After reaching the Eastern Conference final last season, New York City FC was expected to build on its surprising playoff run in the second and final year of the Pascal Jansen era.
But ultimately, New York City missed the playoffs for the second time in four seasons and the third time in the club's 12-season history, finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference with 42 points. One day after the season ended, NYCFC announced a coaching change, a move the club has now made after two of the three seasons in which it missed the playoffs.
Before the 2026 campaign kicked off, only five of the 15 AppleTV pundits thought New York City would miss the playoffs, with some predicting the club to finish as high as third in the Eastern Conference. The pundit sphere largely thought this would end up being a playoff team, but that expectation was not met.
So, what went wrong? That's not easy to answer, but these six factors contributed to NYCFC's highly disappointing season.
Dropping points, conceding late goals
This section will be a doozy.
NYCFC led 20 times this season but held on to only 10 of those leads, dropping 23 points from winning positions (seven ties, three losses). Overall, New York City's 10 blown leads tied FC Cincinnati for the league lead.
NYCFC's blown leads
| Opponent | NYCFC's lead | Final score | Number of points dropped |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter Miami | 2-1 | 3-2 loss | 3 |
| St. Louis | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2 |
| Cincinnati | 3-1, 4-2 | 4-4 | 2 |
| Toronto | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 2-0 | 3-2 loss | 3 |
| Toronto (away) | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2 |
| Atlanta | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Chicago | 1-0 | 2-1 loss | 3 |
| Orlando | 1-0 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Montréal | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2 |
NYCFC blew so many leads this season because they couldn't close out games. In fact, New York City conceded eight stoppage-time goals this season, tying Orlando City for the league lead.
Stoppage time goals conceded
| Opponent | Minute conceded | Final score | Number of points dropped |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 90+6' | 1-1 | 2 |
| Charlotte | 90' | 2-1 loss | 0 |
| Cincinnati | 90+2' | 4-4 | 2 |
| Cincinnati | 90+5' | 4-4 | 2 |
| Columbus | 90+3' | 2-1 win | 0 |
| Cincinnati | 90+1 | 2-1 loss | 1 |
| New England | 90+3' | 2-1 loss | 1 |
| Montréal | 90+2' | 1-1 | 2 |
Four of the eight stoppage-time goals conceded led to an NYCFC loss after they previously led in the game, and two came in the same game: a 4-4 draw with Cincinnati after New York City led 3-1 and 4-2 but conceded in the 92nd and 95th minutes to settle for a point.
Two of the eight stoppage-time goals conceded came in games where NYCFC conceded first, never led, but still scored the equalizer and then dropped two points in each (a 2-1 loss at Cincinnati, a 2-1 defeat vs New England).
This detrimental trend never ended for New York City. The early signs appeared at the start of the season against St. Louis City and Cincinnati and continued until late in the year, most recently against Montréal.
The "bulletproof mindset" that Jansen preached about in 2025 was nowhere to be found this season.
Lack of goal scoring
This one is the most obvious.
New York City was out without its leading goal scorer, Alonso Martínez, for most of the season with an ACL tear and didn't replace him until it was too late, leaving Nicolás Fernández Mercau to shoulder the goal-scoring burden.
