Red Bulls deliver the first shock of the playoffs: “We just have to believe”

It took a week. But the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs have now served up one of the shock results that make them such a riveting fall spectacle.

There was ample reason to rule out the New York Red Bulls’ prospects in the countdown to their Round One Best-of-3 Series vs. Columbus Crew. RBNY entered the postseason as one of the league’s coldest teams, winning just two of their last 16 games across MLS and the Leagues Cup. They had lost both of their 2024 meetings with the Crew, the defending champions scoring three goals on both occasions, most recently a 3-2 win at Red Bull Arena on Decision Day.

A familiar refrain had already begun: That RBNY lacked the commitment to take the next step as a club, with insufficient ambition in the summer transfer window surely a prelude to another play-off exit.

However, Emil Forsberg and his teammates saw it differently. And head coach Sandro Schwarz had a plan.

“OK, we’re playing Columbus. They’re a good team, but damn, we can win. Why can’t we?” the Swedish designated player told AMNY this week. “We have a great team, great coaches. We just have to believe.”

And so it was at Lower.com Field on Tuesday night, where a tactical masterclass from Schwarz set the stage for a major upset – and an opportunistic early set-piece goal from summer signing Felipe Carballo, combined with an excellent shot-stop from Carlos Coronel , delivered it.

A formation tweak (RBNY trotting out a rare 3-5-2/5-3-2 look) and a clever mix of high pressing with deep-lying defense frustrated the Crew on their own pitch, en route to a stunning 1-0 victory that leaves Columbus fight for their lives in hostile territory next weekend.

“I would say that we defend very well most of the time, that we find a good shift to be aggressive in our pressure, to find the right moments. And this is the main part when we look at the difference from the game last week – to find the right moment for our pressure, and not just stay in a deep block,” Schwarz explained in his post-match press conference. “We wanted to play very dominantly against the ball.

“And then we had some moments where we defended deep, but all together. It’s the key when you play against such a good team, especially in possession, it’s the key to do everything against the ball together. If you do this alone and as a single player, then it is very difficult. And yes, it was good today.”

The Red Bulls had not kept a clean sheet in a league game since July 6, a period of 12 games. Slick-passing Columbus had been shut out just five times in 34 league games. An observer would hardly have guessed as much, however, as central midfield pairing Carballo and Daniel Edelman relentlessly tracked and tormented their Crew counterparts, while Lewis Morgan provided a vital outlet with endless work rate at the top.

Carballo’s quick response to a Dylan Nealis header from a corner in the 25th minute proved the game-winner, a timely moment for his first contribution at his new club, yet only one element of his contribution.

“(He has) a lot of experience and he showed this today on the pitch,” Schwarz said of the Uruguayan. “Very intensive with Danny Edelman, both (No.) 6 positions to be very aggressive and also to find the right moment when we have to attack or when we have to stay in our block. And at the top he scored. So it’s a very good moment for the first goal now in the first playoff game and it’s a very important player for us.”

Coronel, meanwhile, shook off both the individual and collective struggles of the last several months with perhaps his finest outing in RBNY colours, a man-of-the-match performance highlighted by a blank denial of DeJuan Jones at the back post deep in in the second half.

“The whole team is giving their best in this match today and we are also investing a lot, we did a great week before this match,” said Coronel after the match. “I think we played the 90 minutes with a high focus because we know mistakes against these teams, they have the quality to score. And so I think that was the big key today, how we play together, focus and also the communication on the pitch.

“I don’t think I was in my best shape before the playoffs,” added the Paraguay international, “and this week I really worked very hard and that was also the key for me to help my team today as well, and then because of course I’m very happy with my performance, but we know this is only the first step. We have another big game on Sunday.”

Crew boss Wilfried Nancy showed composure afterwards, defending his team’s performance and urging them “to accept this challenge” of needing a road win to push the series to a third game when they meet again on Sunday (16: 30 ET | MLS season ticket).

– We had many, many chances, so we should score at least one goal. I don’t forget that they also run (in) behind, it was clear that they might score (another), but I think we can score at least one goal; after that we’ll have to see,” said the Frenchman. “We attacked the box, they defended well. I think that in terms of finishing, could have been better at certain times.

“They are all competitors and that’s why I told them to stay calm because of course we wanted to win and when we don’t win we’re all disappointed,” he added of his team’s reactions to the result. “Me, I don’t think I’m going to sleep, I’m going to think about the game. That’s normal. So now the thought is, it’s football. It’s football. And again, I insist we played a good game. Now we have to adjust certain things, but we lacked a goal and we will try to be good over there.”