NYCFC opens the 2026 season with a road draw against the LA Galaxy

New York City FC knows what they must do in 2026. The team must be better in 2025 and improve on what was a good first season under Head Coach Pascal Jansen. However, they had a tough battle ahead to begin that goal when they faced the LA Galaxy for the first game of the 2026 Major League Soccer season. Plus, history was not on their side, for they won just two season openers in their history. While the match was not a loss, the Boys in Blue split the points after a 1-1 draw.

For the most part, Jansen put out a solid Starting XI for the season opener.  It was full of familiar faces from last year, except for Kai Trewin.  The new player made his official debut for the team, pairing up with Aiden O’Neill.  And, of course, without an established striker due to Alonso Martínez’s ACL tear, Nicolás Fernández Mercau played as the target point up front and center, often moving out wide.

Meanwhile, this was a reunion game with Justin Haak, who played his first game for the Galaxy.  The former NYCFC player, who left as a free agent in the offseason, played in the defensive midfield.  He was at his best in 2025 as a center-back, so it will be interesting to see how he does with his new team as the season goes on.

But, this is not about the player that got away, or rather chose to leave.  This is about NYCFC and the season opener.

NYCFC secures a 1-1 draw with LA

Unfortunately, the season started with a bang, and not in a good way for the Pigeons.  It took less than two minutes for LA to find the back of the net.  The visiting defense acted like they were not ready to go, and the home side’s new striker, João Klauss, struck the ball between two defenders to slot the ball beyond Matt Freese and into the back of the net.  It was an awful start, and NYCFC had to try to climb back into the fight.

Thankfully, that did not throw the Bronx side into a tailspin.  Rather, they quickly settled into the match, and it became the expected battle that it was thought to be.  Both teams spent time in the final third, with the Boys in Blue dominating the possession.

Yet, LA had the better offensive chances.  Truly, during the first 35 minutes, the best opportunity for NYCFC came in the 15th minute.  Hannes Wolf had some room in front of him near the corner of the left side of the goal, but rather than putting the ball on target and possibly forcing a corner kick, he sent it wide.  In fact, the winger completely missed. 

Arguably, Wolf struggled in the first 30 to 35 minutes.  He lost the ball too many times and failed to create shots when he should have.  It took time to grow into the game, and his pass to Fernández Mercau in the 39th minute created a solid shooting opportunity for the Argentine.  His shot was subsequently blocked, though, and the Pigeons failed to find the leveler before halftime.

Entering the second half, NYCFC had the pressure on their shoulders.  And like the first half, the team had more of the possession, but continued to struggle to produce clinical shots.  Meanwhile, Wolf and Agustín Ojeda interestingly switched sides on the wings.  It appeared to make a slight difference.

But the biggest moment of the game, and arguably a turning point, occurred almost halfway through the second half.  The Galaxy’s Carlos Emiro Garcés fouled Fernández Mercau in the box, which originally was not called a foul.  At first glance, it did not look like a foul.  But the referee was told to utilize VAR, and ultimately, when slowing the moment down, it was a clear foul. 

As a result, NYCFC was given a penalty kick, and the LA player was sent off after earning his second yellow card.  So, the Pigeons were up a man for the rest of the match, and then Fernández Mercau stepped up to take the kick.  With ease, he slid the ball into the left side of the goal to tie the game in the 66th minute.

This caused the home team to sit back and park the bus, aiming for a little luck on a counterattack or at least to keep the score where it was.  But NYCFC had the advantage and really needed to control possession and score another goal from open play or a set piece.

For a minute, there was hope since the Boys in Blue continued to dominate the possession and increased the attacking opportunities by getting into the box or into threatening positions more often.  Alas, the hope slowly died as the team still lacked those clinical shots.

By the time the match came to an end, NYCFC failed to find another goal.  While it was good that they are coming home, pending when they can catch a flight with this blizzard, with a point, the inability to find another makes the result somewhat disappointing.  One point is better than none, but one can only imagine what would have happened if a true striker was on the pitch for those 25 minutes plus stoppage time that the team was up a man.