M.L.S. Playoff Preview: An L.A. Derby and More Questions Answered

As long as the Yankees remain alive in Major League Baseball’s playoffs, N.Y.C.F.C. will be unable to play on its regular home field at Yankee Stadium. That proved to be little trouble in the first round, when the team beat Inter Miami, 3-0, at Citi Field in Queens. On Sunday, New York City F.C. will head to Montreal for a conference semifinal.

In the quest for another title, N.Y.C.F.C. will count on a pair of Brazilians, Gabriel Pereira and Héber, who each scored eight goals in the regular season, and the potential of a return from injury of Talles Magno. Those three, and midfielder Santiago Rodríguez, have helped fill the offensive hole left by the midseason departure of last season’s leading scorer, the Argentine striker Valentín Castellanos, who joined the Spanish side Girona F.C. on a loan in July.

N.Y.C.F.C. has been led since June by an interim coach, Nick Cushing, who took over after Ronny Deila left to join Standard Liège in Belgium. The team wobbled badly after the change, losing seven of nine games in August and September, but it closed the season with three straight wins.

Montreal, meanwhile, might be the hottest team in the league: It has lost only once since July.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/sports/soccer/mls-playoffs-preview.html