New York Red Bulls 2, Los Angeles Football Club 1 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

HARRISON, N.J. — Daniel Royer struck for a brace to help lift the New York Red Bulls to a 2-1 win over LAFC in a star-studded showdown of league powerhouses Sunday at Red Bull Arena.

Royer netted his second goal 10 minutes from full time on a play that started with Bradley Wright-Phillips latching onto a long ball from Marc Rzatkowski. BWP ran into space in the box before slipping the ball to Royer for the easy tap-in.

Royer opened the scoring for the Red Bulls (14-6-2) in the 39th minute, starting the buildup with a ball to Kaku. The playmaker crossed to Michael Murillo, who sent a first-time in front of the goal.

The ball took a deflection off Jordan Harvey and was then spilled by Tyler Miller before Royer, who appeared to be inadvertently clipped by Steven Beitashour on his run to the front of the net, slipped in from his back.

Diego Rossi leveled for LAFC (10-6-6) in the 53rd minute, slashing inside of Murillo to latch onto a Carlos Vela pass before putting a low shot behind Luis Robles from 13 yards out.

Goals

• 39’ — RBNY — Daniel Royer | WATCH
• 53’ — LAFC — Diego Rossi | WATCH
• 80’ — RBNY — Daniel Royer | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: The Red Bulls rebounded well from a rare home loss and can add another marquee win to an impressive resume, while LAFC conceded another late goal that proved costly.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Rzatkowski has come alive under the direction of new head coach Chris Armas, and he delivered a perfect ball over the top of the LAFC backline. From there, Wright-Phillips and Royer were able to find the winner.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Royer scored the goals and he’ll get the glory, but Tyler Adams bossed the midfield, quietly controlling the match and limiting some of LAFC’s creativity.

Next Up

• RBNY: Saturday, August 11 at Chicago Fire (8:30 pm ET - TV & Streaming info)
• LAFC: U.S. Open Cup — Wednesday, August 8 at Houston Dynamo (8:30 pm ET)