NYCFC-Atlanta UTD - Maxime Chanot star of the game

On a day when the game didn't flow as fluently as it might have, Maxime was a strong presence at the back for NYCFC, helping City through the tough stretches of the match with some body-on-the-line defending and numerous instances where he demonstrated his excellent reading of the game.

Capping a terrific individual performance, our Luxembourg international defender had prevented Atlanta a clear shot on goal with an incredible last-ditch tackle in second half stoppage-time just before Johnson's big save.

Could that be looked back on as a pivotal sequence in the tie next weekend? Let's hope so.