New York City FC Goals: Gray 50', Cavallo 66'
Santos Laguna Goals:
Quick Read
New York City FC began its 2026 Leagues Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Santos Laguna at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Second-half goals from Tayvon Gray and Nico Cavallo secured all three points, while Matt Freese produced several impressive saves to preserve the clean sheet. Luighi, Joao Loiola Santos and Cooper Flax also made their first-team debuts on Wednesday night.
Player of the Match
Match Recap
New York City FC kicked off its 2026 Leagues Cup campaign on Wednesday night against Liga MX side Santos Laguna at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen made two changes to the side that faced Toronto FC last time out, with Max Murray and Kevin O'Toole replacing Thiago Martins and Nico Fernández Mercau.
With a place in the knockout rounds up for grabs, New York City looked to make a positive start, but clear-cut chances proved difficult to come by during the early stages.
The visitors registered their first sight of goal in the 16th minute when Diego González tried his luck, only for James Sands to block his effort.
At the other end, Andrés Perea, fresh off being named Etihad Player of the Month, saw a shot blocked before O'Toole's follow-up from distance was also stopped by a Santos defender.
Chances remained at a premium until the 38th minute, when Agustín Ojeda tested Carlos Acevedo with a shot from a narrow angle.
Santos threatened again five minutes later after winning a dangerous free kick on the edge of the area. Matt Freese did brilliantly to get down low to his right and keep out the resulting effort before producing another impressive save less than a minute later, this time denying González's header.
New York City made three changes at the start of the second half, with Hannes Wolf, Fernández Mercau and new signing Luighi entering the game in place of Bénie Traoré, Malachi Jones and O'Toole.
Making his New York City FC debut, Luighi wasted little time getting involved. A through ball from Wolf released the Brazilian down the right side of the box, where his shot crashed against the post before an offside flag brought the move to an end.
The breakthrough was not far away, arriving in spectacular fashion through Tayvon Gray in the 50th minute.
Perea started the move with a low cross that eventually made its way to Ojeda at the back post. His initial effort was blocked, but Gray was waiting on the edge of the area to hammer the loose ball in off the underside of the crossbar and give New York City the lead.
The hosts almost doubled their advantage two minutes later. A swift counterattack ended with Ojeda finding Perea inside the box, but despite making strong contact, the midfielder was denied by a fine save from Acevedo.
Santos went searching for a response and threatened shortly after the hour mark when Fran Villalba danced his way along the byline. Freese and Sands combined to eventually snuff out the danger, conceding a corner that came to nothing.
Amid that spell of Santos pressure came a fourth change for New York City, with Joao Loiola Santos replacing Murray to make his New York City FC debut.
The hosts remained eager to add to their advantage and found a second in the 66th minute through Nico Cavallo's first goal for the club.
The defender combined neatly with Fernández Mercau before the ball was worked inside to Luigi. The Brazilian quickly moved it on to Perea, who slipped Cavallo in behind the Santos defense. Keeping his composure, the fullback drilled his finish past Acevedo to double New York City's lead.
Santos were keen to find a route back into the contest, with Ezequiel Bullaude testing Freese from the top of the box. The New York City goalkeeper was equal to the effort, making a comfortable save.
Freese was called into action again in the 79th minute, producing a remarkable sequence of saves to preserve New York City's two-goal advantage.
The goalkeeper first raced out to smother an effort from Lucas Di Yorio before reacting quickly to deny Kevin Palacios' follow-up. The danger was not over, however, and when the ball fell back to Di Yorio with the goal seemingly at his mercy, Freese produced a sprawling save to turn the ball behind for a corner.
New York City's final change of the evening brought another first-team debut, with midfielder Cooper Flax replacing Perea.
Santos thought they had found a consolation goal deep into stoppage time through González, but the effort was ultimately ruled out for a foul in the buildup.
That proved to be the final notable act of the night as New York City saw out a comfortable 2-0 victory over Santos to begin its Leagues Cup campaign with three points.
How We Lined Up
What's Next
Next up for New York City FC is a Leagues Cup meeting with Cruz Azul on Saunday, August 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30PM ET.
