You could see it in the composure of the New York City FC players when they took the field to face Real Salt Lake on Sunday: For the first time in more than four months, New York City didn't have to think about the CONCACAF Champions League.
The team looked relaxed, loose, ready. Maxi Moralez was still out with a rib injury and wasn't on the field to pull the strings but it didn’t matter: Taty Castellanos headed in his first goal of the season in the ninth minute, then went on to score three more; Thiago worked two beautiful goals that gave us a glimpse of the potential he could unlock this season; and NYCFC rolled to a cathartic 6-0 win under the bright blue skies of a cold spring afternoon.