RECAP: Red Bulls Score 5 to Take Down New England, 5-3; Messi Mullings Ahead of Red Bulls Vs Inter Miami
The New York Red Bulls scored five goals in the second half to beat the New England Revolution on Wednesday, 5-3.
However, the team now faces an even bigger test on short rest. RBNY will host Inter Miami CF on Saturday at a very un-home-like Sports Illustrated Stadium.
A few thoughts going into that game.
Schwarz Takes Fault
New York looked like the same team that struggled against Philadelphia over the weekend. In fact, they ended the half with the same scoreline.
Caleb Porter’s New England side controlled the game as New York looked slow. Wiki Carmona and others looked completely out of sync as the half wore on. When Leo Campana scored twice, not including a called-back third goal, it was because of slow pressure.
And head coach Sandro Schwarz took full responsibility.
“I said in the locker room directly after the game, I am responsible for the first half, that’s clear. That’s not a tactical point. It was not a tactical point in the first half, but everyone could feel it; that we were not free from the mental side, and we were not aggressive enough, and we dropped back,” Schwarz said.
“We can learn a lot from the first half, and when we feel free and we are from the mental side ready, we have the quality, it’s good. And then also that today we had this feeling to come back like we did in the second half, it was great. But the first half is my responsibility.”
In short, hearing a coach speak like this feels weird and appreciated. I don’t know how the players themselves took this information.
But a leader falling on their sword instead of sacrificing the men is something to take note of.
Remember, this game was New York trying to break a five-game winless run. Schwarz knows his group needed Wednesday, especially ahead of Saturday’s major clash.
“This is always to believe in our quality and our mentality, and we can talk a lot,” Schwarz said.
“We can talk a lot. But at the end, it’s also important that you feel it on the field like we did it all together with our supporters, with you guys here in the stadium. That’s really important for the development of the young group, and everyone could feel it not only to see but also because of the goals.”
Long gone are the days of Gerhard Struber blaming players, and the days of Troy Lesesne always looking at the positives.
Choupo Moting & Forsberg Continue To Sync
Both Emil Forsberg and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting both notched braces on Wednesday, and the former also got an assist on the night. Both are on the MLS Team of the Matchday.
The five-goal second half was led by the international duo. Right now, they are the key to any consistent attack on New York.
Emil Forsberg has six assists, and Choupo-Moting has 13 goals. Forsberg also has nine goals of his own in 2025.
This is best exemplified by Wednesday’s equalizer goal. Choupo-Moting scored the equalizer in the 70th minute with assists from Forsberg and Ronald Donkor, but the story comes from the ball movement.
New York played the ball around the box through four different players before Forsberg sent a quick pass to Choupo in the box for the goal.
One of the prettiest goals you can see, finished off by the two best players on the team. Forsberg has always been a playmaker, and Choupo-Moting, mobility consistency aside, can be fed on constantly.
“The coach also told us at halftime that we should not panic, especially in the last 15 minutes, 20 minutes in the first half,” Choupo-Moting said after the game.
“Also, it was already better, but still 2-0, of course. So, it was a bit disappointing for everyone in the stadium, but we said to ourselves, listen, we must focus on ourselves. We know that we can beat, I think any team in the in the league, in the now, at home, especially, and that that was our goal; to show mentality and to show our football we have great players in front and the back, and I’m happy that we did so well in second house.”
Messi Mania
All time, New York has the edge over Inter Miami CF. The team has won six games and lost five. The issue is that the record has been missing since mid-2023.
After Lionel Messi joined Miami, his first MLS match was against the New York Red Bulls. He came off the bench and scored in that game, a 2-0 Miami win. Since that match, the Red Bulls have won only once against Inter Miami in four games. That one game was a match where Messi didn’t even play.
Right now, the World Cup champion will probably be the biggest threat on Saturday, along with being the biggest draw of the sold-out show. Messi has scored 16 goals and provided seven assists in 17 appearances with Inter Miami in 2025.
Messi had been on a five-game scoring streak up until Miami’s loss on Wednesday.
I don’t think it’s fair to say this is a game New York can afford to lose “because it’s Messi”.
But the Red Bulls will be the underdog for sure, even in their own house, even against a Miami team that is only five points ahead of them in the standings (but with three games in hand).
PHOTO: New York Red Bulls
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