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New York Red Bulls: What to make of early struggles?

By Brendan Myers

HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ - MARCH 23: Sacha Kljestan #16 of Orlando City celebrates his goal with teammates during 2nd half of the MLS match between Orlando City SC and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on March 23, 2019 in Harrison, NJ, USA. Orlando City SC won the match with a score of 1 to 0. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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The New York Red Bulls are currently in ninth place after five games in the still-young MLS campaign. What should be made of their early-season struggles?

Five games into the season is hardly enough of a sample size to hit the panic button, but to say it’s been an underwhelming start to the New York Red Bulls’ season would be an understatement. The Red Bulls currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-3-1 record. Again, it’s important to stress that the MLS season is still in its infancy, but the Red Bulls have looked vulnerable defensively and haven’t been clinical in the attacking third. That is not a good combination,

Let’s start with the offense. Six goals in five games isn’t atrocious, but what’s worrisome is where the goals are coming from. Alex Muyl is the team’s leading scorer as of now, and Bradley Wright-Phillips only has one goal on four shots on goal. BWP has started four of the team’s five games in 2019.

That’s not to insult Muyl. He has been an extremely dependable wing-back/midfielder in his career, but the Red Bulls are going to need more production from their creative players to improve upon their slow start. Aside from a four-goal comeback surge against San Jose, the Red Bulls offense has been largely anaemic so far in 2019. They’ve been shut out twice. But it’s not all bad.

When you look at the San Jose game, which is by far the best performance of the season, the Red Bulls looked at their best when they got the ball wide, played it into the box and used their aggressive nature to win the 50-50 crosses. All four of their goals came off a player squaring the ball across the face of the goal.

The quick ball movement to allow players the freedom on the wings just hasn’t been there consistently. BWP isn’t a striker who’s going to strike from outside of the box. He’s crafty with his runs and a master of getting in front of center-backs inside of the box. But he needs service to thrive. The team should look to provide the foundation for their talented wide players to get more crosses into the box.

The team also still looks dangerous from set pieces. The goal against Minnesota United came off a set piece and a training ground routine led to the second goal in the win against San Jose. Ever since Jesse Marsch came to Harrison, set pieces have always been well-rehearsed and innovative, leading to an important asset for New York.

Moving to the defense, the New York Red Bulls have yet to keep a clean sheet. Aaron Long’s absence for the USMNT camp might have interrupted the rhythm of the backline, but RBNY hasn’t looked on par with their astute defense from a season ago. Passes between the lines through the midfield have left the backline exposed and forced a lot last ditch tackles.

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On Minnesota’s first goal on Saturday, a pass into the feet of Angelo Rodriguez at the edge of the 18-yard box proved to be costly for the Red Bulls. Sean Davis, tracking back from the midfield, committed to help Tim Parker pressure the ball, but Michael Amir Murillo’s momentary lapse allowed Abu Danladi to slip into the middle of the box and slot home the opening goal. One pass between the lines had the Red Bulls defense out of sync. Minnesota United made them pay.

The second goal the team gave up on Saturday was equally uncharacteristic of the Red Bulls defense. A lofted cross came into the box from the left touchline and Aaron Long, who rarely loses an aerial duel, slipped (or received a little push from Rodriguez) and allowed the ball to remain in the box. After the ensuing chaos, Romario Ibarra smashed home the loose ball.

The development of the New York Red Bulls midfield post-Tyler Adams is most likely the answer. It is not as easy as this sentence is about to make it sound, but if the midfielders can grow to shield the backline while helping the attackers like Kaku and Daniel Royer find the space they need to be effective, the Red Bulls can start to combat the early season problems.

Cristian Casseres has now made two starts for the team and scored New York’s lone goal in the loss to Minnesota. The 19-year-old midfielder is a marauding box-to-box midfielder that could form a strong partnership with Sean Davis to help secure the team’s midfield. By providing both a defensive protection and an offensive foundation, the Red Bulls can get back to last season’s sensational form.

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Given how the team has started in years past, hitting the panic button would be an extremely premature and an irresponsible thing to say. The team just looks out of sync to open up the season. Suring up the midfield will go a long way to solving their problems. For now, the New York Red Bulls are fine. How long that lasts, though, remains to be seen.

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