4:1 New York NY City Wright-Phillips 2 Zubar Kljestan McNamara 07.24.16 · League

You heard the newcomers across the river boasting. Oh, they will be prepared for this. Oh, they have the high press figured out. Oh, the 7:0 defeat was an aboration, a distant memory. Oh... no.

Metro completely dominated the entire game, suffocating NYCFC through the 90 minutes. The scoreline was 4:1, but it could have been much worse. Well, we can't ask for seven every time...

Jesse Marsch made only one change from last week, inserting Ronald Zubar for Damien Perrinelle. He also made a tactical switch that seemed to confuse NYC's highly-compensated staff: Mike Grella and Alex Muyl switched wings, creating all kinds of matchup problems for the visitors.

The tone of the game was set early, as, in the opening minute, Bradley Wright-Phillips pounced, but sent it wide. That wouldn't be the case in the 20th. Felipe won the ball in NYC's side of the field, swung it Sacha Kljestan, who moved it across the edge of the box. There, BWP sliced an exquisite shot through the penalty area and into the net.

Three minutes later, the lead doubled, when Zubar rose to head in a Kljestan free kick. And then, in the 41st, Metro finally got a penalty call their way, as NYC's awful Frederic Brillant handled the ball in the penalty area. Kljestan easily converted to his left. The visitors got one back right before the half on a Tommy McNamara shot from outside the box.

Metro's dominance continued through the second. A second penalty kick could have been called when R.J. Allen took down Grella in the box, but the whistle stayed put. The game was put of reach in the 70th. Wright-Phillips pounced on a loose ball, rounded Josh Saunders, as the NYC goalkeeper fell to the ground. Then, BWP centered himself, and tallied his second of the match... and the 62nd of his Metro career, tying Juan Pablo Angel for the all competitions record.

The late parts of the match turned into a chippy affair, with the expensive blue poseurs deciding to hack away. The fact that doing so actually played towards Metro's favor and killed the game off, must have been lost on their high-priced heads.

No, they can't all be 7:0, but this one was pretty swell, too...

Lineup: Robles, Lade, Collin, Zubar, Zizzo, McCarty, Martins, Kljestan, Grella, Muyl, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Veron, Davis, Wright-Phillips.