The first Major League Soccer game of 2020 for New York City FC was expected to be the start of a fantastic 2020 season. Unfortunately, this was cut short when center-back Maxime Chanot received a red card in the third minute. The veteran clipped the heels of Columbus Crew’s Lucas Zelarayán, impeding a goal-scoring opportunity. NYCFC played with a man disadvantage for the remainder of the match, entirely altering head coach Ronny Deila’s gameplan.
The team then took a more defensive approach, which limited their attacking opportunities. They held just under 38% of the possession and had seven shots total.