New York City FC will close out the 2025 MLS regular season on Saturday night, welcoming the Seattle Sounders to Citi Field for one final tune-up before the playoffs begin.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen says all attention is on finishing strong, with no one in the building looking beyond the weekend.
“It’s funny you ask, because today we had our review looking back at the last stretch of games,” Jansen said after training. “Everybody’s back from national team duties, and this was one of the items we talked about. For us, the only thing on our mind now is Seattle — nothing else. That’s how we’ve worked all season, and nothing’s changed.”
New York City enter the match on 56 points and looking to climb further up the Eastern Conference standings ahead of postseason play. For Jansen, the focus remains exactly where it’s been all year: on the next game.
“We take it game by game, and that’s not going to change,” he said. “We’re on 56 points, so we can gain another three, which gives us 59 overall, a pretty decent total. There’s no energy lost thinking about the playoffs, because it’s Seattle first and only.”
That focus resumes this weekend after an international break that saw several Blues in action for their countries. Jansen said he was pleased with their performances — and, crucially, relieved that everyone returned healthy.
“I watch all the games, and we’re in contact with the guys when they’re away,” he explained. “It’s always interesting to see them play for their national teams, sometimes you get surprised with how they’re used or the roles they take on. But overall, I was happy. The most important thing is they came back healthy, especially when someone like Aiden [O'Neill] has played 60 games this season.”
Jansen also highlighted Aiden’s matchup against teammate Matt Freese in U.S. national team camp.
“It was good to see him compete with Matt and give him a bit of banter when he came back after losing that game,” he added with a smile.
Another standout over the break was Alonso Martínez, who found the net twice for Costa Rica, form Jansen hopes will carry into the weekend.
“To see Alonso score twice for his country again is important for Costa Rica, but also important for us,” Jansen said. “Having a sharp and ready Alonso come back into our team is exactly what we want heading into this next stretch.”
New York City will be looking to bounce back after a narrow defeat in Philadelphia last time out, a result Jansen says has sharpened the squad’s focus.
“We’re coming back from a tough match where we weren’t as clinical as before,” he said. “So the main thing is bouncing back, like we always try to do. Seattle have quality, even if their league position can’t change, and we expect a very competitive game. We have to be ready to compete again.”
With playoff positioning still in play and Citi Field set for one more night under the lights, Jansen made it clear that the task at hand remains front and center.
“Our focus is on achieving a good result for our standings in the East,” he said. “Once that game is played, then we’ll look ahead to what’s next, and that’s the playoffs. But first, it’s about finishing the regular season as best as we can.”
