The Occasion: MLS Week 3

The Opponent: New York Red Bulls

Head-to-Head: Minnesota claimed all three points on their last trip to Red Bull Arena, which came on April 6, 2019. Abu Danladi opened the scoring for the Loons in the 34th minute, and Romario Ibarra added another in the opening minutes of the second half. Cristian Cásseres Jr. got one back for RBNY in the 70th minute, and the match ended 2-1 in favor of Minnesota. New York won both of the first two meetings between the clubs, both times by a score of 3-0.

Their Run of Form

Week 1 - 3-1 W at San Jose (‘45+1 goal by Patryk Klimala, assisted by Lewis Morgan; ‘72 goal by Omir Fernandez, assisted by Frankie Amaya; ‘90+2 goal by Tom Barlow assisted by Caden Clark)

Week 2 - 4-1 W at Toronto (‘17 goal by Lewis Morgan, assisted by Patryk Klimala; ‘24 goal by Lewis Morgan, assisted by Patryk Klimala; ‘40 goal by Lewis Morgan, assisted by Patryk Klimala; ‘42 goal by Aaron Long, assisted by Frankie Amaya

Last Season

The Red Bulls finished in the 7th and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference in 2021, picking up 48 points on the season with a record of 13-12-9. Their 33 goals allowed on the season tied them with Nashville and Seattle for the fewest allowed in the league. New York also heated up towards season’s end and went 7-2-4 over their final 13.

New York’s 2021 season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs against Philadelphia Union. The two east coast rivals played to a dead heat for over 120 minutes, and the match appeared destined for penalty kicks, when Jakob Glesness buried an absolute golazo on a volley from 30 yards out to send the Red Bulls home.

More

Minnesota United FC has its work cut out for itself this Sunday evening. The Loons face a Red Bulls squad that took all six possible points from its first two away matches of the season, is currently leading the league in goals scored (7) and goal differential (+5), and is led by dangerous winger Lewis Morgan, who tallied a hat trick in the first half of last week’s win in Toronto and took home MLS Player of the Week honors

RBNY is off to its best start since 2017 and is looking to start the season with a 3-0 mark for the first time in franchise history.

The Defense

Goalkeeper Carlos Coronel needs to be the first name mentioned here. It’s hard to lose if you never let the opposing team score, and that’s pretty much how Coronel has played from mid-summer 2021 to now. Coronel tied Nashville’s Joe Willis in Clean Sheets last season with 13, and his 0.97 GAA was also tied for best in the league with Willis and Colorado’s William Yarbrough. 

Versatile defenders and brothers Dylan and Sean Nealis are joined by Aaron Long and John Tolkin to form an imposing backline in front of Coronel, and give Gerhard Stuber the flexibility to move them around and play multiple formations. The Loons definitely have the weapons to score multiple goals in a game for the first time in 2022, but it’s not going to be easy.

The Attack

At the risk of venturing too close to the tired and low-hanging fruit of making a ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ pun, it must be said this Red Bulls team is flying high. Morgan and Polish DP Patryk Klimala were devastating in the final third against Toronto and put the Reds on ice early. 

Through two games, Stuber’s attackers have punished opposing backlines by blitzing forward with unrelenting vertical movement. Minnesota’s depth at fullback has been tested already in this young season with Chase Gasper and Romain Métanire missing both games, and it will certainly be tested again against this Red Bull attack that loves to win the ball and run like hell.

DJ Taylor’s energy boost off the bench at the right back position was huge in stymying the Nashville attack in the second half of last week’s home-opening draw, and his energy and pace could well prove useful again (I will not make an energy drink joke). Even if Gasper and Metanire are set to return, the services of Taylor and Oniel Fisher, who has started both games at fullback, could be key in keeping New York’s forwards in check and preventing the dangerous trailing midfielders of Morgan, Frankie Amaya, Dru Yearwood, Omir Fernandez and company from running wild.

Final Thought

Stuber has trotted out a couple different formations in as many games and put his team in a variety of different shapes throughout last season, so it will be interesting to see how the Red Bulls line up on Sunday.

The tough schedule to start the season continues, but this match in New Jersey provides an exciting opportunity for MNUFC. It will be hard to keep the Loons hype train quiet for much longer if the club is able to notch points in a third consecutive game against a participant from last year’s Eastern Conference playoff bracket.

Happy Trails

Longtime Red Bulls striker, Bradley Wright-Phillips, announced his retirement from professional soccer on Tuesday afternoon on his Instagram page. Wright-Phillips’s 117 goals in league play rank sixth all-time in MLS history. During his time with the Red Bulls, the Manchester City Academy product won two MLS Golden Boots and tied a then-single-season goals record with 27 in the 2014 season. Wright-Phillips found the back of the net in both of the Red Bulls 3-0 victories against the Loons, and tallied two in the 2018 meeting between the clubs.

Congrats on an incredible career, BWP!

NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, New Jersey
03.13.22 | MLS Week No. 3 | MLS Game No. 3
6:00 p.m. CT (Bally Sports North EXTRA, MNUFC Radio on SKOR North)