Welcome to the latest edition of Hot Take, in which a Hudson River Blue contributor takes a highly subjective stand on a topic and gives you their deeply biased opinion.
Nicolás Acevedo stepped his game up in a big way during NYCFC’s late-season surge. He helped stabilized a midfield that was at times decimated by injuries, adeptly covering for the absences of Alfredo Morales and Keaton Parks — not to mention the departed James Sands. Since interim manager Nick Cushing made his much-discussed formation switch to a fluid three-to-five at the back system, Acevedo has made the midfield destroyer role his own and turned in some of his best performances since joining the club.