Max Murray goal not enough as NYCFC falls to Cruz Azul

In front of an extremely hostile, pro-Cruz Azul crowd at Sports Illustrated Stadium, New York City FC lost 2-1 to the reigning Liga MX champions on Sunday night on the second matchday of this year's Leagues Cup.

Cruz Azul took the lead in the 35th minute through Agustín Palavecino, who curled a shot past a diving Matt Freese. NYCFC answered right before halftime, as Max Murray scored the first goal of his professional career with a bullet header off a free-kick delivery from Nico Fernández Mercau, who was back in the starting XI for this match.

The game remained tied for most of the second half, but it was Cruz Azul who found the late game-winning goal from José Paradela, his shot from outside the 18-yard box taking a helpful deflection off James Sands on its way toward goal.

With the loss, New York City must win its next game against Club Necaxa on Thursday, August 13, then rely on favorable results elsewhere among the other MLS teams to have a chance of advancing to the quarterfinals of Leagues Cup.

Max Murray delivers

New York City coach Pascal Jansen made several changes to the side that beat Santos Laguna, slotting Nico Fernández Mercau, Talles Magno, and Hannes Wolf into his attack, with Wolf making his first start since May 20.

Additionally, Keaton Parks, who suffered an injury in warm-ups before the US Open Cup quarterfinal against Columbus Crew, was back in the squad and available on the bench.

After making his first-ever start for NYCFC and putting in a solid performance against Santos Laguna, Max Murray got the start again in central defense with Thiago Martins and Raul Gustavo still injured.

It was a much tougher task for Murray against Cruz Azul. This time, he had to deal with a more physical and aggressive Liga MX side that took the lead in the 35th minute with a great strike from Palavecino, assisted by Mexico national team starter Érik Lira.

New York City struggled to get the ball into Cruz Azul's box all night, but it used Murray's size to cash in on a free kick in first-half stoppage time. Nico Fernández Mercau delivered a precise ball to the 6-foot-5 Murray, who powered his header into the back of the net for his first goal for NYCFC.

Absolutely buried by Max ‼️ pic.twitter.com/3HG4HKkKfD

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 10, 2026

Against Santos Laguna in his previous start, Murray cramped after 60 minutes and left as a substitute in the 63rd minute. Not the case against Cruz Azul, with the University of Vermont product going a full 90 minutes, the first time he's done so since March 19 when he did it in MLS Next Pro for NYCFC II.

Cruz Azul takes control

Cruz Azul didn't press New York City as hard in the second half, but the Mexican side still dominated possession and looked dangerous.

It didn't take long for Jansen to make substitutions, making a triple substitution to bring on Mitja Ilenič, Malachi Jones, and Kevin O'Toole for Tayvon Gray, Agustín Ojeda, and Nico Cavallo in the 59th minute.

With the match still tied at 1-1 late, Jansen went even more attacking, this time with Bénie Traoré and Luighi coming on for Jonathan Shore and Talles Magno in the 76th minute.

Less than three minutes after those substitutions, Cruz Azul took the lead from Paradela's deflected strike from outside of the box.

¡Paradelaaaaaa! 🤩

Cruz Azul retoma la ventaja gracias al zapatazo de José desde fuera del área 🚂

Míra #LeaguesCup2026 en vivo por Apple TV 📺 https://t.co/OGe6sbuZOM pic.twitter.com/vlgMmN2HBm

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 10, 2026

Despite those attacking additions in Luighi and Traoré, NYCFC couldn't find an equalizing goal as they stumbled to their first loss post-World Cup break, ending a four-game unbeaten run.