Impact came close to victory in New York
The Impact needed a strong performance to forget that stunning defeat against Sporting Kansas City; we can today say that the team accomplished its mission in the Bronx, bringing back a good point from Yankee Stadium in difficult circumstances, but that point almost became three. At the end of each half, Rémi Garde’s men created some very good scoring opportunities, first on a Daniel Lovitz free kick that found Saphir Taïder’s head in the small box, but the Algerian could not direct properly aim his shot; then, at the end of the game, Taïder recycled a corner and crossed to Zakaria Diallo, alone at the far post, but his shot flew over the bar. All in all, the Impact had the best chances, while Evan Bush was a game changer with four saves.
Defensively, the Impact did not give much to the Citizens, who only got four shots on target. Sure, possession went mostly to the hosts, but the home advantage is probably even bigger than usual for NYCFC on its small pitch. In the end, the Impact took little risk going forward and adds a point to its total, in a stadium that hasn’t smiled on the Montreal club. Here are your advanced stats.
Saphir Taïder: 2 shots, including 1 on target, 25 passes completed, including 9 in the final third, for an 83% success rate, 1 chance created, 1 cross completed, 9 duels won, 1 interception, 3 clearances, 10 recoveries, 3 aerial duels won, 3 fouls won.
Samuel Piette: 31 passes completed, including 5 in the final third, for a 70% success rate, 3 duels won, 2 interceptions, 3 clearances, 11 recoveries, 2 fouls won.
Bacary Sagna: 18 passes completed, including 4 in the final third, for a 51% success rate, 11 duels won, 1 tackle won, 3 interceptions, 2 clearances, 6 recoveries, 8 aerial duels won, 1 foul won.
Evan Bush: 12 passes completed, including 1 in the final third, for a 33% success rate, 2 clearances, 7 recoveries, 4 saves, 1 accurate ‘keeper sweeping.
