Overview:

After getting eliminated from Leagues Cup knockout round contention, New York City FC will concentrate on solidifying a playoff berth in MLS.

Talles Magno: “We turned the page. Leagues Cup is behind us. Now we’re only thinking about MLS.” Photo courtesy of NYCFC)

After getting eliminated from Leagues Cup knockout round contention, New York City FC will concentrate on solidifying a playoff berth in MLS.

The Pigeons will return to league competition as they host the Philadelphia Union at Yankee Stadium on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

Before Saturday’s action, NYCFC (7-6-5, 26 points) is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, while Philly (4-10-4, 16) is in 13th place out of 15 teams.

“We turned the page,” NYCFC forward Talles Magno said. “Leagues Cup is behind us. Now we’re only thinking about MLS. So we changed our mindset very quickly because we know our responsibility is to win more games and score more goals. We changed our mindset as quickly as possible because we need to win and respond in the next game.”

NYCFC finished with a 1-2-0 record and three points in 15th place in the MLS Leagues Cup table. The team failed to finish among the top four MLS sides to qualify for the quarterfinals.

City’s 2-1 loss to Necaxa in its Leagues Cup finale sealed its fate on Thursday night. The hosts could not hold onto a 1-0 lead. NYCFC started in the recent competition with a 2-0 victory over Santos Laguna, but fell twice to 2-1 results, including against Cruz Azul.

“The second game against Cruz Azul was interesting,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “There’s a lot going on during this game, but like I mentioned during the tournament, we always enjoy the intensity of these games because it looks like it brings out a little more than usual in these games. However, we have to be able to bring the same kind of intensity in our games in the MLS. So using those aspects of the Leagues Cup and trying to benefit from it during your restart in the MLS is something that we’re going to try and focus on.”

NYCFC enters the match on a three-game MLS unbeaten streak (2-0-1). The squad last lost in league competition on May 23, a 2-1 defeat at Nashville SC.