Cruz Azul vs 09.08.26 23:302 – 1Full Time
New York City FC — Leagues Cup: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Cruz Azul edge New York City FC in Leagues Cup group clash
Cruz Azul beat New York City FC 2-1 in a Leagues Cup Group Stage fixture at Sports Illustrated Stadium, with the home side coming from a level score at the break to claim victory.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Agustín Palavecino opened the scoring in the 35th minute, finishing off an assist from Érik Lira to put Cruz Azul ahead. New York City FC responded almost immediately before the interval, as Maxwell Murray converted a Nicolás Fernández Mercau assist in the first minute of stoppage time to make it 1-1 at half-time.
The decisive moment came in the 78th minute when José Paradela struck from a Carlos Rodríguez assist to restore Cruz Azul's lead at 2-1, a margin that held until the final whistle. Cruz Azul dominated possession with 60 percent of the ball and produced far more attempts on goal, while New York City FC picked up more cautions over the course of the match.
José Paradela scored the decisive goal in the 78th minute and finished with a rating of 8.6, the highest of any player in the match.
Cruz Azul out-shot New York City FC 20 to 8, underlining their control of the attacking play.
Cruz Azul beat New York City FC 2–1 (half-time 1–1).
Cruz Azul met New York City FC in the Leagues Cup (Group Stage). Kick-off was Sunday, 9 August 2026, 23:30 UTC at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Referee: J. Valle.
Team pages: Cruz Azul · New York City FC · Leagues Cup
Key moments
- 35' Goal: Agustín Palavecino (assist: Érik Lira) — 1–0
- 45' Goal: Maxwell Murray (assist: Nicolás Fernández Mercau) — 1–1
- 78' Goal: José Paradela (assist: Carlos Rodríguez) — 2–1
Starting line-ups
Cruz Azul (5-3-2)
New York City FC (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Cruz Azul 25%, the draw 29%, New York City FC 46%. It finished Cruz Azul 2–1 New York City FC.
New York City FC's rating edge, but the draw is in play — New York City FC are the stronger side on our strength rating, and neutral ground on top gives New York City FC the lean. The draw at 29% is lifted by a low-scoring environment.
Why New York City FC at 46%?
New York City FC sit 148 points higher on our strength rating — 1510 to 1658. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge on the road won 40.2% of 13,026 such games. Leagues Cup is played on neutral grounds: Cruz Azul are the listed home side but get none of the usual home lift, so the class read is re-centred. On grounds we detect as neutral, listed-home sides won 44.6% of 26,871 games vs 45.2% at real homes — so a tournament game away from a side's own ground scores the class edge venue-free, as the average of the home and away reads.
Why only 46%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 46% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 29% and Cruz Azul at 25%.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Cruz Azul win?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 27.2%. These teams' recent games average 2.2 goals — a low-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 28.2% of 18,059. The goals environment adds 3.4 points to the draw. Neutral ground takes 1.5 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
New York City FC scored +0.38 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. Measured across 2,745 games at this rating gap, hot-finishing sides won 42.1% vs 42.9% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it scores 0 until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Cruz Azul arrive with 14 fully-tracked matches, so their strength number is a first estimate that will move quickly; New York City FC bring a 436-game record. New-to-the-record sides are where our rating knows least.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Cruz Azul vs New York City FC final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Leagues Cup fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Cruz Azul and New York City FC team pages or the Leagues Cup page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Cruz Azul vs New York City FC?
Cruz Azul beat New York City FC 2–1 (half-time 1–1).
›Who scored in Cruz Azul vs New York City FC?
Agustín Palavecino (35') for Cruz Azul; Maxwell Murray (45') for New York City FC; José Paradela (78') for Cruz Azul.
›Where can I watch Cruz Azul vs New York City FC highlights?
This page carries the full match report, stats and lineups for Cruz Azul vs New York City FC; goal clips are added as soon as official highlights are available.