HANOVER, N.J. —The New York Red Bulls have answered the bell in the biggest games. That includes a run to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals, a win at Atlanta United and decisive home victories over New York City FC and FC Dallas.
Another challenge awaits the Red Bulls Sunday evening when expansion juggernaut Los Angeles Football Club comes to Red Bull Arena. It’s another marquee matchup, another chance for the Red Bulls to prove their spot among the league’s elite.
“It says a lot about our team,” Red Bulls coach Chris Armas said after training on Friday. “In all the years we keep building toward that. That come playoff time, come Champions League later stages, Open Cup, we are growing that way. We’re understanding what the bigger games mean and what meeting those demands actually require. … It’s understanding that every play matters, to never take plays off and meeting the demands of the bigger games.”
Sunday’s showdown also comes on the heels of a rare home loss, when the Red Bulls fell in a 3-0 hole after 31 minutes and rallied late in a 3-2 defeat to Columbus Crew SC last Saturday.
“After a loss at home, you always want to prove something and you always want to bounce back no matter what team will come to RBA,” midfielder Danny Royer said. “But this will be a big task on the day. They have a compact team with really good individuals, but they also play really good as a team. As you can see the entire season, they’re really dangerous in their offense, they have a strong defense as well.”
Royer said he’s not surprised at LAFC’s immediate success. Bob Bradley’s club is currently second in the Western Conference with 36 points and second in the league with 44 goals scored. The threats in the attacking third are multiple. Anyone in the front six, from Carlos Vela, Adama Diomande, Latif Blessing, Lee Nguyen, Diego Rossi and beyond are capable of punishing teams.
“Bob’s team now, with the rotations and the movements, how they drag you out of positions, their use of outside backs, interchanging of different guys and now the players can fit that system really well — so whichever guys they put out there can unbalance you in different ways,” Armas said. “I think you can say that his team is tough to play against, they understand their roles and compress spaces when we have the ball and with the ball they’re very dangerous. They’re fun to watch.”
It will be the ultimate challenge for a Red Bulls backline, anchored by the central pairing of Aaron Long and Tim Parker, that has conceded the least amount of goals in the league at 22.
But challenges are what the Red Bulls have responded to all season.
“We play very well against teams that really like to value the ball,” Parker said. “We show that we can defend very well and counter against teams. It’s disappointing coming off a loss, but it’s a home game for us so we obviously have to play well at Red Bull Arena.”