RECAP: Red Bull and City Play to Stalemate

HARRISON, N.J. – Red Bull New York hosted the first New York Derby of 2026 in MLS on Saturday night with opposition New York City FC playing to a 1-1 draw at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The game saw two different halves with both teams showing signs of dominance and missing key chances to put their opponents down to claim all three points.

The first half saw Red Bull control the contest. They made few mistakes with their passing and kept NYC pinned down in their own half. Winger Cade Cowell was dynamic in his movements, taking on Nico Cavallo and creating scoring chances. The only blemish in the half was an unfortunate injury to City’s Maxi Moralez. The star player appeared to suffer a knee injury, forcing his removal from the field.

Red Bull found their only goal of the game just before halftime when Jorge Ruvalcaba finished a chance in front of goal. A mad dash to the net created the chaos that saw Ruvalcaba convert for his fifth goal of 2026. With halftime approaching, Red Bull not only had their goal, but also kept City away from dangerous set piece opportunities that plagued them in the US Open Cup game weeks earlier.

Head coach Pascal Jansen made significant changes in the second half, bringing on forward Malachi Jones and shifting Nico Fernandez out wide. Suddenly, City came to life, stretching the Red Bull defense and applying the type of pressure that they couldn’t in the first 45 minutes. A set piece opportunity in the 52nd minute saw Fernandez put a ball to the head of Andres Perea for his first goal of 2026, equalizing the contest.

For the remainder of the half Red Bull looked to re-establish their control of the game. It was futile as NYC created chances, intercepted passes and nearly scored on multiple occasions from the work of Jones and Agustin Ojeda.

The draw sees both clubs remain in strong playoff positions, City in fifth and Red Bull in sixth. One game remains for both clubs before the World Cup break. Red Bull will travel to Kansas City to play Sporting KC while NYCFC will make a trip to Columbus for the US Open Cup quarterfinal round before rounding out their month against Nashville next weekend.

STARTING XI:

Red Bull New York: Horvath; Marshall-Rutty, Che (69′ Parker), Nealis, Dos Santos (69′ Valencia), Donkor, Mehmeti, Forsberg (69′ Berggren), Cowell, Hall, Ruvalcaba (85′ Mosquera)

New York City FC: Freese; Gray, Gustavo, Martins, Cavallo, Parks (59′ Shore), Moralez (39′ Perea), Trewin, Ojeda (90′ Farnos), Fernandez (90′ Reid), Wolf (45′ Jones)

SCORING SUMMARY:
44′ (Red Bull New York) Jorge Ruvalcaba (5) unassisted
52′ (New York City FC) Andres Perea (1) assisted Nico Fernandez

DISCIPLINE:
24′ (Red Bull New York) Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty – YELLOW CARD
24′ (New York City FC) Raul Gustavo – YELLOW CARD
49′ (New York City FC) Keaton Parks – YELLOW CARD
67′ (Red Bull New York) Jorge Ruvalcaba – YELLOW CARD
77′ (New York City FC) Nico Cavallo – YELLOW CARD
82′ (Red Bull New York) Dylan Nealis – YELLOW CARD
86′ (Red Bull New York) Tim Parker – YELLOW CARD