New York City FC 0-3 Club León Leagues Cup 2025 - Phase One Match Two Date: Tuesday, August 1, 2025 | Kickoff: 6:10pm ET Location: Sports Illustrated Stadium | Harrison, New Jersey Attendance: 12,149
New York City FC recorded an important 2-0 win over Club León in Leagues Cup on Friday night. Alonso Martínez and Agustín Ojeda provided the goals, while Matt Freese starred with multiple key saves, including a penalty stop from James Rodríguez.
UP NEXT: The ‘Boys in Blue’ wraps up their Leagues Cup 2025 Phase One slate against Deportivo Toluca CF at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, August 5, at 7:30pm ET. | Apple TV+ & MLS Season Pass | Radio (English/Spanish) newyorkcityfc.com/radio
In the competition thus far, New York City FC’s record stands at 3-4-3 (W-L-D).
When playing at home in Leagues Cup, the team’s record is 2-2-1.
The team scored first in two of the five home matches (v. Toronto FC and Club León), and both were wins for the Club.
All three wins in Leagues Cup have been recorded at Sports Illustrated Stadium (v. Toronto, Tigres UANL, and Club León).
New York City FC led 2-0 heading into the half, which marked the second time in the Club’s history that they led 2-0 after 45 minutes in a Leagues Cup match.
The first instance came during a 5-0 win over Toronto FC in July 2023.
The Club has scored two goals or more in four total matches (v. Toronto, Cincinnati, Tigres UANL, and Club León).
New York City FC has scored 13 goals in Leagues Cup play, while conceding 12 from opponents.
At home, the team has seven goals scored with four conceded.
Midfielder Maxi Moralez (1G, 2A), Midfielder Justin Haak (1A), Forward Alonso Martínez (2G, 2A), and Forward Agustín Ojeda (1G) are the only active roster New York City players to have scored goal contributions in Leagues Cup.
Against Liga MX teams, the team’s record stands at 2-2-1.
The wins in regulation came against Tigres UANL and Club León.
The two losses came against Atlas FC and Club Puebla.
The draw occurred against Querétaro, and the Club won the shootout.
New York City FC has scored four goals and conceded five against Liga MX teams in Leagues Cup.
Since 2020, New York City FC has played 25 games across all competitions hosted by the Club at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
By the numbers, the team has a record of 15-7-3 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in all competitions that have been played there when New York City FC is the home team.
The competitions that have been hosted at Sports Illustrated include the MLS Regular Season, CONCACAF Champions Cup, and Leagues Cup.
With a goal and an assist this evening, Alonso Martínez has the ninth most goal contributions in Club history across all competitions, with 36 (31G, 5A).
The players ahead of him in this statistic include Maxi Moralez with 133 goal contributions (39 goals, 94 assists), followed by former Forward David Villa with 106 (80 goals, 26 assists), Forward Valentín Castellanos with 83 (59 goals, 24 assists), Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez with 73 (34 goals, 39 assists), Midfielder Jesús Medina with 43 (26 goals, 17 assists), Forward Ismael Tajouri-Shradi with 39 (29 goals, 10 assists), Forward Héber with 38 (30 goals, 8 assists), and Defender Anton Tinnerholm with 37 (9 goals, 28 assists).
Agustín Ojeda recorded his first career goal in Leagues Cup play for New York City FC.
Justin Haak recorded his first career goal contribution in Leagues Cup for New York City FC, after assisting Alonso Martínez’s goal.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese becomes the all-time leader for clean sheets in Leagues Cup with two, surpassing former Goalkeeper Luis Barraza, who had recorded one.
Freese has now recorded 20 saves for the Club in Leagues Cup play, making him the first New York City FC goalkeeper to achieve this feat.
NEW YORK CITY FC HEAD COACH PASCAL JANSEN
On Goalkeeper Matt Freese’s penalty save...
"Massive. That was a moment—and we spoke about this during halftime as well. There were just a few moments in the game—or areas, if you will—that they [Club León] were looking for to get more involved. It was the set pieces, the corners. They tried to beat us in behind a few times, and when we allowed them to switch from left to right or the other way, to get their wingers in 1v1 situations—those were the moments we really had to be switched on. They didn’t have a single shot on target in the first half, and I believe that penalty kick was their first one on frame. So, Matt’s [Freese] save was huge because that could have given them momentum to fight their way back into the game. And we denied it—or Matt [Freese] denied it."
On the Leagues Cup format and how to approach the third game of the phase...
“That comes along with playing a tournament. If you don't win your first game, and you do when you're second, then you have to get your math books out and think about those things as well. We just approach it as we always do. We have to play two finals, including the one today. We managed to win this one, our mission is to win the third one as well and then if it's enough to go to the next round but that's tournament football at its best. Regarding Alonso [Martínez] it's also interesting because he has another creative mind that is looking for him once we're in possession. I think Alonso [Martínez] is really happy with the involvement that Nico [Nicolás Fernández Mercau] can give into our game. Alonso [Martínez] himself has gone through difficult times by not scoring in a few games and getting a little restless as a striker, but in Dallas [against FC Dallas] he showed his quality again, and we all support him. That shows on the pitch also because he's enjoying himself, and when he enjoys himself, you get the best out of him.”
NEW YORK CITY FC MIDFIELDER JUSTIN HAAK
On New York City’s ability to compete against top teams outside of Major League Soccer...
“First, within the MLS, we always compete with the top teams. And now to be able to compete against international teams that have world class players, it's a really good step for us. It's a good chance for us to compete against these teams and see where we're at.”
