New York Red Bulls: 2020 Preview – Decline starts now?

With less than a month to go until the start of the 2020 MLS campaign, we are taking a look at how each team has evolved since last year, and their chances this term. This time, we look at the New York Red Bulls.

Once again in 2019, the New York Red Bulls made it into the postseason without much drama, making it ten consecutive years that they have played in the playoffs. They ended the regular season in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, setting up an away tie against the Philadelphia Union. However, that would be the end of their postseason run as the Union got the better of them in an epic encounter which saw the Red Bulls squandering a 3-1 lead before conceding a gut-wrenching winner in extra-time.

In the U.S. Open Cup, the New York Red Bulls failed to reach the last 16 for only the second time in the last decade as they lost out to the New England Revolution in the fourth round. The club also featured in the CONCACAF Champions League, where for the third year in succession, they made it through to at least the last eight after overcoming Atletico Pantoja in the first round. They lost out to Mexican side Santos Laguna in the quarters, losing 6-2 on aggregate.

Here is how the New York Red Bulls shape up ahead of the 2020 season.

Best Performers

The 2019 campaign saw two of the New York Red Bulls’ best XI score more than 7/10 for their WhoScored rating across the regular season as they struggled for goals going forward.

German midfielder Marc Rzatkowski was the club’s best player in 2019, averaging a rating of 7.14. He scored twice and assisted eight times in 28 games. After recovering from an ACL injury, right-back Kyle Duncan also scored more than a 7/10 rating, despite only featuring 13 times for the club.

The likes of Daniel Royer, Sean Davis and Alejandro Romero Gamarra also put in great shifts over the course of last season, with Royer being the side’s top scorer in the league, bagging 11 goals in 31 appearances.