On a collective level, New York City FC have plenty to play for when hosting the Philadelphia Union this Sunday for Decision Day (3:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+). How does second place in the Eastern Conference and a home Audi MLS Cup Playoff game sound?
But there’s also individual motivation, with striker Taty Castellanos in pole position to win the Golden Boot presented by Audi. He’s already at 18 goals and eight assists, one ahead of D.C. United’s Ola Kamara and Seattle Sounders FC's Raul Ruidiaz after a late-season hot streak.
And how NYCFC head coach Ronny Deila sees it, their 23-year-old Argentine talisman has taken significant strides this year.
“The way he has grown through the season has been unbelievable,” Deila said. “His discipline from last year to now, he doesn't make stupid free kicks in the same way, not as many yellow cards. He's more positional when he plays and he works really hard.
“He's a handful in every challenge so he's always getting in front and showing the team how to press and how to step forward. Of course he's a great finisher as well, developed himself through the season also in that way. He can score with his right, he's also started to score with his left.”
Castellanos, who originally joined NYCFC in 2018 from fellow City Football Group club Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), signed a five-year contract extension this past May. That came after reports linking him with a move to Brazil’s Serie A, namely 2020 Copa Libertadores winner Palmeiras.
He’s responded in kind by leading the line for NYCFC, matching the production Spain national team all-time great David Villa had in 2015, his first and the club’s expansion foray into MLS. But as Deila said, he feels there’s even more room to grow.
“There's of course things to work on. His hold-up play is very good, but he can be cleaner technically. He can be a better finisher,” Deila said. “But he's 23 years old and already to score 18 goals, he has a big, big chance now to keep on scoring and win something with us. That's the most important and then of course also to get scorer.”
Should Castellanos capture the Golden Boot, he’ll be NYCFC’s first-ever player to do so. Check out this post for a full rundown before the 34th and final regular-season game.
All the while, NYCFC are chasing home games into the postseason and know a challenging test awaits against the resurgent 2020 Supporters’ Shield winners.
“It's about winning, it's about getting as high as possible in the league,” Deila said. “So we are of course very, very confident now and a lot of energy looking forward to Sunday. Having said that, we know it's going to be a tough, tough game.”
