New York Red Bulls 4, New York City FC 0 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

Charles Boehm

The New York Red Bulls turned back the clock to the early years of the NY Derby on Saturday, routing their crosstown rivals New York City FC 4-0 in a comprehensive victory fueled by a roaring start.

Alejandro Romero "Kaku" Gamarra and Florian Valot got the hosts off to a dream beginning with two goals in the first four minutes, as a sleepy NYCFC side were thoroughly swamped by RBNY's energy and intensity at Red Bull Arena.

Bradley Wright-Phillips deepened the divide with a simple finish 10 minutes before halftime, and substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. added a late exclamation point to conjure up memories of the "Red Wedding," RBNY's 7-0 thrashing in a 2016 edition of this clash.

Goals

2' – RBNY – Kaku | WATCH
4' – RBNY – Florian Valot | WATCH
35' – RBNY – Bradley Wright-Phillips | WATCH
79' – RBNY – Derrick Etienne Jr. | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: Did we time-travel back to 2015? There was no sign of the imperious NYCFC side that's raced out to the top of the overall league standings in 2018, as the red half of New York imposed their style and tempo on this showdown with impunity.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH: BWP has delighted in destroying NYCFC over the years and his header killed off any hopes the visitors might have had of mounting a comeback.

MAN OF THE MATCH
: BWP and Kaku did plenty to earn consideration for this honor, but we'll go with
Tyler Adams
, whose work rate and ferocity set the tone for the afternoon.

Tyler Adams is up for this one. We're 15 minutes in and he's tackled half the NYCFC team and 2-3 of his own teammates already.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) May 5, 2018