New York City FC head coach Nick Cushing insisted that his side must play with an attacking intensity if they are to return to winning ways against Orlando City on Saturday.
The Pigeons are winless in their last three games following their 1-0 defeat to Nashville last time out having lost once in their previous 11 MLS fixtures, dating back to March.
NYCFC’s subsequent slump has seen them drop to sixth in the Eastern Conference table, a point behind Columbus Crew who have two games in hand.
Cushing is keen to see his side climb back up the table and believes a return to their attacking mentality is the key to achieving success.
“We have to brush it off,” Cushing said of the recent defeats. “I think it's been a really good opportunity.
"We’re frustrated with the results and 100% not content, but it's been a good opportunity to really feel and see when we're good and when we win, and also when we're not so good and why we don't win.
“I think ultimately, the two things we've been good at has been the intensity that we play at and the amount of attacking football and chances that we've created.
“The intensity comes from our ability to attack games. That’s a really quick fix for us. We've got to work hard, we've got to apply ourselves properly, and we've got to play with ambition and a real attacking mentality."
Meanwhile, Orlando earned their first triumph in six matches as they edged a six-goal thriller against Chicago Fire at the Inter&Co Stadium, despite leading 3-0 at the break.
The result saw them go level on points with Atlanta United and head into the encounter in 10th place in the table, hoping to produce back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Head coach Oscar Pareja is hopeful the result will instil confidence into his players in their quest to climb up the Eastern Conference table.
“Winning at home in front of our fans, despite these difficult moments, they came and supported us, and I want to express our gratitude to them and that energy they brought to us in a game that we needed an extra push from us after a difficult week.
“But we had a lot of positive things: we scored four goals, we started seeing the individuals improve their performances, the collective obviously looks much better.
“Hopefully we can continue (winning) because we need to find our way to turn things around.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYCFC – Maximiliano Moralez
Despite missing much of the season through injury, Moralez returned to the side earlier this month and has two assists in his last four matches.
The Argentine will be hopeful of continuing his excellent record against the Lions, having scored five of his 26 career regular-season goals against Saturday’s opponents. He hasn’t scored more than three against any other MLS opposition.
Orlando – Facundo Torres
Torres scored twice in Orlando’s win over Chicago and has notched three goals and one assist in his last two MLS games.
The Uruguyan has recorded multiple goal contributions 10 times with Orlando, equalling Kaká for the most such performances in the club’s history.
MATCH PREDICTION: NYCFC WIN
New York City FC are unbeaten in their last six home matches against Orlando (W5 D1) including winning the last three in a row. Orlando’s last win at NYCFC was a 2-1 victory back in April 2017.
But NYCFC come into the game off the back of three consecutive losses, having lost one of their previous MLS fixtures (W8 D2). The Pigeons have not lost four games in a row since the start of the 2020 season.
Orlando City will be hopeful of prolonging Cushing’s side’s troubles, having ended a winless run of their own against Chicago Fire last time out. They had been five games without a victory (D2 L3) and will be hoping to win consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time this season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYCFC – 44.3%
Draw – 26.8%
Orlando – 28.8%
Orlando City 1-0 Atlanta United: Enrique strike sets up Red Bulls clash
Atlanta United beat Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS playoffs, yet their postseason came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Orlando City.
The Five Stripes went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal at Inter&Co Stadium full of confidence after ditching Lionel Messi and the rest of Miami's stars out of the playoffs last time out.
Yet it was Orlando who, for the first time in club history, booked their place in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to Ramiro Enrique's 39th-minute winner.
Enrique tucked in from close range after Atlanta failed to clear their lines from a corner.
That goal came after Orlando had started brightly, with Dagur Thorhallsson hitting the woodwork early on before Facundo Torres saw an effort cleared off the line.
Buoyed by a fine record against Orlando, who they had lost to just four times in 22 meetings ahead of this contest, Atlanta pressed for an equaliser after the break, but they could not find a way through a robust Lions defence.
Orlando will now host the New York Red Bulls in next week's Eastern Conference final, with a place in the MLS Cup final on the line.
Data Debrief: Stay away from the Lions' den
Fresh from the Orlando Pride's victory in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday, Orlando had plenty to live up to if they wanted to cap a great sporting weekend for the city.
And they did just that, with the backing of a vociferous crowd that helped them get over the line. Those fans will be called on again next week when the Red Bulls roll into town, but Orlando need not fear. They have lost only one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions (W9 D4 including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss).
And while Atlanta huffed and puffed, they never really threatened to blow the door down, as Orlando limited them to just eight shots, with none of those hitting the target.
Indeed, Orlando had openings on the counter and could have put the match to bed with a bit more composure, as they finished with 1.3 expected goals to Atlanta's 0.4 xG.
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
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