New York Red Bulls have officially dropped down to earth following a great start under head coach Sandro Schwarz and have suffered one of their more humiliating results in recent memory on the back of a 6-2 loss to Inter Miami on Saturday night. It was a second half collapse that saw history being made with a hat trick from Luis Suarez, five assists and a goal from Lionel Messi and a strong performance by substitute Matias Rojas.
“We’re very disappointed about the second half,” said captain Emil Forsberg after the game. “We played a perfect first half. We did very well. We did what we said we were going to do. We spoke about the second half of the first 15 minutes but it’s football. It’s hard to explain what happened. We conceded six goals in 45 minutes. It’s not a good feeling.”
Forsberg was correct in his assessment of the first half. They dominated Inter Miami by clogging the middle and forcing bad passes. It worked so well that they were able to gain the advantage in the 30th minute Dante Vanzeir pounced on a rebound to open the scoring. It all seemed well for Red Bulls heading into the second half. However a halftime substitution to bring on Matias Rojas made all the difference.
Rojas’ inclusion allowed Miami to play more direct and it paid off just three minutes into the second half. A lazer shot from the Paraguayan midfielder equalized the game. Minutes later his pressure helped create the goal for Messi.
“They have Messi, Suarez and Busquets,” said Forsberg. “They have so much individual quality so a goal can happen at any minute but we can’t allow ourselves to concede six goals in, I don’t know how much time it was.”
In the end the result boils down to a gulf in team construction. While Forsberg, Eile and Gjengaar represent the main players brought in for New York, it pales in comparison to Miami’s acquisitions. Putting aside the Suarez move, a player the quality of Rojas is what was expected when Head of Sport Jochen Schneider spoke about the product not being good enough.
Now the team will have to take a step back as their schedule becomes a bit lighter. New England Revolution come to town as one of the worst teams in the league. A win over them will create confidence. However, much like NYCFC weeks ago, it is a huge test to see where the team currently stands in MLS.
“Like I said, not accepting this and to raise our standards,” said Forsberg. “To get out on our own field, our own town, Red Bull Arena, and win. I think we need to give our fans that and give ourselves that. We have to make ourselves proud and to show ourselves as well what quality we have and what we can do.”
