Jansen ready to take 'bulletproof' NYCFC through playoffs

Pascal Jansen says New York City FC have worked on their "bulletproof mindset" throughout the season and is now keen to see that translate into the MLS playoffs against Charlotte FC.

NYCFC finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, despite a slight dip in form; they won just one of their last four matches, finishing the regular season with back-to-back losses.

Last season, New York City made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals before being beaten by rivals New York Red Bulls, having needed penalties away from home to make it through the first round against FC Cincinnati last year.

Despite the disappointing end to the campaign, Jansen was pleased with the consistency they showed throughout, and hopes his side take the lessons they have learnt forward.

"The moment we've been working for all season is there," he said. "I'm quite pleased with the progression that we've made.

"The bulletproof mindset was something I introduced at the beginning of the season, and throughout the season, you could see that we were able to handle ourselves better and better.

"We became more consistent every time we progressed throughout the season, and obviously, playing against the top-seeded teams in the league has also brought us a lot of respect.

"I think throughout the season, we've become more bulletproof, and that is something that we have to apply during the playoffs."

Charlotte, on the other hand, finished the regular season strongly, with back-to-back wins seeing them leapfrog NYCFC in the table.

The Crown had lost two in a row before that, including a 2-0 defeat to New York City, but put out a statement with their Decision Day 2-0 win over Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union.

Charlotte are playing in the postseason for the third consecutive season, and Nathan Byrne is confident the squad have enough experience to go far.

"Most of our squad, the base who's been playing regardless of if it's the playoffs, in MLS, they have experience of fighting at the top of the league somewhere or battling in postseason," he said.

"So it's similar all over the world. It's only what every footballer wants to play in."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Charlotte FC – Idan Toklomati

Wilfried Zaha became the third Charlotte player to reach double digits for goals with his effort on Decision Day, but after also being sent off in that game, more onus will fall to Idan Toklomati.

Toklomati is Charlotte's top scorer in MLS this season, scoring his 11 goals from 21 shots on target. He has the second-highest conversion rate (26.2%) and also the lowest minutes per goal ratio in the squad (164.1).

New York City FC – Alonso Martinez

Alonso Martinez scored nine goals in road matches this regular season, tied for the second most in a season in New York City FC history (David Villa – 10 in 2016).

Eight of those nine goals came in the second half, giving Martinez the most second-half road goals in a single season in NYCFC history.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHARLOTTE FC WIN

Charlotte have won five of their eight all-time meetings with New York City FC, including wins in all four home games. The only team to win five straight home matches across all competitions against NYCFC is FC Cincinnati (2023-2024).

Charlotte finished the 2025 regular season with 13 home wins (D1 L3), eight of which were by multiple goals, including a 2-0 win against the Philadelphia Union on Decision Day.

Both the 13 victories and the eight wins by multiple goals were the most at home in MLS this season.

New York City FC have won six of their last 10 MLS matches (L4) with only Los Angeles FC and Inter Miami winning more games in MLS play (seven apiece) since August 15.

New York City did lose their final two matches of the regular season, however, for the first time since doing so in the team's inaugural season of 2015.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Charlotte FC – 46.9%

Draw – 26.4%

New York City FC – 26.7%