Red Bull New York enters Saturday’s match against FC Dallas with the second-most goals conceded in Major League Soccer.
Only Orlando City SC’s 29 goals against are higher than the Red Bulls’ 25 goals conceded through 10 matches played.
For the 11th-place Red Bulls to legitimately contend for the MLS Cup playoffs, that trend needs to change in a positive direction soon. Over the past four matches in all competitions, opponents have averaged 3.25 goals per game against New York’s generous backline.
Bradley on Defensive Struggles: ‘It’s Something That We’re Looking Really Closely At’
Head coach Michael Bradley, his technical staff and the players have been working on the training pitch and studying game film in the hope of curing the defensive maladies.
“You have to look closely at each game and each goal,” Bradley explained during Friday’s press conference. “It’s easy to look at the game against New York City and see that we conceded three goals. That’s a fact. Three goals on set pieces, three unfortunately very similar set pieces, still provokes a different discussion and a different way to analyze as opposed to goals that come from the run of play or come because tactically we haven’t been able to get things right, or a decision on the field leads to a breakdown, and now we concede in a different way.
“It’s something that we’re looking really closely at because for sure, for us to take the next step as a team and to continue to improve, we have to be better in that sense.”
Forsberg Acknowledges Need for Defensive Improvement
Captain Emil Forsberg noted that lately, the Red Bulls have been too easy for opponents to pick apart.
“We concede too much easy goals,” Forsberg said. “I still feel that’s a topic for us that we have to improve. But I say we do a lot of great things that going in the right direction, but there’s still a lot we need to improve, to win games and to feel good winning games. So it’s been a little bit of a roller coaster. Like I said, it’s got to get better.”
Forsberg, red-hot forward Julian Hall and co. will need to score a bucketload of goals this season if the defensive dam keeps breaking. Currently, the Red Bulls own the third-worst goal differential in the league at minus-nine.
FC Dallas forward Petar Musa enters Saturday tied for the MLS lead with nine goals. Fellow attacker Logan Farrington has chipped in four goals while providing three assists.
Bradley spoke of the threat posed by Musa and Farrington.
“We’re very aware of their qualities,” Bradley stated. “Very good team, an athletic team, a team that plays with a lot of intensity, a team that has everywhere across the field, speed and guys who really run forward in an aggressive way.
“Musa is a really, really good striker in the league. Farrington is a good attacking player in the league. We’re very clear about the game that’s coming, and ready to make sure that we can do everything possible to come away with three points.”
Saturday’s match at Sports Illustrated Stadium kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and the Red Bulls must be composed and connected when the opening whistle blows.
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