Cruz Azul Edges NYCFC 2-1 in Leagues Cup Clash
- Jorge "Jumpy" Martinez
- Aug 10
- 4 min read
August 9, 2026 Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, NJ
New York City FC dropped a 2–1 decision to Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match played in front of 20,979 spectators in a heavily pro-Cruz Azul atmosphere at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison.
In a match where the partisan crowd made it feel like a home game for the Liga MX side, Cruz Azul would take early control of the match and dictate play. Agustín Palavecino would open the scoring for Cruz Azul in the 35th minute. Gabriel "Toro" Fernández would win possession back in the midfield, and initiate a quick attack. Erik Lira would then collect the ball and slip a pass to Palavecino who was stationed just outside the penalty box. The Argentine midfielder would take a touch and curl a gorgeous, precise left-footed strike past a diving Matt Freese into the corner of the net to make it 1-0 for the Mexicans. When it appeared the match would go into the break with Cruz Azul leading, NYCFC would earn a dangerous free kick in a wide area. Nicolás Fernández Mercau would provide a clean, inviting delivery into the heart of the penalty area. Max Murray would rise above the defense and power a strong, decisive bullet header past the Cruz Azul goalkeeper for the first professional goal of his career, leveling the score-line going into the break.
The second half would begin with Cruz Azul maintaining possession with NYCFC trying to counter. The breakthrough would come for Cruz Azul in the 78th minute. Cruz Azul would recycle possession and sustain a long build-up, eventually moving the ball to Carlos Rodríguez near the top and edge of the 18-yard box. Rodríguez would lady the ball into the path of José Paradela. Paradela would unleash a sharp right-footed strike from outside the box aimed toward the top right corner. The shot would take a wicked, decisive deflection off NYCFC midfielder James Sands, completely wrong-footing Matt Freese and leaving the goalkeeper stranded as the ball dipped into the back of the net. NYCFC would look for an equalizer which would not come.
Cruz Azul would hold on to the 2-1 lead and move to a perfect 6 points and get closer to securing the top spot in Group A and a place in the knockout rounds. With the loss NYCFC now sits at 3 points ahead of their final group stage match, and would need many things to go right to have any chance of advancement.
NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen commented on the match:
“As in the first game we played against Santos [Laguna], I really enjoyed this game. It was even more intense than Match 1. Playing against the Mexican [Liga MX] Champions, I think we were up for it. You could see the challenges and the duels were very intense. But like always, when you play a top game, and this was one tonight, games will be decided on details. That goes both ways because the first goal is a situation where we looked a little immature, losing the ball with [Defender] Jimmy’s [Sands] dribble. The turnover was there, and they punished us for that moment immediately. But we punished them as well with a well-taken free kick, and that was also the quality of the delivery from [Midfielder] Nico [Fernandez Mercau]. Then you see in the second half, we got a few more details in line. I think the biggest moment we created was the moment that Nico missed inside the [box], which was a huge moment. But as happened in the first half, it was a minor detail. We opened up the middle once, they accelerated again, and we were unlucky with the deflection on the goal we conceded. But overall, it was a very intense game and a good lesson for us to see what happens when you play at the top level. And that was this game tonight.”
On Defender Max Murray’s performance and first goal for New York City FC...
“As I mentioned after the game against Santos [Laguna], he [Defender Max Murray] had his first start. He’s calm, he’s composed, and he wasn’t fazed by the environment of tonight’s game[against Cruz Azul]. It was great movement on the delivery from [Forward] Nico [Nicolás Fernandez Mercau], and credit to him for getting the goal as well. He played another 90-plus five minutes at the most intense level that we could play today. Max did a great job. It’s 18 months of work from this kid that went into Match 1 and tonight’s game. It doesn’t surprise me, and I think it’s confirmation that we can trust him as one of the Central Defenders available. When [Defender] Thiago [Martins], like today and in the previous game, is not available, we can trust Max to play."
Match Statistics Summary:
Score: Cruz Azul 2 – 1 New York City FC
Possession: Cruz Azul 65% – 35% New York City FC
Total Shots: Cruz Azul 20 – 7 New York City FC
Shots on Goal: Cruz Azul 6 – 2 New York City FC
Shots off Goal: Cruz Azul 8 – 3 New York City FC
Blocked Attempts: Cruz Azul 6 – 2 New York City FC
Corner Kicks: Cruz Azul 4 – 0 New York City FC
Fouls Committed: Cruz Azul 9 – 8 New York City FC
Yellow Cards: Cruz Azul 1 – 5 New York City FC
Goalkeeper Saves: Cruz Azul 1 – 4 New York City FC
Offsides: Cruz Azul 1 – 0 New York City FC
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