Keys to the Match: Run It Back
MLS New York City FC

Keys to the Match: Run It Back

Published on November 20, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York City FC News Release


New York City FC take on the Philadelphia Union in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals. Kickoff is set for 7:45PM ET on Sunday, November 23.

Here are the Keys to the Match, presented by Ford.

Changes

New York City FC will need to make changes to the lineup that overcame Charlotte FC last time out.

Aiden O'Neill will miss the game through suspension, while Andrés Perea and Alonso Martínez are unfortunately missing due to injury. In their absence, players will be given the chance to step up.

Pascal Jansen is unlikely to reveal his plans publicly, but what can be guaranteed is that whoever he selects for Sunday's game will give their all to continue New York City FC's participation in the playoffs.

The chance to be a hero is there, but who will take it?

Run It Back

Justin Haak knew this was coming.

It was on October 4, just after New York City FC's visit to Subaru Park, that Haak predicted a rematch against the Philadelphia Union in the playoffs.

The Union overcame the Chicago Fire in the last round, winning Game 1 on penalties before a convincing 3-0 win in Chicago. When New York City and Philly met in the regular season, they ran each other close. Identical 1-0 home wins highlighted the parity between the two sides in what promises to be another close matchup this Sunday.

This will also be the fourth time the two teams have faced off in the playoffs. New York City won the first encounter in 2018 by a scoreline of 3-1: goals from Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, David Villa, and Maxi Moralez gave the hosts the win.

In 2021, the Eastern Conference Final pitted the two teams against each other, where Moralez again found the net before Talles Magno turned home a late winner en route to New York City winning MLS Cup.

The two teams met again at the same stage of the postseason a year later. This time, Philadelphia claimed victory by a 3-1 scoreline.

It remains to be seen how the fourth chapter of this story will unfold.

Consistent

Sunday will be Bradley Carnell's 41st game in charge of the Philadelphia Union since his arrival at the start of 2025.

One of the central tenets of Carnell's tenure has been a 4-4-2 formation using two sixes in central midfield. Often referred to as the empty bucket, this style focuses on making the most of opportunities in transition and through consistent high pressing.

Those traits were visible during Philly's last outing against Chicago. For Philly's opener, Tai Baribo pressed Jeffrey Gal and was rewarded when he nicked the ball away and rolled it into an empty net after eight minutes. Their second goal, eight minutes later, came from a Philly throw-in that was only cleared to the edge of the area, where it was quickly recovered. Kai Wagner found Baribo for his second.

Their third and final goal told a similar story to the opener, with Gal again pressed while in possession, this time by Milan Iloski, before his deflected clearance allowed Bruno Damiani to calmly volley into an open net.

These are the types of situations Philly will look to engineer on Sunday, and what New York City should be mindful of when they take to the field at Subaru Park.

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