Business handled.
The New York Red Bulls booked their spot in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals after a 3-0 win at Red Bull Arena, 5-0 on aggregate, over the Dominican Republic's Atletico Pantoja. They will take on Santos Laguna of Liga MX in the first leg next week.
RBNY fielded their (presumed) first-choice lineup. Kemar Lawrence didn’t make the 18-man roster as he returns from injury; Connor Lade started in his left back spot. Marc Rzatkowski held the defensive midfield position over challenger Cristian Casseres Jr.
The part Red Bulls fans should be stoked about…
NY Red Bulls teammates Sean Davis and Alex Muyl swarm for the ball against Atletico Pantoja. | Courtesy: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Holy crap did the team swarm and hunt in the first half.
The basic tenets that make the Red Bulls the Red Bulls — yeah, they're still there. RBNY put a blanket over Atletico Pantoja every time the visitors got on the ball. Pantoja struggled to get out of their own half. When Pantoja did manage to get past the first wave, Tim Parker and Aaron Long won the first ball and connected a pass off the interception.
I was actually surprised to see the Red Bulls press so aggressively. Head coach Chris Armas has made it clear — through his words and through his strategic decisions during the 2018 playoffs — that he’d like to add more to the team’s repertoire. He wants them to be able to win a game through something other than pressure. The home leg of a series they led 2-0 seemed like a good opportunity for live practice.
The part Red Bulls fans should be stressed over…
NY Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips chases the ball near the Atletico Pantoja goal line. BWP would go scoreless in the match. | Courtesy: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Remember what haunted the Red Bulls in last year’s Concacaf Champions League semifinal series against Chivas Guadalajara? Let’s just say this… it rhymes with 19 shots.
The attack missed a heavy dose of chances Wednesday night, as well. Alex Muyl missed a sitter near the goal line, Daniel Royer missed a solid opportunity from 12 yards, and even Bradley Wright-Phillips failed to execute from close range.
They created so many good opportunities that they put enough away to win the series against Atletico Pantoja. But if they had missed those opportunities on another day and against another opponent, it could lead to the same recurring nightmare for Red Bulls fans.
Also, Michael Murillo picked up his second yellow of the series; he’ll miss the first leg of the matchup with Santos Laguna. It was the most confusing/infuriating yellow card I’ve ever seen — it was a soft call from the referee, but it was also a poor decision for Murillo to even make contact with the player when he was on a yellow card. Kyle Duncan time…
