By Chris Tsakonas
New York City FC has now won two straight matches coming out of the World Cup break after beating the Chicago Fire 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. Nico Fernandez Mercau, Agustin Ojeda and Malachi Jones each scored once for the Pigeons in the win.
Here are three observations from tonight’s match.
Early goal sets the tone
After a chippy start to the match for both sides, New York City drew first blood in the 11th minute. The ball came out to Fernandez Mercau outside the box, and he fired a powerful long-range effort that found the back of the net from about 25 yards out.
It was Fernandez Mercau’s 12th goal of the year – and his second in the last two matches – and it put the Pigeons in front early in this one.
Pigeons soar off the counterattack
Chicago briefly found life in this match, scoring a quick equalizer from Joel Waterman off a deflected free kick from Anton Seletros.
Just eight minutes later, New York City responded on the break. Andres Perea had the ball at the midfield circle, and he quickly delivered a ball into space on the right side to set up a breakaway chance for Ojeda. Ojeda capitalized to put the Pigeons back in front just before the half hour mark.
In the 43rd minute, lightning struck twice. Perea played a through ball to find Ojeda with space on the right side of the box. Ojeda was in position to shoot, but he laid it off to set up the finish from Jones for his first goal since May 2024.
Fire’s attack extinguished in second half
Facing a two goal deficit at the half, Chicago manager Gregg Berhalter responded by bringing on newly signed DP striker Robert Lewandowski in just his second match since arriving from FC Barcelona.
Despite the change, the Fire struggled to generate consistent scoring chances as the half progressed. Chicago’s first shot of the second half didn’t come until the 76th minute, and the Fire recorded only five total shots for a combined 0.09 expected goals in the second half.
Next Up
New York City FC have one more match before Leagues Cup gets underway. The Pigeons will host Tornonto FC in the Bronx on Friday night. It’s been a tough 2026 campaign for Toronto FC, who will head to the five boroughs on an 11-match winless streak.
Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawence will have the call from the Bronx at 7:15 p.m. on the New York City FC Network, which can be heard at newyorkcityfc.com/radio and the Apple TV home radio feature.
