Nicolas Fernandez scored a penalty in the 66th minute, helping New York City earn a 1-1 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy in both teams’ season opener on Sunday night.
NYCFC (0-0-1, 1 point) played their 12th consecutive season opener on the road. They managed to avoid a shutout for the fourth time in five season openers despite an early defensive mistake that resulted in a quick goal.
Fernandez found the net in a match that saw both teams total 31 fouls and receive five yellow cards. He nearly scored again in stoppage time but missed from the box.
The key yellow card was issued in the 64th minute when Emiro Garces was ejected for a foul on Fernandez. This left the Galaxy (0-0-1, 1 point) with 10 men for the remainder of the game.
Fernandez took advantage of the situation, firing a shot that deflected off goalie Novak Micovic’s right hand and found the net, marking his fourth career MLS goal.
New York had better chances throughout the match but couldn’t get a shot on target after Joao Klauss scored just two minutes into his LA debut.
The Galaxy quickly advanced toward the New York goal, with Paintsil passing to Marco Reus near the end line.
Reus attracted New York defender Kai Trewin before passing to Klauss in the center of the box. With two defenders distracted, Klauss scored with a left-footed shot to the lower right corner of the net.
NYC goalie Matt Freese made six saves, including a diving stop on Gabriel Pec just before halftime and a denial of Joseph Paintsil’s header in the 90th minute.