Although the season is only three games old, the New York Red Bulls have significantly improved compared to the start of last season. The club’s start this year is already considered historic.
With a 2-0-1 start, New York has earned seven points across three matches, tied for the most earned through three matches in franchise history (2004, 2007, 2015, 2020). Newly appointed head coach Sandro Schwarz has turned things around, as has the addition of players such as Emil Forsberg and Noah Eile and the comeback of Lewis Morgan. Here is a look at what has worked so far from the past three competitions and what can be improved.
What Has Worked For Red Bulls
So far, at the start of the season, Schwarz has played around with the formation, moving around certain players. With the first two matches, Schwarz went with a traditional 4-4-2, putting Forsberg and Stroud on the wings, then substituting Morgan for Stroud later. With this formation, Morgan scored the game-winning goal against Houston Dynamo FC. Schwarz changed things for the match against FC Dallas, creating a 4-2-3-1 formation with Forsberg, Morgan, and Stroud acting as attacking midfielders. Once again, New York secured a 2-1 victory, with both goals coming from the Swede and Scot.
Of all the improvements this season, the duo of Forsberg and Morgan has been the most noticeable. Through the first three matches, the duo have combined for three goals, one assist, and eight shots on target.
“Yes, as only three games and so it's hard to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Morgan said after the Dallas game. “I think there's obviously different personnel from last season, even if you count myself as a new player and Emil coming in. We lost players in that area. So it's a completely revamped frontline. And the saints so far have been good but that's all as it's just so far. There's been three games so we know that the works not done we need to keep progressing.”
Morgan had his season cut short last year due to injuries but is already feeling like his old self again at the start. With two game-winning goals already, he’s quickly become an integral part of the team again.
“Yeah, we want to change and Lewis played the first time now in the starting lineup,” Schwarz said. “So after his injury, so this was also the reason for us. We spoke before the game, maybe after 60 minutes, I think the substitution was 70, 75 minutes like this, and then also, the last minutes that we have three center-backs, it was Andrés, against this quality of talent and also the reason that we changed Lewis and Emil, also, in the last sequence of the game.”
What Can Be Improved
Despite their two wins and newfound ability to score more goals, which was a problem last season, the Red Bulls still find a way to make things close with their opponent when it shouldn’t be. In their two wins against Houston and Dallas, the club seemed to relax and park the bus once New York took the lead. Both times, this almost resulted in their opponent scoring a late game-tying goal. The Red Bulls need to be more aggressive once they take the lead and score another goal or two for insurance.
Here is what Schwarz had to say after the match against Dallas.
“We are very happy about the result, also for our supporters, but we have to improve for sure especially the second half, the last 15, 20 minutes, we were too passive and we didn't control the game and so many mistakes, and also, you lose with the ball,” Schwarz said. “Then you lose a little confidence. But yeah, this is the third game in the season and this is also a quality to win this game, especially with this performance in the second half, after, I don't want to criticize too much. We are happy with these seven points the first three games but we have also to improve the second half.”
Onto Columbus for Date With Defending Champs
The Red Bulls will play their next match at Lower.com Field against the Columbus Crew. This match will be a true test of what this club is made of as they face the defending MLS Cup champions. Both clubs are in the top five in the Eastern Conference, with a 2-0-1 record and seven points.
New York will likely rely on the dynamic duo of Morgan and Forsberg to step up once again, and their defense will continue applying pressure in the middle of the field.
The Crew have only lost one home game in their previous 31 competitions since August 2022. However, New York is on a streak of its own, having gone unbeaten on the road for six straight regular-season matches, continuing from last season. Although it’s still early in the season, this is an excellent game to test the Red Bulls' mettle.
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- Red Bulls take down reigning Supporters' Shield winners FC Cincinnati - April 8, 2024
