HARRISON – The New York Red Bulls (9-8-6) tasted victory against the New England Revolution (6-9-7) on Wednesday, coming back to win the contest, 5-3. New England previously defeated the Red Bulls 2-1 in their last meeting on March 29.
With no wins since May 31, the pressure was on New York to return to the win column, especially in friendly confines. Sports Illustrated Stadium has seen the Red Bulls dominate in their home territory this season with a successful 7-1-2 record before Wednesday. New England was also desperate for a victory and hoping to take the workload off their star captain, Carles Gil.
It appeared to be the same story as Saturday for the Red Bulls, as New England dominated early on. The Revolution came out of the gates, scoring in the fifth minute when forward Leo Campana put his squad up 1-0 with a tremendous left-footed shot.
Things appeared to get worse for the Red Bulls when Campana scored a second time in the 21st minute. However, after VAR was implemented to review a possible handball, the goal was declared no good, keeping the score at 1-0.
New England would eventually find the back of the net again in the 30th minute when the Red Bulls conceded an own goal from Kyle Duncan. New England forward Luca Langoni had his shot hit the left post, which deflected off Duncan to put the Revolution up 2-0.
While the Red Bulls were able to find chances in the first half with 11 shots, nothing arose from them. Even with dominating possession at 58%, it still wasn’t enough to find a score.
Red Bulls manager Sandro Schwarz took the blame for the poor first-half performance.
“I said to the locker room directly after the game, I am responsible for the first half, that’s clear,” Schwarz pinpointed.
New York needed a boost of energy to lift themselves to start the second half. They would find that in the 56th minute, when midfielder and New Jersey native Daniel Edelman launched one from outside the 18-yard box to make it 2-1. Edelman addressed how important that goal was for their comeback post-match.
“I think immediately we had a lot of energy right after the goal,” Edelman said. “I think we were just playing free, not worrying about mistakes… we were just building off the momentum.”
Then in the 70th minute, New York’s old reliable striker Eric Choupo-Moting scored off the pass from captain Emil Forsberg to tie it at two apiece. The latter half of the dynamic duo would score two minutes later as Forsberg gave the Red Bulls the 3-2 lead.
With the comeback completed, the Red Bulls continued to pile it on the Revolution. In the 83rd minute, Choupo-Moting again scored to earn a brace and make it 4-2. Following Choupo-Moting’s second goal, Forsberg earned his own brace on a penalty kick in the 88th minute to make it 5-2.
For Choupo-Moting and Forsberg, their outstanding play in the second half elevated a squad that needed a win badly. Forsberg felt rejuvenated after a tough performance on Saturday, and Choupo-Moting showcased how brilliant he can be when given the ball. But it all came back to Edelman’s goal that started the comeback.
“The first goal was very important, it was the first time to show mentality first of all because the first half wasn’t good at all,” Choupo-Moting said. “The second half was very good and we had so many good moments, not only the goals [but] also the way we created the goals.”
New England would then make it 5-3 with Campana earning a brace of his own with a goal in stoppage time.
The Red Bulls will gear up for another home match Saturday as Lionel Messi and Inter Miami come to town. Kickoff for Saturday’s match is set for 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
