NEW YORK – It was a historic and remarkably lopsided victory, but the New York Red Bulls' overpowering 7-0 triumph at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon had its foundations in the 2-0 loss to D.C. United at RFK Stadium back on May 13.
“We learned a ton from a week ago in D.C. where we laid a goose egg and we just felt like we never wanted to do that again,” Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch said. “A lot of it had to do with our ability to step on the field and really know what it meant to go after it.”
That lesson was clearly learned with their most lopsided win in club history on Saturday, one that Marsch said he never expected.
“Not in our wildest dreams would we have predicted 7-0,” Marsch said. “But I think it was an expression of the belief and commitment that this team has for each other and a chance for them to show, mostly themselves, what we’re all about.”
In a young New York rivalry that has been decidedly red thus far, the Red Bulls have been especially dominant at Yankee Stadium, outscoring the home team 10-1 in two contests.
“I know with the way that we run and the speed at which we play and the way we press, we’re always excited to come here because we feel it’s a chance to do what we do at an effective rate,” Marsch said.
Bradley Wright-Phillips, who scored twice in the closing moments of the first half and assisted on Alex Muyl’s first MLS goal in the second half, said he had “no complaints” and even struggled to explain the virtuoso performance that tied for largest margin of victory in MLS history.
“We came in expecting a brawl, and it was that, but we were so clinical there was nothing stopping us today," Wright-Phillips said. "We were running through walls. I don’t think there was a bad player on the pitch. We got the goals to deserve it.”
The Red Bulls improve to 4-0-0 against NYCFC and now move into third place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind NYCFC and two behind the East-leading Philadelphia Union.
Sacha Kljestan, who assisted on both of Dax McCarty’s headed goals on corners, was thrilled about the win, but he knows it won’t be the same when these teams meet again for two final matches in July.
“Look, we all stuck together, our mentality was great all night and we finished a lot of chances,” Kljestan said. “I don’t think a lot of derby games are going to like this.”
