Red Bull New York suffered their first loss of the 2026 season over one month ago to CF Montreal, who have since imploded, falling to last place in the MLS Eastern Conference. The game, which many predicted, looked to be an easy win for Red Bull. However, former winger Wiki Carmona scored twice in order to hand the French-Canadian club their only win thus far. Head coach Michael Bradley spoke about the fixture, marking it as one of the stranger experiences the club has had this season.
“It was a weird game,” said Bradley when asked about the lessons learned from the previous fixture. “We looked at it and talked about the things that needed to be better on the day. But at this point, it is long behind us. We’ve learned in a good way. We’ve improved and we’re excited about another chance.”
That chance comes on Saturday afternoon as Red Bull travels to Stade Saputo on a three-game point streak. The club won big over FC Cincinnati and then drew with Inter Miami last week. New York also eliminated the 2025 USL Championship winners Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday to progress in the US Open Cup.
Several players are also riding a wave of momentum heading into the fixture. Julian Hall has made it a habit of breaking records for young players. His seven goals in all competitions has made him one of the more dynamic forwards in the United States. While there is a likelihood that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting should see minutes for rotation, Hall could still have an impact as either a starter or off the bench.
“With a new team, with a young team, the part of continuing to grow, continuing to strengthen our identity, to understand who we are, how we want to play, every team goes through that and every player then has to understand that if we’re going to be a different kind of team,” said Bradley.
While sitting in seventh place, New York is only two points out of second position. The parity in the Eastern Conference is stark. However, Montreal is in a different scenario. With just one win, the club has already fired their head coach and looking for a turnaround before the season is completely lost.
Anticipation is that Montreal will be a dangerous team but an adversary that Red Bull will need to conquer in order to show that they are truly one of the elite in the East.
photo by Matt Kremkau