NYCFC fell to their I-95 foes at Citi Field on Saturday, ending an unbeaten streak dating back to 2020 in the borough of their future home, Queens.
This marks NYCFC’s 5th loss in their last 6 matches and extends their winless streak to 35 days with their last win coming over FC Dallas on April 22nd.
Since pretty much all of the words I’ve typed in this article so far have been depressing, I’m going to throw on the horse blinders and completely block out all of the very obvious issues with this club at the moment. In a shameless, unapologetic effort to stay positive, I’m going to focus on one of the few things NYCFC fans have to enjoy these days: the form of Gabriel Pereira.
The young Brazilian international has been a consistent performer since his arrival from Corinthians in March of 2022 and has been especially important since the departure of key goal threat, Taty Castellanos, last summer. Since his arrival, he’s provided the goal-stricken squad with 13 goals and 8 assists in 48 appearances.
But it’s his performances this season that have really caught the attention of the NYCFC faithful and beyond. On a side that’s really struggled to score consistently, “GP” has been an oasis of attacking creativity. Operating on the right side of a front three that has rotated considerably under Nick Cushing this season, Pereira’s name appears to be written in permanent ink on the Englishman’s weekly team sheet.
For me, he sets himself apart from the rest of the NYCFC attack in two ways: his ability to create chances for himself, and for that lethal left foot of his.
Playing right wing for NYCFC, much of Gabi’s minutes are played sharing a sideline with right back, Tayvon Gray. While a capable defender, Gray is very hesitant to get forward, and rarely can be found overlapping a winger and joining an attack, making GP’s 4 goals and 3 assists this season all the more impressive – he’s doing much of it on a relative island out there.
Despite the lack of numerical advantage often found with an attacking fullback, Pereira takes on opposing defenders comfortably on his own. He does so largely thanks to the magic buried somewhere in his left boot.
It’s the classic Ajen Robben dilemma for defenders: you know where he wants to go, you just can’t stop him. After isolating a fullback 1v1, Gabi will start wide before drifting further and further inside, until he reaches shooting range at the top of the box. If the fullback is foolish enough to afford him shooting space, GP will make you pay with a powerful, curling effort to the far post, that’s beaten many MLS keepers already in his short time here.
But, if you over-commit to the shot, Gabi will dart to the byline and play that “City Football Group” square ball across the top of the six-yard box for a teammate to attack at the far post.
We saw a bit of that left-footed magic in Saturday’s loss when he tucked away a Richy Ledezma layoff in the 30th minute with a low curling effort to the far post to give NYCFC the lead. We saw it again just minutes later in a shot that pinged off the crossbar but was inches (and maybe a minor deflection?) away from awarding Gabi with his second.
The rest of the match, however, went poorly for all involved from an NYCFC perspective, as Julian Carranza punished poor City defending on two occasions in first-half stoppage time before a Daniel Gazdag PK in the 53rd minute sealed the Pigeon’s fate.
But, Pereira and NYCFC will have to rebound from this gut punch quickly as they return to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday to face Eastern Conference leaders, FC Cincinnati, in what will be a tall test for the Boys in Blue.
While I can’t tell you exactly how NYCFC will line up in search of their first win in over a month, I can tell you with some confidence that Gabriel Pereira will be in that starting XI, and will be key to any success the Citizens may find.
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