Credit: Robert Plant Photo
Red Bulls Rally to Defeat Chicago at Home, 2-1
Published: Sunday, April 6, 2025
by A.J. Rayer
HARRISON N.J. - The New York Red Bulls (3-2-2) got back on track in a big way with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire (3-2-2) Saturday night in Sports Illustrated Stadium. With the win, New York’s record improved to over .500 on the season.
Throughout the first few minutes of the match, the Red Bulls seemed to control the pace. New York found multiple breakaway opportunities early from Serge Ngoma and Daniel Edelman but could not convert. Defensively, the Red Bulls were excellent as they held Chicago to no shot attempts throughout the first 28 minutes of the match.
However, the Red Bulls momentum came to a halt in the 32nd minute as Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba opened up the scoring on a breakaway opportunity. After having virtually no offense at all to start the match, the Fire had silenced the crowd in Harrison.
Despite the mishap, the Red Bulls stayed aggressive on offense. In the 41st minute, New York's Omar Valencia placed a perfect cross into the box that found a wide-open Serge Ngoma. Ngoma’s header just sneaked past Chicago GK Chris Brady to tie the game at 1.
After the first New York goal, the crowd at Sports Illustrated stadium started to get more involved in the match. After a long pause due to an injury to Sam Rogers of the Fire, four minutes of stoppage time were added, where the Red Bulls’ aggressiveness would pay off.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Dylan Nealis of New York was able to draw a hard foul in the box on Chicago’s Kellyn Acosta. The Red Bulls were awarded a penalty kick, and Eric Choupo-Moting converted easily to give the Red Bulls the lead heading into the half.
Out of the break, the Red Bulls seemed to play a bit more cautiously on the offensive end, not wanting any turnovers to lead to scoring opportunities for the Fire. Most of the Red Bulls’ opportunities came on quick chances. A Red Bulls score was called back in the 49th minute as Mohammed Sofo got caught far offside on a breakaway opportunity.
On the defensive side, Red Bulls GK Carlos Coronel played phenomenally after giving up a goal in the first half. During the final minutes of the match, Coronel made multiple saves to keep the Red Bulls ahead. As the game winded down, the Red Bulls were able to pick up their 3rd win of the season.
All in all, this was a much needed come from behind win for the Red Bulls who are looking to stay in the hunt for the playoffs after reaching the MLS Cup Final last season. The Red Bulls will be back in action next Saturday against Orlando City SC down in Florida.
A.J. Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,