The last game of the regular season was filled plenty of surprises for New York City FC supporters. For one, Patrick Vieira deployed the team in a formation never seen before. Even more surprising, he gave Eirik Johansen his first regular season cap of his career, starting over Josh Saunders - who had played every single minute of the season to that point. This was Johansen’s MLS debut, having only appeared in Open Cup ties and Friendlies before this match. Johansen acquitted himself well, making a few key stops on the way to the club’s 4-1 victory, including a save of the week candidate:
While the change of adding Johansen to the Starting XI was unexpected, it was not unappreciated.