New York City FC’s tickets are booked for the 2021 MLS Cup in Portland, where the Portland Timbers and their army of supporters await. NYCFC’s success yesterday against the Philadelphia Union came from one of the most heavily criticized aspects of Ronny Deila’s tenure: Substations. Deila is not known for not making timely subs, but yesterday he brought on Talles Magno, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, and Gudmundur Thórarinsson in the 58th minute. Those three players went on to impact the game heavily, and ultimately win it for NYCFC.
After an extremely lackluster first-half performance that was crying out for some kind of change, it was a relief to see Magno, Tajouri-Shradi, and Thórarinsson standing next to the Fourth Official early in the second half.