NEW YORK CITY FC FORWARD ALONSO MARTÍNEZ
Sobre cómo se sintió haber marcado el primer gol temprano...
“No, con mucha confianza, la verdad que tengo compañeros que me ayudan muchísimo adelante, creo que es muy importante para el grupo estar ganando, estar con la confianza y seguir mejorando un poco.”
On how it felt to have scored the first goal early...
"With a lot of confidence, the truth is that I have teammates who help me a lot to move forward. It is very important for the group to be winning, be confident and continue improving little by little.”
NEW YORK CITY FC GOALKEEPER MATT FREESE
On the penalty save against Midfielder James Rodriguez...
"It worked out well. Ton of respect for him [Club León’s Forward James Rodríguez]. He's a big-time player with a huge career and that was one to remember.”
Full Match Highlights
GOAL - NYC - 7’- Alonso Martínez [16]
GOAL - NYC - 32’- Agustín Ojeda [26]
7' - NYC - Alonso Martínez [16]
Scored with right footed shot from the center of the box with an xG of 87% to the lower right central zone. Assisted by Justin Haak [80].
32' - NYC - Agustín Ojeda [26]
Scored with right footed shot from the center of the box with an xG of 67% to the top right corner. Assisted by Alonso Martínez [16].
[16] Alonso Martínez (64’ - [11] Julián Fernández)
Head Coach: Eduardo Berizzo
[12] Óscar Jiménez
[15] Oscar Villa
[25] Paul Bellón
[21] Stiven Barreiro
[3] Paolo Medina (60’ - [7] Iván Moreno)
[28] José Ramírez (60’ - [4] Nicolás Fonseca)
[20] Rodrigo Echeverría
[11] Ismael Díaz (69’ - [18] Rogelio Funes Mori)
[10] James Rodríguez
[8] Emiliano Rigoni (69’ - [19] Miguel Rodríguez)
[14] Ettson Ayón
Subs Unused
[2] Nico Cavallo
[18] Greg Ranjitsingh
[23] Max Murray
[29] Máximo Carrizo
[30] Tomás Romero
[32] Jonathan Shore
[35] Mitja Ilenič
[38] Drew Baiera
Subs Unused
[1] Alfonso Blanco
[2] Valentín Gauthier
[6] Fernando Beltrán
[22] Adonis Frías
[23] Óscar García
[24] Carlos Cisneros
[26] Salvador Reyes
[27] Ángel Estrada
NYC
Yellow Cards (0)
Red Cards (0)
LEO
Yellow Cards (1)
59’ - Stiven Barreiro [21] - Poor Foul
Red Cards (0)
Referee: Reon Radix
Ast. Referee 1: Ojay Duhaney
Ast. Referee 2: Caleb Wales
Fourth Official: Oshane Nation
VAR: Daneon Parchment
Ast. VAR: Benjamin Whitty
A warm summer evening across the water provided the perfect stage for New York City FC’s Leagues Cup clash with Club León.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen made several changes to the starting XI following the defeat to Puebla, bringing in Maxi Moralez, Tayvon Gray, Kevin O’Toole, and Andrés Perea for Nico Cavallo, Mitja Ilenič, Jonny Shore, and Julián Fernández.
The Boys in Blue wasted no time asserting themselves, opening the scoring inside the first ten minutes. A determined run from Alonso Martínez earned a corner, and when the ball was flicked on to the back post, the Costa Rican was there to finish from close range.
Martínez nearly added a second moments later after latching onto a loose ball and bursting past the León backline, but goalkeeper Óscar Jiménez reacted well to deny him.
At the other end, León threatened when Paolo Medina delivered a teasing cross that forced Matt Freese to claim it under pressure and quickly launch a counter.
Set pieces remained a key weapon for NYCFC, and a cleverly worked short corner saw Aidan O’Neill deliver a ball into the box that Justin Haak directed on target.
Haak then made a crucial contribution defensively, producing a vital block to prevent Óscar Villa from leveling the match.
That intervention proved pivotal, as NYCFC soon doubled their lead with a flowing team move. Nicolás Fernández Mercau threaded a sublime through ball to Martínez, who unselfishly squared for Agustín Ojeda to fire home with authority.
León looked to respond early in the second half. James Rodríguez tried his luck from a free kick, but his effort was deflected by the wall and gathered easily by Freese.
In the 55th minute, Rodríguez slipped Ismael Díaz in behind, but the winger was thwarted by Freese from a tight angle.
The visitors were then handed a lifeline when Strahinja Tanasijević was judged to have handled the ball inside the area. Rodríguez stepped up, but Freese again rose to the occasion, diving sharply to save the penalty and preserve NYCFC’s two-goal cushion.
Shortly after, Jansen introduced Julián Fernández in place of Martínez as the team looked to manage the tempo and see out the contest.
Maxi Moralez was then handed a chance to score against his former club after being found on the edge of the area, but his volleyed attempt was straight at the goalkeeper.
Fernández and Ojeda then combined to create a great opportunity after the former pulled the ball back to the onrushing Ojeda, who saw his effort turned behind for a corner.
Jansen made his second change of the evening in the 80th minute as he introduced Seymour Reid in place of Fernández Mercau.
León continued to push for a goal and saw several half chances come and go. In stoppage time, Reid was put through on goal with the chance to score but saw his effort saved.
That would prove to be the last chance of note on a night when New York City recorded an important 2-0 win in the Leagues Cup.
