New York City FC welcome D.C. United to Yankee Stadium on Saturday night hoping to make it three wins in a row.
Big victories against Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati have boosted Pascal Jansen's side as they hunt a place in the playoffs. Coming from a goal down against Nashville and beating Cincinnati in Ohio, Pascal Jansen believes the performances were a great example of his team's ability to learn quickly.
“Of course, we had our review of the game against Nashville and we keep addressing the things we set out from day one. In order to improve, we must learn the lessons from each and every game.
"This was a big lesson to learn going forward from the Nashville game. When you have to compete at this level, you cannot afford to start matches that way [slowly], and we've had that a couple of times. So sometimes you think we're a little slow in learning, and this was a good moment to show that we're fast learners. And so it was on the pitch.”
The Dutchman has been clear that the final stretch of the season must be treated like a knockout run.
“We're coming off two quite impressive results and pretty decent games for us," he explained.
"It doesn't matter who we play, it's about us and only us, and how we're going to proceed going forward to get ourselves into the playoffs in the best possible shape, and D.C. is one of the teams that we have to face. As I said, we'll be focusing on ourselves and nothing else. Their results haven't gone their way, but that is something that we just take with us in preparing this match. But then it's again, all about ourselves.”
D.C. United have already learned they will not partake in the post-season in 2025 amid what has been a challenging season. Arriving in the Bronx hoping to spoil the party, their direct style is something journalists noted and asked Jansen about.
“That's that's going to be an interesting one," he said. "If you look at the play styles from the previous two opponents [Nashville & Cincinnati], it's not slightly different, but a big difference compared to the strategy that D.C. has used in the previous games.
"So as you mentioned just now, the aerial game is going to be part of the game, especially when D.C. has possession. We'll have to deal with that and make sure that we either get good pressure on the first pass going forward, or make sure that we challenge the first duels and make sure that we control the second or the third play coming from the first duel, and then focus mainly on maintaining the ball and taking care of possession."
Although D.C. will not reach the playoffs this year, Jansen was unwilling to dismiss his opponent and believes that recent performances under new coach René Weiler highlight their strengths and danger.
“Well, the two previous results are positive from the D.C. perspective," he said. "If you get a draw against one of the strongest teams in the league, Miami, that's huge considering the fact where D.C. is at the moment in the league and what happened at the club.
"They will use these positive moments going forward and making sure that they try to end the season as strong as they can. At the moment, they're not in a good position, because they're not. Able to get into the playoffs anymore, but looking ahead and making sure that you have a competitive side going to the final stages of the league season, that is what they're looking for.
"For us, it's very important that we are aware of this and making sure that we focus on our own targets. And that is what I explained to you guys just now. Our main goal is to get ourselves into the playoffs in the best possible shape.”
