Red Bulls Preparing for the Renewed Union

By Daniel Feuerstein | Morris Township, NJ | August 28th, 2026

Red Bull New York is currently in a six-game slump. Since returning from the World Cup and Leagues Cup breaks, they have secured a win, a draw, and four losses in the last six games combined. Their next match at Sports Illustrated Stadium is against the Philadelphia Union, who have started to rise from the dead when they made the coaching change from Bradley Carnell to Ryan Richter, as he was elevated from the Union Two team to the Senior side, and right now they are out of the basement and climbing towards a playoff spot. It’s time for the Red Bulls to turn things around and go on an unbeaten streak after the draw against the Chicago Fire last weekend.

The last game in Chester

The Red Bulls returned from the World Cup break and began their second half of the season down in Chester, Pennsylvania, to take on the Union, who made their coaching change during the break. Then they started to go on an unbeaten streak for the last six games. After Cade Cowell got the equalizer before halftime, the Red Bulls got blitzed again and allowed two more goals, falling by a final of three to one. This was the start of the downfall, going from fifth place to just hanging on to the Wild Card spot in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Michael Bradley reflects on that second half that began the negative streak.

“We started the second half pretty well. Obviously, we scored the really good goal in the first half to get back to 1-1. And the second half started in a pretty good way. Obviously, you understand that games against Philadelphia always have a different feel. The way they play and the type of game that they want means the rhythm and the flow of things is different, and generally we felt pretty good about how we managed and dealt with a lot of that we got into the beginning of the second half, making the big chance where Jules runs in on goal.

Blake makes a save and then yeah we don’t do well on a play where they cross from really deep in the corner and you know we can we can’t deal well enough with the initial cross or the or the the attacker at the back post um and then obviously neil pierre comes on and and causes us causes some trouble on the on the set piece so it’s as you said always uhthere’s always a part to when you have a game like that or a second half like that where you you’re frustrated and there’s disappointment that you haven’t been able to take what was generally a good first half and turn that into 90 minutes and points,” said Michael Bradley

Matching the Union’s Physicality

The Red Bulls, facing the revitalized Union, saw a team that wasn’t themselves in the first half of the season. They were in your face and challenging for every ball that was in front of them. Including Bruno Damiani, who was all over the place. You saw him challenge Adri Mehmeti twice and get overly physical with him, and throw an elbow into the face of Mehmeti not once, but twice. This is the type of match that the Red Bulls, while still playing their game, must find a way to equal or be better in their physicality in the match. That’s why the Union have four wins and two draws in their last six league matches.

“We’re not naive. We understand that there are two teams on the field. And sure, we have our ideas of how we want to play, but they have their ideas. And depending on who the opponent is, on how they play, on what they want the game to look like, we absolutely have to be ready to really embrace the moments of the game that play out in the way that they want. And so a big part of playing Philadelphia is making sure that when it comes to duels, when it comes to physicality, when it comes to reactions, when it comes to embracing the moments of chaos, that part is done at a high level, so we’ve talked and worked on that as the week has progressed, and we’re excited,” said Michael Bradley

Julian Bazan has shown to be a solid centerback

Since coming over to the Red Bulls and starting at Red Bull two before he got his chance to get called up. Colombian Centerback Julian Bazan has been a workhorse and has looked dedicated, and has the tools to make the stops against the opposition and assist his goalkeeper. We’ve seen him hunt the ball down and take it off the attacker’s boots or battle hard to take the ball away, as he did to Robert Lewandowski in the second half of the match against the Chicago Fire. He’s happy to be at the club and is working well with his fellow centerbacks and backline mates.

“I’m really, really happy to stay here, enjoy all the days, the training, the match, all moments. It’s very nice for me because here I have very good teammates, especially with Justin (Che). We have a good relationship. We talk a lot, not only on the field, but also outside. We text on WhatsApp, talk about other things, not only football. So this is important because the relationship is stronger and the results are seen on the field. So I feel very, very good with the others, with Tim Parker. With Omar, Valencia, Dylan (Nealis). So need to stay strong in the relationship because in the match, we are only one team, one family. So this is very important,” said Julian Bazan

Facing the Union

Julian Bazan knows what happened to the Red Bulls when they faced the Union down at Subaru Park. He saw it all happen and has seen the tape of what went right, but mostly what went wrong. Bazan knows he needs to be on his game and make sure he does his job the right way. The Red Bulls need to make sure they play their game and elevate themselves when they get on the pitch at home. They need to make sure they are in tune and concentrating at the highest level.

“Philadelphia, it’s a very good team. In the last match with them, we lost. We see the match, we see the mistakes, and this is beautiful and important for our football. See the mistakes, do a better job. At this time, we are ready in all the lines, in the defenders, midfielders, attackers, and strikers. We are very, very ready for the match. It’s a difficult match, a strong match. We know Philadelphia wants to play strong, a lot of long balls, so we are prepared for this. Also, we are ready to be effective in the match, to score first, to continue to score, and take the zero in our goalkeeper. Set pieces have been a bit of a challenge for the team,” said Julian Bazan

This is the last home game in August before moving on to September and taking a long four-match road trip as they head to the West Coast to face the Seattle Sounders, LAFC, then back to the East Coast to face the Columbus Crew and finishing it off against NYCFC in either Queens or The Bronx. The turnaround must start now and get the win to put themselves back on track and reclimb the Eastern Conference table.

Red Bull New York is preparing for their home match against the Philadelphia Union at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

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