Bronx, NY - After being demolished in May 7-0 at home to their city rivals, New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira told the media, "That was a one-off game." The team that showed up to Yankee Stadium today looked and played like a completely different squad. Following strong midfield and defensive game plans, New York City FC beat the New York Red Bulls for the first time ever in the 2-0 victory this afternoon.
From 7 to 0 Real Quick
If there were two quick aspects from the 7-0 drumming they received last time around, City players and coaches would quickly point out bad defending off set pieces and poor marking in the central defensive midfield area. On Sunday afternoon, it appeared a reborn NYCFC backline and midfield controlled the match even when the Red Bulls brought the pressure on the house.
Vieira spoke post match on what the plan was tactically today.
“I think we did our homework. We knew that they are aggressive and that they were going to stay on the ball. Our idea was just to create more distance between their outside backs to close our outside backs and give us a little more time to make a decisions and that’s why I’m really happy because we took the three points, but I was more pleased with the way we played because we stuck to our principles and that was really good.”
Absent in the last derby, Jefferson Mena was a rock for New York City's backline. Alongside his partner Brilliant, the two were able to dictate set pieces in the air and keep the Red Bulls' aerial game at bay.
"Tonight I think [Mena] was fantastic. If he keeps working like that, there will be no reason for me to take him off the team," head coach Patrick Vieira said in his post match press conference.
Flanked by Jason Hernandez and RJ Allen, the backline were able to open up spaces and build from the back. It looked like a classic Patrick Vieira gameplay from the defense. Unlike the previous derby match, the City backline appeared to play out of the corners, allowing the fullbacks more time on the ball and more time to make the right decision.
Andoni Iraola excelled at the central defensive midfield role. The former Atletico Bilbao defender allowed the midfield to spread out and pick out players the attack, as well as cover for Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard on the counter.
Harrison's On Fire, You're Defense is Terrified!
Young Englishman and rookie NYCFC sensation Jack Harrison continued to dazzle for the Blue Pigeons. Scoring his second MLS goal midway through the first half, it was clear that his quick moves and shot were too much for Mike Grella and Luis Robles to handle off the set piece.
Harrison was a constant threat for City the entire match in the left wing. The former Manchester United Academy product linked up very nicely with the midfielders and fullbacks on several occasions to start the counter or create quick chances for New York City.
A perfect example of his skill, ball possession, and offensive prowess came in the 66th minute. After a Red Bulls chance at goal, Josh Saunders quickly threw the ball upfield to Frank Lampard. The former Chelsea star quickly fed Harrison on the wing to spring the Englishman on a two on one, where he quickly crossed the ball across the face of the box to David Villa who slotted the ball into the back of the end to make it 2-0.
Chris Duvall's sending off sealed the fate for the Red Bulls in the 79th minute, when he was sent off for a studs up tackle on Andrea Pirlo.
Next
New York City play away to New England on Wednesday, while the Red Bulls two home matches this week. The Harrison, NJ club have a friendly against Liga MX side Club America on Wednesday night, and then an MLS match against the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Game Notes (via NYCFC and RBNY PR):
The Red Bulls are 4-1-0 all-time against NYC FC and 2-1-0 at Yankee Stadium since NYC FC joined Major League Soccer in 2015.
The Red Bulls are 7-9-2 on the season and sit in fourth place the Eastern Conference with 23 points.
It was the final match of the four-game road swing for New York, including Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup matchup at Philadelphia. New York has played six games in 19 days since entering the U.S. Open Cup on June 15.
New York City FC has won three games in a row (matching a season high) and has moved into sole possession of 1st place in the Eastern Conference.
David Villa continues to lead the MLS Golden Boot race after scoring his league-high 12th goal of the season.
Josh Saunders collected his second consecutive clean sheet.
