Bradley Wright-Phillips briefly celebrated a 53rd-minute equalizer Sunday night before the referee waved off the goal following video review.
Wright-Phillips received the ball in the center of the box and shot it past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan to even the score 1-1, but further review showed Red Bulls teammate Alex Muyl in an offside position and obstructing Guzan’s view when Wright-Phillips took his shot.
The goal was taken off the board and the Red Bulls still trailed 1-0 — until the 71st minute, when Franco Escobar doubled Atlanta’s lead in the first leg of the MLS Eastern Conference final. Escobar later assisted a Hector Villalba goal to cap a 3-0 victory for Atlanta United.
See a replay of the no goal above. You can also watch a replay of Jose Martinez’s record-setting goal for Atlanta, review match stats and read full match recap.
Following video review, no goal.
1-0 #ATLvRBNY | #OurTime | #RBNY https://t.co/8RQ0Rv8GfW
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) November 25, 2018
Tough break. Good call – Guzan is clearly screened by the offside Muyl. #ATLvRBNY pic.twitter.com/kzbTvkMrSm
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) November 25, 2018
The camera angle from behind Guzan shows that Alex Muyl was indeed in the way of his line of sight on BWP's shot, so that's a good call. Let's see how the Red Bulls respond after the emotional letdown. Atlanta looks re-charged since the call.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) November 25, 2018
Awful call by #VAR. Muyl played no part in goal & did not hamper Guzan in any way. Guzan positioned himself where he did & was not making the save on #BWP’s shot whether he was screened or not. Muyl did not intentionally screen Guzan, nor did he play the ball. #ATLvNY #ATLvRBNY
— Ron Waxman 🏳️🌈🇺🇦 (@RonWaxman) November 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/GlennDavisSoc/status/1066838515990827010
Scratch that — It's been waved off due to an apparent offside during the goal sequence after a VAR review. Atlanta still leads 1-0 https://t.co/U7udK93LNG
— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) November 25, 2018
Oh my gosh, they just waved off the Red Bull’s goal.
What a break for ATL
— David Schiele WTSP (@Deacon_Schiele) November 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/dylanwalsh_/status/1066837171376672768