The New York Red Bulls are off to a strong start in the 2024 season and right away you are seeing a team that doesn’t get frustrated or worried when they lose a lead or go behind right away when the opposition scores against them. Case in point their last road match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. They took on LAFC who has been strong at home since coming into the league, and they have dropped all points at home through the play of their stellar goalscorer Denny Bouanga.
While the club was up one goal to nil through the entire first half with a little help from LAFC’s substitute for the injured Aaron Long, you saw a questionable call for a penalty in favor of LAFC after the ball was removed from Bouanga’s feet by Sean Nealis. Even though Bouanga converted the spot kick to level it, the Red Bulls continued to fight back for the lead again and did so on a corner from the far side. Seeing Emil Forsberg smash it home was fabulous and you felt like the three points were secured.
Yes, they would get scored on again by Bouanga, with an unfortunate deflection off of Noah Eile, but the club continued to press on inside second half stoppage time. Just when you thought Elias Manoel was about to steal all the three points back, he sadly nailed the crossbar and the referee blew his whistle to end the match in a two all draw. We can all agree that this should’ve been a win, but what we should truly be happy about is the fight and the determination we saw on the pitch from these players. Last year you couldn’t say that, you hoped for it, but it never happened.
Seeing Sandro Schwarz coming to the Red Bulls at this point has been a good hire by Head of Sport Jochen Schneider. We are seeing this team playing with a purpose, and it’s not just having talented players like Forsberg, Morgan, and the usual cast of characters mesh and gel, they are showing why Schwarz’s tactics are working right now. Is there room for improvement? Of course, there is, but we can’t have any panic right now. Only, one loss in nine matches to start the season has been solid, and currently in second place in the East and have a game in hand on Inter Miami who is two points ahead of them.
I know the fans will sometimes still pick a part of a problem here and there, but that’s normal. What all of you must love under this coaching staff is that they have their fingers on this team and they are doing the job to put them in the proper position to succeed. Even though we did see Schwarz a bit animated inside his technical area to push the boys forward and attack, it looks like he is pleased with how the club has performed since the start of the season. We have seen solid draws and massive wins for sixteen points. When the major bump in the road comes, then we can take a deeper look. For now, let’s enjoy the ride as they are back in the top half of the Eastern Conference.