Montréal 1-0 New York City FC: MLS winless streak continues as attack goes quiet

New York City FC's winless streak in MLS reached six straight games after Saturday's 1-0 loss to CF Montréal at Stade Saputo.

Head Coach Pascal Jansen made two changes from Wednesday's 4-4 draw with FC Cincinnati: Keaton Parks returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two games, while Arnau Farnós got his first MLS start in place of the injured Hannes Wolf on the day he signed his MLS contract to fully join the first team.

It was a rocky start for NYCFC. Despite dominating possession, CF Montréal created more chances and opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Prince Osei Owusu, his sixth goal of the season coming after he eluded Kai Trewin's mark and connected with a cross from Matthew Longstaff.

New York City didn't do much in the second half, except for Talles Magno forcing Montréal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier into a good save in the 80th minute. That promising look from Talles came shortly after Tayvon Gray was sent off in the 78th minute after receiving his second yellow card.

One bright spot for New York City: Andrés Perea made his return to the pitch for the first time since his right lower leg fracture suffered against Charlotte FC last November.

Overall, NYCFC totaled just five shots — two on target — in what was another poor performance offensively. This was also the club's fourth straight defeat to Montréal stretching back to the 2024 season, the fourth straight time they've been shut out by the Canadian club, and the third straight time they've lost by an identical 1-0 score.

Farnós over Talles Magno?

With Wolf out due to a leg injury, it seemed like Talles Magno would get his first start of 2026. But Jansen had other ideas, handing the 23-year-old Farnós — who signed his full MLS contract hours before kickoff — the starting spot on the left wing.

It was a head-scratching decision, as Talles Magno has five goals in all competitions, but an expected one: Jansen recently said that the Brazilian had a gap to close with the regular starters and wasn't there quite yet. After the loss in Montréal, Jansen also said that he sees Talles as his stand-in at the No 9 spot, not on the left, which contributed to the decision to go with Farnós.

Playing 65 minutes in his first MLS start, Farnós totaled 29 touches — two of which came in Montréal's box — played one pass into the final third, and had his only shot blocked.

Although it was a quiet afternoon for Farnós, the 2025 MLS SuperDraft pick has shown flashes, especially with his goal in the 5-2 US Open Cup win over Westchester SC. If Wolf's injury keeps him out, we might see even more from the Spanish midfielder out of Oregon State University.

Limping into Hudson River Derby

Up next, New York City will make the short trip to Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, to face Red Bull New York in the US Open Cup Round of 16.

NYCFC will be looking for its first win in an elimination game over the team from Harrison, having lost all five previous win-or-go-home meetings: Three in the US Open Cup, once in the Leagues Cup, and once in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Although NYCFC is in the midst of its longest MLS winless streak under Jansen, a win on Wednesday could right the ship: New York City's next two MLS games are at home against DC United and Columbus Crew, respectively.

NYCFC has to quickly find a way to get back to its early-season form, because they've almost erased their strong early start to this season.