Forsberg’s Final Shot Edges Chivas

With the good fortune of the horrible downpour that left the New York City Tri-State area just in time to have the match at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the Leagues Cup, the New York Red Bulls battled for the full 90 minutes and on the final kick of the match, they found a way to take down the mighty goats of Chivas as they won by the final score of one goal to nil.

Six minutes of stoppage time were added in the second half, and the Red Bulls were attacking for the winner. Second half substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting received the ball, reaching just outside of the area as he was chopped down and fouled. The referee allowed the Red Bulls to take the free kick, as the Captain, Emil Forsberg, took a running start and with a low, hard smash drove the ball through the wall and splashed the back of the net.

“I saw a little gap. It’s hard. I saw a lot of people in front of the keeper, so I thought I’d go that way, and he will probably see the ball late, and it worked out. So, fantastic feeling to get the win in that last moment for us, after some hard weeks, very, very, very, very good feeling. Everybody should be proud of themselves for what we did today. But like I said, we do it day by day now. We take day for day. Tomorrow is training again. Focus on Sunday. So yeah, enjoy tonight and tomorrow and back to hard work.” Said Emil Forsberg

The final whistle blew, and the Red Bulls took the full three points late and celebrated by taking the final kick of the match, winning it at the death. Many thought that Chivas would come out victorious, even though they only played about three to four matches to start their 2025 Apertura season. This young and pesky Red Bulls played a solid defensive game, even though they never had a sustained attack in the opening half of the match.

When Schwarz made the halftime substitution to bring on Serge Ngoma for Wiki Carmona, you saw an instant change in the Red Bulls as they attacked much better and showed more guile inside the area. While some of the shots were missed or were stopped by Jose Rangel, it showed the Red Bulls meant business. Even after they subbed in most of their attacking starters.

But one of the heroes on this night was backup goalkeeper A.J. Marcucci, who made plenty of stops and saves to keep the match scoreless from the opening whistle to the end. He was active inside his six yard box, making strong saves in the air, making a right-hand parry save over the crossbar, or getting down to the ground, and sweeping the ball away from his area to prevent a goal scoring opportunity. Marcucci deserved the clean sheet this evening.

” It was from Sandro (Head Coach Sandro Schwarz). It’s from every everyone like knowing the team, knowing who we’re playing, we do a great job scouting every team we play against. So that was in the scouting report and just be ready. And luckily today, I had a little bit of mistakes but didn’t result in anything. And at the end of the day being ready to go is the biggest priority.” said A.J. Marcucci.

Unfortunately, Referee Lukasz Szpala was injured in this match as he suffered an alleged right leg Achilles injury as he was trying to watch the ball being played, and as he pushed off the pitch, he fell and thought he was hit from behind. Fourth Official Guido Gonzalez Jr. was pressed into action, giving up his substitution board and getting out his whistle to take over the match from the 12th minute.

For the New York Red Bulls, this is officially the third competitive match they played against Chivas of Guadalajara, as they lost to them in the Semi-Finals of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League. Losing one goal to nil in the first leg, then a scoreless draw in the second leg, but tonight was their first ever victory against them.

“It was a great fight from our team. Also in the first half was very active and to support each other in our defensive behavior. Of course, it was not the best, but we won the ball in some moments, in some transition moments, but this was clear before the game with our crew. Then the second half was for me very well in the form to keep the intensity against the ball, and then also in our transition moments. When you are always in the game and you have to keep the focus, to keep the intensity, then you have the chance also to win with the last situation that was created. It’s a really good feeling, and not only for the result, more for the performance and the intensity.” said Head Coach Sandro Schwarz.

While the Red Bulls did earn the full three points, and they might get more results in the next two matches against Monterrey & FC Juarez, they might not make it to the knockout stage, because of not scoring enough goals, but hopefully these games if they do get their confidence back, can help them return to a playoff spot for the rest of their MLS regular season.