HARRISON – The New York Red Bulls (1-0) earned three points on their final shot of the match vs Chivas de Guadalajara (0-1) thanks to Emil Forsberg, winning 1-0. Thursday’s match was the first for New York in this year’s Leagues Cup.
It was a day full of strange occurrences for New York. Poor weather conditions earlier in the day posed a threat to the match, but ultimately were not a problem. Inside the stadium, while the Red Bulls were home, they were designated as the away side for the match.
In what was a pro-Guadalajara crowd, the Red Bulls had to figure out a way to earn a victory vs a competitive opposing side. A win in regulation would do wonders for New York’s confidence, which had been lacking in recent matches. Securing points in the tournament is significant as the top four teams from each league advance to the quarterfinals. .
With New York deep into their season, manager Sandro Schwarz deployed other options in the starting XI to change their fortunes. Notably, forward Eric Choupo-Moting and captain Forsberg began the match on the bench, likely to keep them fresh for a potential deep tournament run. Forward Julian Hall headlined a young attack for New York while a veteran presence in defender Tim Parker started in the backline.
Within the first ten minutes, the match experienced a strange delay when referee Lukasz Szpala suffered an injury and left the match. This prompted the fourth official in Guido Gonzales Jr. to enter the match to replace him.
The rest of the first half saw some good moments from New York, one that would see a 0-0 scoreline after 45 minutes. In the 23rd minute, goalkeeper AJ Marcucci made a stellar save vs Guadalajara’s Richard Ledezma’s shot to keep the score at zero all. Marcucci, who had started only three matches in all competitions this season, was given the start on what was also his 26th birthday.
Marcucci spoke with the press following the match after he ended up stopping four shots and earned the prized clean sheet.
“I felt really good today and it showed out there and I’m excited for the next couple of games,” Marcucci said.
Later in the 39th minute, midfielder Mohammed Sofo came sprinting down the pitch to score for New York, but nothing arose from the opportunity.
New York, however, amped up their work in the attacking-third to start the second half. Following attempts from Hall and defender Dylan Nealis, it appeared New York got on the board after Sofo put it in the net. Unfortunately for New York, Sofo was caught for being offside in the 54th minute.
With momentum in the favor of New York, Schwarz subbed on Choupo-Moting in the 59th minute to strengthen their opportunities. Forsberg would eventually enter the match in the 73rd minute, coming on for Hall. The dynamic duo would nearly convert a minute later, but nothing amounted from Choupo-Moting’s shot.
After a grueling, physical and tension-filled last twenty minutes of the contest, Guadalajara’s Daniel Aguirre was issued a yellow card late in the match. By taking down Choupo-Moting, the Red Bulls were given a free kick in the waning minutes of stoppage time. With the match coming down to one last free kick, Forsberg delivered big-time and gave the Red Bulls a monumental victory.
“Fanstatic feeling to get the win in that last moment for us after some hard weeks…everybody should be proud of themselves for what we did today,” Forsberg told the press following the match.
The Red Bulls will now head to Cincinnati Sunday to face F.C. Monterrey in their second match of the Leagues Cup. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
