New York City FC secured an important 2-0 road victory against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. Matt Freese made several important saves early on before Nico Fernández Mercau opened the scoring with a superb finish. Luighi doubled the advantage after the break, firing home from Agustín Ojeda’s cutback. Despite late pressure from RSL, the Boys in Blue defended resolutely to secure three points.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen has earned his 25th MLS Regular Season win in charge of New York City FC with today’s result.
Jansen recorded his 10th MLS Regular Season away victory as Head Coach of New York City FC. The victory also represented his first against Real Salt Lake since taking charge of the Club.
Midfielder Nico Fernández Mercau leads New York City FC with 15 goals this season and is tied for third place in the MLS Golden Boot race with Nashville SC Forward Sam Surridge.
Seven of Fernández Mercau's 15 goals this season have come from set pieces, including four penalties, two free kicks, and one indirect free kick.
Six of the Argentine’s goals have come from outside the box this season, making him the only player on New York City FC's current roster to score from outside the box in 2026 MLS Regular Season play.
Forward Agustín Ojeda leads New York City FC with nine assists in the 2026 MLS Regular Season.
Ojeda recorded two assists this evening, playing a part in both Fernández Mercau and Forward Luighi’s goals.
With his contributions this evening, Ojeda ties former Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez and former Midfielder Jesús Medina for most assists in the series against Real Salt Lake, with two total.
The Boys in Blue returned to America First Field in Utah for the first time since 2023 and was the last matchup between the two sides, where New York City and Real Salt Lake finished with a scoreless draw.
New York City FC holds a 3-4-1 (W-L-D) all-time MLS Regular Season record against Real Salt Lake, scoring 16 goals and conceding 10.
On the road, New York City FC is 1-3-1 against Real Salt Lake, scoring four goals and conceding seven.
New York City FC now has an all-time record of 36-30-22 against Western Conference teams.
Over those 88 total matches, New York City has gone 15-18-12 in road matches against opponents from the West.
With the victory, New York City FC currently moves up to seventh in the Eastern Conference with an 8-9-8 (W-L-D) record.
The Club is 4-4-4 on the road.
New York City has scored 39 goals while conceding 33 through 25 matches.
With his start in tonight’s match, Goalkeeper Matt Freese etched his 100th MLS Regular Season appearance for New York City FC.
Freese recorded his fifth clean sheet of the 2026 MLS Regular Season. The shutout tied his second-highest single-season total for the Club, matching the five clean sheets he recorded in both 2023 and 2024.
Freese made six saves in tonight’s match, recording the second-most MLS Regular Season saves by a New York City FC goalkeeper against Real Salt Lake.
Forward Alonso Martínez, who was substituted on in the second half, made his 75th appearance for New York City FC across all competitions and the first since his ACL injury in November 2025.
Luighi scored his fourth MLS Regular Season goal for New York City FC, and his second in as many matches.
This marked the second time this season that Luighi has scored in consecutive MLS Regular Season matches.
The first came in August, when he scored in back-to-back matches against Philadelphia Union (August 16, 2026) and FC Cincinnati (August 19, 2026). His second streak is ongoing, with goals in the Club’s last two matches, first against the New England Revolution (September 9, 2026) and then against Real Salt Lake (September 12, 2026).
Rejoining the starting XI, Defender Tayvon Gray made his 150th MLS appearance for the Club, combining MLS Regular Season and MLS Cup Playoffs.
With his start in tonight’s match, Defender Tayvon Gray moved into a second-place tie for the most MLS Regular Season appearances against Real Salt Lake in Club history, with three. He joins Midfielder Keaton Parks, former Midfielder Alexander Ring and Defender Alexander Callens.
Gray also provided a second assist on Luighi’s goal this evening.
