3 things we learned from NYCFC's rough playoff loss to Inter Miami CF

On Saturday, New York City FC played in the Eastern Conference Finals of the MLS Cup Playoffs.  The Pigeons played against one of the best teams in the league, Inter Miami CF.  The Florida side has been very good over the last couple of months, winning six of their last seven fixtures entering this game.  The Bronx side struggled entering the playoffs but eliminated Charlotte FC and the Philadelphia Union to get to the second-to-last round.

Sadly, NYCFC lost 5-1 to Miami.  While they put up a good fight for most of the match, the defense, similar to the last meeting between the teams, was dismantled.  This was not the same team that beat Philadelphia by putting on one of the best defensive matches of the season.  Instead, it looks like the Boys in Blue fell apart and played poorly.

However, the score does not explain the entire fixture.  The Pigeons competed with the Herons for the majority of the game, and truthfully, should have found the back of the net a few more times.  But those few mistakes in the backline led to the 5-1 score.  Hence, the 2025 season is over.

As always, there is plenty to talk about regarding the match.  Here are three things we learned from NYCFC’s rough loss to Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.

NYCFC gave up too many goals

Let’s start with the obvious: the NYCFC defense allowed too many goals, as seen by the score.  A couple of the goals were impossible for Matt Freese to stop, including the first one scored by Tadeo Allende.  But a few other goals were entirely due to the defense and backline breaking down.

It did not matter whether the players fell asleep, completely broke down their line, or failed to properly mark the Miami players.  NYCFC found a way to allow the opposition to score. 

This should not happen and cannot happen if the Bronx side wants to be one of the best MLS teams in the league.  Now, it was not common for this to occur for the team.  However, occurring a few times during the year, especially against Miami in the postseason, is not acceptable.  Yes, NYCFC was the underdog in the match, and they competed for much of the fixture.  Still, that does not excuse the poor outcome.

This might be it for Maxi Moralez

Last year, fans were ecstatic when Maxi Moralez re-signed for one more season.  The Argentine was expected to play less of a role.  However, he continued to be an everyday starter under Pascal Jansen.  He was still influential despite having fewer goals and assists.  One could argue that he was one of the better players in the Miami game.  He also stood up for his teammates when there was a little fighting going on.

In other words, the NYCFC legend was still great despite being older.  But now, was the Miami match the last time fans will see him?  Will Moralez retire?  Will he want to still play, but the club will say no?  Or, will both parties agree for another year since he was still playing at a high level?

Regardless, it is possible Moralez might be ready to hang up his boots or that his time with NYCFC must come to an end.  Hopefully, he will be back for one more season, even if he plays less like he was expected to in 2025.

NYCFC can smile that this season happened

Ending the year with a 5-1 loss is not ideal.  However, ending the season in the Eastern Conference Finals and finishing in fifth place in the regular season in the Eastern Conference is impressive.  Jansen could have taken more time to get used to MLS.  Instead, he had a decent first season, and NYCFC can say that the year was successful since it was better compared to last year.

Therefore, it is okay to focus on the positives at the end of the year.  Yes, the club does need to look at where improvements are needed.  But for now, the players and fans can be proud of the 2025 campaign, and smile that NYCFC is moving in the right direction.