Nick Cushing believes his New York City FC side are in a good place as they seek to improve their form on the road against Chicago Fire this weekend.
NYCFC are winless in their last three games away from home, with their latest defeat coming against Austin FC last time out as Gyasi Zardes’ double cancelled out Andres Perea's early strike.
The result leaves them in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a point behind rivals New York Red Bulls ahead of the upcoming Leagues Cup break.
Despite their recent loss, Cushing’s side have impressed on home turf and is happy with the moment his players find themselves at an important stage of the season.
“I think the upcoming games are important because I think everybody in the league sees the League Cup break as a natural marker in the season,” Cushing said. “You then focus on the Leagues Cup, and then you've got the run in through until the end of the season.
“I think the only way that we have to approach it is to improve the performances from the previous games. The Austin game was vastly improved compared to the Nashville and the LA Galaxy game.
“We dominate the game, we control the game, we showed a real maturity in when to have the ball and when to go out and counterattack. We created many chances, but we just fell on the wrong side of the result.
“We have to take the positives out of the performance and we have to improve in the areas where we don't get the result and ultimately that is executing in the final third. We missed chances that we created and we gave two moments that in this league you will be punished for.
“We have to fix that fast. Whether it is understanding whether it is mentality, I think this group is in a good place."
Chicago Fire, meanwhile, suffered a third defeat in four games at the hands of San Jose Earthquakes, leaving them precariously close to the bottom of the Eastern Conference table.
Just four points separate seven teams at the wrong end of the standings, with the Fire guilty of squandering several opportunities to put important points on the board.
It was the seventh time this season that Chicago have failed to score in a game. No team has failed to do so more often in the MLS this season.
Head coach Frank Klopas acknowledged his side’s wastefulness in front of goal, insisting his players need to find that clinical edge moving forwards.
“For me, the staff and the players, it felt like a missed opportunity for us to go and pick up points,” Klopas said.
“It was probably not a game that we came out with the highest intensity of energy. I think both teams had a little bit of a slow start. We did create opportunities, but again conceded one goal.
“We created enough to come away with points. It’s disappointing because it was an opportunity with the results around us for us to pick up some important momentum and gain some ground on teams.
“We missed that opportunity. We don’t always make it easy on ourselves when those chances come and we can’t let too many more of those slide away because the season is running out.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Hugo Cuypers has scored in each of his last three MLS appearances at Soldier Field and will be brimming with confidence ahead of facing NYCFC.
No Fire player has had a longer single-season home scoring streak since Nemanja Nikolic scored in four straight home matches to end the 2017 campaign.
NYCFC – Tayvon Gray
Tayvon Gray continued his influential displays for NYCFC in the final third, notching his fifth assist of the season in their win over Philadelphia Union.
Only two MLS players have more assists this season without having a secondary assist (San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza — 10, New York Red Bulls’ Dante Vanzeir — six).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Heading into the encounter at Soldier Field, NYCFC hold the better head-to-head record from their previous meetings with Chicago, having lost just three times in their 20 all-time fixtures (W11, D6), including going unbeaten in their last five encounters (W4, D1).
Chicago, however, will have confidence in front of their home supporters. Of the 15 points they have taken from NYCFC, 13 have come at home (W3, D4, L2).
The Fire have won back-to-back home matches after a six-match winless run at Soldier Field from mid-April to the end of May. Chicago scored six times in their two home wins after scoring only twice in their previous six games at home.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 35%
Draw – 26%
NYCFC – 39%
Arteta confirms Arsenal captain Odegaard out 'for a while' with ankle injury
Mikel Arteta confirmed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out "for a while" after suffering a significant ankle injury while playing for Norway.
The 25-year-old hobbled off during his country's Nations League 2-1 win over Austria in Oslo on September 9 and returned to London on crutches.
Odegaard missed Sunday's 1-0 derby victory against Tottenham and Arteta revealed the bad news on the midfielder ahead of Arsenal's opening Champions League game away to Atalanta.
"The scans showed that he's got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle," the Arsenal manager said on Wednesday.
"It's something quite significant so we're going to lose him for a while."
Arteta, whose side are second in the league and two points behind Manchester City, said he hoped it would not be months "but let's see".
Odegaard has become a key player for Arsenal, missing only a handful of games over the last three seasons, and a lengthy absence will come as a huge blow.
"He's our captain. He's been one of the biggest and best players in our team," continued Arteta.
"Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It's a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face."
Norway coach Stale Solbakken told VG newspaper he had been fully updated about the injury and was "preparing for a life without Martin".
"We have to take it week by week and day by day. Some types of damage go faster and some go slower," he said.
Man City 0-0 Inter: Guardiola's men frustrated in repeat of 2023 final
Manchester City's bid for a second Champions League crown got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a goalless draw by Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final.
Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair at the Etihad Stadium, with Inter defending resolutely before threatening to hit Pep Guardiola's hosts on the break on numerous occasions.
City's goal machine Erling Haaland was hoping to become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, but he saw a header held by Yann Sommer early on before rolling another effort narrowly wide of the post.
Marcus Thuram flashed a first-time shot over the crossbar as Simone Inzaghi's men fired a warning shot of their own, while another Sommer save prevented Phil Foden from capping a delightful City move with a goal.
Inter's clearest opening came in the 53rd minute, but former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably tried to find a team-mate with a backheel when presented with a clear sight of Ederson's goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed another golden late opportunity, sending a wild effort spinning over the crossbar from 10 yards out.
But the last chances went City's way, Ilkay Gundogan eliciting huge groans from the home fans with two misses from short-range headers in the dying seconds.
Data Debrief: Inter make a statement
City are always favourites on their own turf, but Inter were expected to put up a fight on Wednesday and they did precisely that, marking themselves out as potential challengers for the European crown.
It was just the second time City had failed to find the net in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, with the other being a goalless draw with Sporting CP in 2022.
Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Bisseck impressed in the heart of defence, limiting Haaland to the fewest touches (14) of any starter on either team.
The Nerazzurri also offered a threat going forward, with their 10 first-half attempts making them the first Champions League visitors to reach double figures at the Etihad since Monaco in February 2017 (also 10).
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund: Gittens net twice as last season's finalists open with win
Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.
Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.
Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later—albeit in fortuitous circumstances—with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.
The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.
Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.
Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win
Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.
Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.
Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.
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