It’s beginning to feel like New York City’s getting into gear — just in time for a brutal four-game road trip. Two weeks ago, manager Patrick Vieira made a gut-check decision.
He benched Andrea Pirlo, and started Yangel Herrera.
In doing so, Vieira knew he was surrendering a bit of control in the midfield. But he gained two things. One, whomever replaced Pirlo would contribute to both the midfield, and more crucially, the defense. That would allow New York City to defend with six at the back — the four-man backline, plus whomever was playing at the 6, and whomever served as the box-to-box midfielder.