New York City FC has the maximum three designated players on their roster. David Villa has been top class as always. Maxi Moralez arrived in the winter and has exceeded expectations. Andrea Pirlo has been poor, however, and is bringing his fellow DPs down.
I’m examining the DPs in a three part series, with each article focusing respectively on either offense, defense, and passing. This series will juxtapose NYCFC’s designated player trio against those of the rest of the league. Defensively, we’ll compare across five categories: Clearances per 90, Interceptions per 90, Tackles per 90, and Defensive Actions per 90.