This Sunday (20), at the Red Bull Arena, the New York Red Bulls are set to take on a well-known opponent. With DC United coming to town, both clubs are poised to make history in Major League Soccer. This match will mark their 100th encounter, a record in the league’s history, encompassing both regular season and playoff games.
Within the Eastern Conference standings, DC United currently holds the 9th position, with a total of 30 points across 24 matches (8 wins, 6 draws, and 10 losses). The Red Bulls, positioned 11th, closely follow with 26 points, having played 23 matches (6 wins, 8 draws, and 9 losses).
Sunday’s meeting between @dcunited and the @NewYorkRedBulls will mark the 100th meeting in @MLS play (regular season and postseason), becoming the first matchup in league history to hit that mark.
Below are notable moments from the first 99 games. pic.twitter.com/1TZJU3ex2p
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) August 18, 2023
After being knocked out of the Leagues Cup via a penalty shootout by the Philadelphia Union on August 15th, New York granted its players a brief respite. Subsequently, the team resumed training. Notably, the newly signed Colombians during the secondary transfer window, right back Juan José Mina and striker Jorge Hurtado Cabezas, have yet to join the club.
DC United also faced the same fate in the Leagues Cup, being ousted by the Philadelphia Union through penalty kicks.
“They’re ahead of us right now. In the Open Cup match, both squads were rotated. In DC, I see a team that’s completely different from that night. They have a lot of experience, a lot of talent, and they’re coached extremely well”, said the head coach Troy Lesesne during his press conference ahead of the match, going back to May when the Red Bulls sent DC home in the US Open Cup round of 32 with a 1-0 win in Montclair, New Jersey.
The absence of attacking midfielder Lewis Morgan continues to affect the Red Bulls. Despite his brief return to the squad and even taking a penalty kick against Philadelphia on August 3rd, the Scottish player is dealing with a a subsequent setback in his condition, as confirmed by Troy Lesesne.
Resiliency
Midfielder Omir Fernandez also expressed his perspective on the mindset that the Red Bulls must adopt for their Sunday match against DC in order to secure three points. “We need to be resilient. We’re going to take it one game at a time. DCU is a good team. We have to be in the game for the whole 90 minutes”, remarked Omir.
(Cover: New York Red Bulls)
