The New York Red Bulls’ frustrating playoff history has been filled with on-field mistakes, but the latest postseason disappointment suffered by the franchise came about because of a poor tactical decision.
Head coach Chris Armas, who delivered a managerial masterclass on September 30 at Red Bull Arena against Atlanta United, set the Red Bulls back by not relying on the pressing style that got the franchise to the Supporters’ Shield and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
“They really got the better of us,” Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles said. “We came here with a plan and looking at the result you can see that we failed to execute our plan. So, there’s not much time. We just have to regroup and look forward to Thursday. It is very clear what we have to do and just go one goal at a time.”
The home-field advantage at Red Bull Arena that would’ve been incredibly valuable is now thrown out the window, as the Red Bulls head back home down 3-0 to the Five Stripes, who need a single away goal to put away the series.
Of course, dealing with Atlanta United’s style of play is one of the hardest tasks in Major League Soccer, but Armas tinkered with his in-game strategy too much, and it led to the Five Stripes barreling through the final third, while the Red Bulls struggled to create anything moving forward.
“We did not expect that, but it happened,” Atlanta defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez said.
“Well, we thought it was possible given how they played against us last time they were here and how they played against Columbus away last round, but you expect the press, and then, it’s easier to adjust to the half press than it is to vice versa,” Atlanta defender Michael Parkhurst said.
Although the possession and passing stats were similar, where the key actions of both teams occurred was the difference maker on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The majority of the Red Bulls’ defensive actions took place in their own half, or 10 yards from midfield, and they lacked an intrusive quality to their attacking approach, as Kaku’s impact in the middle of the park was silenced.
The uncharacteristic approach from the Red Bulls was displayed on Atlanta’s scoring plays, starting with the 32nd-minute strike from Josef Martinez.
Although Jeff Larentowicz isn’t known as a long-ball specialist, the Red Bulls should’ve put more pressure on the ball before the MLS veteran picked out Martinez in the middle of the penalty area for the opening tally.
“We made it a little too easy for them,” Robles said. “When you have a team as talented as them, and you make mistakes, they are going to punish you.”
Miguel Almiron was handed a similar space to create 30 yards from goal in the buildup to the second Atlanta goal.
Instead of closing down on Almiron, the Red Bulls allowed the Paraguayan to play in Julian Gressel, who escaped the reach of Michael Amir Murillo and triggered a sequence in which the visiting side looked lost.
The finished product from the Five Stripes saw Gressel play a nice pass across the penalty area to an incoming Franco Escobar, who had plenty of time to pick his spot and finish past Luis Robles.
As if the night wasn’t going bad enough for the Red Bulls, Armas’ option to take off Sean Davis for Brian White in the 87th minute in a half-hearted attempted to snag an away goal backfired, when the center of the field opened up once again ahead of Hector Villalba’s stoppage-time strike.
Now, the Red Bulls will be forced to press, and potentially press too much, at home in the second leg in order to make the series competitive.
Despite the shortcomings Sunday, the Red Bulls are confidence the deficit can be made up in New Jersey on Thursday.
“We will come out a little bit differently with the energy and the fight that is going to be needed,” Armas said. “It is pretty what is needed to be done. We are going to go home, and we are going to get it done.”
“Yeah, very similar to the Columbus series,” Davis said. “At home, we are very confident. We love playing at home in front of our fans and we have been great there all year. It is important for us to get a first goal early, and then press for the game. It is going to require absolutely everything from us to get the result.”