New York City FC Head Coach Pascal Jansen is calling for a strong response from his team as they prepare for the visit of CF Montréal this weekend.
The visit of Montréal will be City’s third game in a week, a run which started with an impressive victory against FC Cincinnati last Sunday. That was contrasted with a disappointing defeat to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, with Jansen now focused on seeing his side build momentum and consistency in the league.
“Playing a lot of games in a short period of time gives you the opportunity to make amends with performances like on Wednesday,” he explained. “I agree the performance on Sunday was a good level from our standards. Wednesday was completely the opposite.
“We should have done better. We wasted a huge opportunity to get into the next round for this cup. But that opportunity has passed. We've moved on — 24 hours have gone, and we've recovered physically and mentally.”
City will aim to carry forward the positive rhythm they've shown in recent league games — a run of three wins and three clean sheets in their last four league games.
“We're up for the next challenge in MLS, and making sure that what we've shown in MLS recently is not a coincidence,” he said. “We're looking for consistency, and that will be the aim for this game.”
That defensive stability has provided a foundation, and Jansen believes sharpening things in front of goal can push the team to another level.
“If we get our finishing right, it will take away the pressure on the defense as well,” he said. “On the other hand, it keeps you on your toes, because you know you have to be there all the time in order to keep the chances of winning games to the max.”
“I would like to think that we are trying to get away from that spectrum and make sure that we control our games the way we do—clean defensively, but also taking more advantage of the chances that we create up front.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s opponent, Jansen is expecting a fluid and energetic CF Montréal team that will challenge City both in and out of possession under the guidance of former Italian midfielder Marco Donadel.
“We've seen them with two flat nines, we’ve seen them with one number nine and a number 10, and we’ve seen them with a box midfield,” he said.
“They have the tendency to change their shape in possession, but also the aggressive play style out of possession is something that we have to face and deal with. We’ve prepared for whatever comes our way,” he added. “Now it’s about stepping up and showing who we are—again.”
