as fulfilling as getting three points in the Eastern Conference standings. Winning now and possibly outright, though still doable, will be a tough challenge with four matches remaining.

Four matches against opponents who are also fighting for playoff position. Orlando (7th) on the road for NYCFC (12th) begins the gauntlet next Saturday with Atlanta (14th) and CF Montreal (15th) at Citi Field after and DC United (13th) to conclude the season on November 7th which is MLS Decision Day.

With four matches to go in MLS’ 2026 regular season, the time is now for New York City Football Club to climb up the Eastern Conference Standings – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports

Besides Orlando, all are bunched up with NYCFC near the bottom of the standings and separated by a handful of points—indeed showing this final playoff spot, with Cincinnati (9th), Toronto (10th) and Columbus (11th) ahead—would have to be won outright.

Outright also depends on results of other teams in the conference losing as NYCFC is now 12th in the standings (34 points, 8-12-10). There are no longer denials about a season coming down to different outcomes for NYCFC to be one of those nine clubs securing a playoff seed out of the East.

But it was another night of frustration, NYCFC has not won at Citi Field since May of last year, hopefully not an indicator of future outcomes when their new multi purpose Etihad Park across the street opens for business in 2027.

Andrés Perea was the only player on NYCFC to find the net in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against LAFC at Citi Field – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports

For now, though, the mission is simple despite there not being much time to turn this around.

Andrés Perea scored a second-half header that evened the score after a LAFC Leo Walta free kick broke the deadlock in first half stoppage time. Again NYCFC had some opportunities, Jansen was cautious of inserting striker Alonso Martínez on the pitch who recently returned from injury.

And in scenes all too familiar, starters Luighi and Agustín Ojeda were cut off in the first half.

With their latest draw to NYCFC Saturday night in Queens, LAFC is now sixth in the Western Conference Standings (31 points, 12-10-9) – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports

Jansen also in his post game comments continues to reiterate the significance of scoring in the second half, his demeanor of his team running out of time and emphasis of that significance of these final four matches.

“We need to win,” he said. “I think better choices have to be made in order to create an even bigger opportunity. That’s something we’ve been dealing with throughout the season. The urgency to go into the final third, get a play, get a shot, or finish the attack is a major focus in our game. Sometimes we rush ourselves in these moments and forget to create an even bigger opportunity to get ourselves on the scoresheet.”

Jansen provided an analysis and attributed rushed decisions in that final third that prohibits better chances to score. Perhaps that has been the issue, though a hectic final month of the schedule with matches days apart could also be taking a toll.

Head coach Pascal Jansen believes NYCFC has what it takes to make a run in the final stretch of the 2026 MLS regular season and into the MLS Cup Playoffs – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports

Last Wednesday evening on the road, NYCFC opposed Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and looked lethargic in a 2-0 loss.

“In order to win, you need goals,” Jansen said. “Sometimes you have games where maybe one or two goals are enough to get the three points. So the urgency is really there to score goals because that’s the biggest opportunity for us to win games, obviously. But looking at the longer stretch of games, even the games we played after the World Cup break, I think creating chances wasn’t our main problem.”

He added: “Somehow, that’s something that comes back to us all the time. Every mistake you make in the final phase of the game has cost us dearly.”

LAFC’s international star Son Heung-min just missed out on what would have been a game-winning goal in stoppage time Saturday night vs. NYCFC – Image Credit: Ernesto Diaz/Latino Sports

Yes, there were mistakes with this latest draw. Midfielder Aiden O’Neill received a yellow card in the 44th minute that gave LAFC a free kick outside. But to the players and a dejected bunch they are, a tie with one point is better than a complete loss.

Yet on this night, NYCFC needed those three points to make a move for playoff position.

Another mistake was almost handing international star Son Heung-min a winning goal in stoppage time.

The Perea goal, his first of the season, came in the 59th minute which tells something about a team having difficulty finding the net.

¡Qué cabezazo de Andrés! 🤩 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/vDMyPJvukL

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) October 18, 2026

“The team is really strong,” said Ojeda through an interpreter. “We know we’re not having the season we expected, not the kind of season we would have wanted or the one we had last year. We’re strong; the team will always stick together, always stay united, no matter what happens, and we’re going to do our best to make the playoffs, which is what we’re aiming for right now.”

Except that aim will turn into a gauntlet, something NYCFC did not expect prior to the World Cup hiatus of the MLS schedule.

“We keep saying it, but it’s just about putting the ball in the back of the net, and then we walk away with three points,” said O’Neill. “I think maybe just where we are at the moment, that’s probably the biggest reason why we didn’t win this game.”