Maxi Moralez stays on after injury, makes major impact to help NYCFC claim MLS Cup

Shortly after Maxi Moralez appeared to tweak his leg around the 30th minute of Saturday's MLS Cup on Saturday, it seemed his time on the Providence Park field, and perhaps in a New York City FC shirt, was near its end.

A hobbled Moralez, who is in the last year of his contract, struggled to get to top speed for about 10 minutes against the Portland Timbers as NYCFC tried to adjust its attack with its lynchpin clearly not at full strength.

Head coach Ronny Deila, however, never thought about taking off Moralez and kept his oldest player on the pitch to work out the issue, a decision that proved to be the right one in City’s MLS Cup clincher.

Moralez made the curling assist on NYCFC’s lone goal of the match, sending a free kick to toward the head of striker Valentín Castellanos a few minutes before the break.

"I don't think that was anything to think about, he will never go off that pitch," Deila said. "When you play so many games and you come to the last one, everybody has pain somewhere. You have to deal with it. That's about character and determination and just fight"

The Argentine mostly was at full strength in the second half and extra time, then stepped up to bury one of four penalty makes for NYCFC in the shootout to clinch the MLS Cup victory. It was his second penalty make of the postseason, quite the accomplishment for a player notorious for multiple misses earlier in his NYCFC tenure.

"This was Maxi's game," Deila said. "He has been here for many years. If [there is] one guy who has done unbelievable things for the team, it's Maxi and now he gets the big trophy, and he deserve it."

Medina takes shot

NYCFC’s celebration of Castellanos’ opening goal took a strange turn when winger Jesús Medina was struck by an object thrown from the stands.

Medina was running toward a group of his City teammates celebrating near the sideline when what appeared to be a beverage can hit Medina. The player remained on the ground for a minute while be tended to by City medical staff, but was able to continue without issue.

The fan was ejected soon after, the Timbers tweeted.

"The fan who threw the object was ejected from the game, and has been banned from Providence Park. There is zero tolerance for behavior of that kind," the club tweeted.

Ronny strips

When Deila was hired by NYCFC in early 2020, he was asked about a moment during a previous coaching stop in which he celebrated a big result by stripping to his underwear for his team and the fans. He promised some fans to recreate that scene should City ever take home MLS Cup. Following the penalty shootout, he made good on that vow for all of Portland, and the thousands of NYCFC fans in attendance, to see.

"You have to celebrate victories and that's why, today was a big victory," said Deila, who capped the moment with a few push-ups and a roar with MLS Cup in hand. "I said maybe a little too much when I get hired here, but I don't regret that. There was a big moment. I will do it again if we keep on winning trophies."