RECAP: Forsberg Brace Gives Red Bulls Win vs Toronto, 2-1
Emil Forsberg’s brace lifted the New York Red Bulls to their second win of the 2025 season against Toronto FC.
The home side at Sports Illustrated Stadium looked in control but not fully dominant en route to the 2-1 win.
The struggling TFC scored an equalizer against the debuting AJ Marcucci and had moments trying to salvage a point.
Head coach Sandro Schwarz says his team found the rhythm more as the game went on. But New York still needs to get more men into the box to create chances.
“This has been the next step when we are dominant. To create more situations in the box or around the box,” Schwarz said.
“I would say especially in the second half; it worked at the beginning very well. But I am very satisfied today with the performance, and this is the next step.”
As it stands, the Red Bulls (2-1-2, 8 pts) are unbeaten in their last four matches (2-0-2).
First Half
The biggest shocks of the early game came from the roster.
With Carlos Coronel away for international duty, AJ Marcucci suited up for his first start with the first team. Wiki Carmona also earned his first start of the season in the attacking midfield alongside Emil Forsberg.
As New York’s injury woes combine with national team callups, the team chemistry has still shown through—minus a few hiccups, of course.
Timely ball movements and well-placed defending have allowed the Bulls to keep a majority of possession through most of the five games played.
“We are having fun together, working hard, and pushing to improve every game,” Forsberg said after the game.
“After last season, we knew we had to do more, and I think we are doing that. Every game, every day, we are getting better, especially in the attacking half.”
The issue still remains in the shooting and scoring. For 25 minutes, the home side only had one shot on target and struggled to look threatening against goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
The break came in the 38th minute when New York defensive winger Raheem Edwards made contact with Toronto’s Henry Wingo in the box. The light contact was not enough to stop the game, but three minutes later, referee Jon Freeman signaled a VAR check.
After a brief review, the decision was made to award the kick, and captain Emil Forsberg stepped up to put away a low strike towards the right post.
Edwards himself looked better in his second start with New York, but that call might have been his biggest moment of the night. The Canadian, against his former club, played the full 90, notched two off target shots, but did well enough in passing up into plays.
Tempers began to flare for Toronto as time went on. A foul against New York earned Raoul Petretta a card in stoppage time before Federico Bernardeschi also saw a caution for harsh dissent against the referee.
Second Half
PHOTO: Michael Battista/NYCSportsNation
The last 45 minutes continued this trend, with both teams exchanging chances and former RBNY midfielder Derrick Etienne Jr. entering the fray as a sub.
Toronto began to string together cohesively after about ten minutes and eventually equalized in the 69th. Deandre Kerr knocked in a powerful header past Marcucci off a cross from Etienne in a moment that silenced the Harrison crowd.
It once again felt like New York could be losing control of a game late, something Schwarz has talked about addressing in recent weeks.
Instead of TFC gaining the upper hand, New York’s newest player helped kick off the comeback.
Serge Ngoma held up the ball on the right side of the field before setting up a tiki-taka go-ahead goal. He passed off to Daniel Edelman in the center of the field, who passed up to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the box. A quick pass to Felipe Carballo was followed by a pass to Forsberg. Onside, he once again went low and to the right corner for his third goal of the season.
The night didn’t end without some trouble for New York, however. Ngoma, who entered the game in the 65th, went down in the Toronto box with some leg discomfort. While he was able to walk on his own, he left the game in the 88th, with coach Schwarz noting it was mostly to be safe. The forward, who is still fresh from injury recovery, will be evaluated to make sure nothing else has happened.
In stoppage time, Carballo was also shown back-to-back yellow cards: one for a foul and one for dissenting from the referee. Despite playing with ten men, New York had already brought on Tim Parker to help stiffen the defense, and the home side saw out the win for three points.
New York defender Alexander Hack thinks his team shook off Toronto’s goal very quickly, which allowed them to stay focused.
“We did not dwell on it—we kept playing because we knew we were the better team,” Hack said.
“We created a lot of chances, and their goal came from their first shot on target. That is frustrating, but overall, our response was very good.”
Analysis
Overall, this was not a convincing performance by New York, but a needed one.
When fans complain about teams playing through the international break, they might point to a game like this one. Long stretches of nothing, not a lot of action, boring overall. However, New York was really only missing Coronel. Forsberg is not currently with Sweden for friendlies, and Morgan is out with injury.
The truth is that New York is still not getting enough chances in the box. The offense can pick the ball and annoy other teams but can’t threaten enough to win convincingly.
Marcucci did well in his first start, making one save on two shots on target. But he still has a ways to go if he’s ever going to be the full-time keeper in New York. Still, his smiling, bubbly personality showed through in the postgame. Him admitting he gave about close to 40 tickets to this match for friends and family, all while Alexander Hack and Daniel Edelman hid in the press corps to mess with him, was a great moment for the Connecticut native.
New York’s defense held up well and had the bench pieces to hold teams off late. As healthier bodies return, hopefully, the rest of the unit will come into focus as well. With Carballo probably suspended next week, that will again be a focus in the midfield.
Hack was asked after the game about how this game was similar to the Orlando City draw last week.
He noted that on Saturday, New York was able to contain the individual Toronto players far more.
“The games were quite similar. Both teams looked for long balls when we lost possession,” Hack said.
“The difference tonight was that Toronto had a few more individual playmakers they were trying to get involved. But I think we controlled them well.”
That can work against Toronto and OCSC, and it might next week, too.
But RBNY may have issues doing this against more adept teams in the league.
New York is currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, tied on points with rivals New York City FC.
Had the team held for a draw against FC Cincinnati in Week 1, the team would be tied for sixth with the Columbus Crew.
Next weekend, the Red Bulls will be back on the road as they travel to face the New England Revolution.
The Revs have no wins this season, with only one draw and a single goal through four games.
PHOTO: Michael Battista/NYCSportsNation
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