New York City FC turned Harrison, New Jersey blue yet again, winning the 32nd installment of the Hudson River Derby 3-2 to earn a second straight season sweep of their rivals the New York Red Bulls.
It was the fourth straight win for New York City in the regular-season version of the Hudson River Derby, and their second straight high-scoring win in Harrison, following up on last September's 5-1 blowout win. This was also the fourth straight road game NYCFC have won in MLS play, the longest away winning streak in club history – they're unbeaten in six consecutive MLS away games, which is also tied for the longest road unbeaten streak in club history.
This match went back and forth from its earliest moments, with Nico Fernández Mercau opening the scoring for NYCFC before two minutes had elapsed. The Red Bulls erased that opener 20 minutes later when 17-year-old Julian Hall equalized to cap off a well-worked counterattack, but Andrés Perea almost instantly restored New York City's lead by scoring a sensational goal via looping header just two minutes after the Hall goal.
New York City carried a 2-1 lead into halftime, but the second half threw multiple challenges in their way. First, they started the second half poorly and let Emil Forsberg level the score at two in just the 47th minute. Their best-in-class goalkeeper Matt Freese had to be substituted off in the 67th minute with what appears to be a concussion, suffered when he collided with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting late in the first half.
Those obstacles did not stand in their way, as a well-worked free kick forced Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel into a desperation save of a Perea header, only for the rebound to be clambered home by Thiago Martins to give New York City a 3-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish – in fact, they maybe should have extended it.
A fourth goal, and second by Nico Fernández Mercau, was disallowed for an offside by Julián Fernández in the build-up, though that decision looked highly debatable even once the slow-motion replays and freeze frames were pulled out by the VAR.
Nico will rue not getting his brace, but New York City will celebrate another dominant season against their fiercest rivals, a team that once dominated NYCFC like no other in MLS. Not even a visit from Jürgen Klopp could save the Red Bulls in this match, as their playoff chances all but died courtesy of Pascal Jansen's team.
New York City: 2.1 xG, 12 shots, 7 shots on target, 46% possession, 428 passes, 82% pass accuracy, 9 fouls, 4 corners, 0 saves
Red Bulls: 1.4 xG, 9 shots, 3 shots on target, 54% possession, 468 passes, 82% pass accuracy, 19 fouls, 6 corners, 4 saves
Goals:
• New York City, Nico Fernández Mercau, 2'
Red Bulls, Julian Hall, 23'
New York City, Andrés Perea, 26'
Red Bulls, Emil Forsberg, 47'
New York City, Thiago Martins, 65'
Attendance: 25,219
Three goals in 30 minutes
As is often the case in these derbies, the scoring got started extremely early in Harrison, New Jersey. This time it came courtesy of New York City FC's record signing, Nico Fernández Mercau, who scored after just 1 minute, 41 seconds to give New York City a lead with the third-fastest goal in the Hudson River Derby's history.
It was the second-fastest goal ever scored by a NYCFC player in this fixture, trailing only an Alexander Callens goal scored at 1' during a September 2022 Hudson River Derby match at Yankee Stadium.
Oliver Strand
Nico's goal came thanks to another fortuitous foray upfield by center-back Justin Haak, who picked a Red Bull pocket and charged toward the penalty area, drawing multiple defenders his way and opening just the right amount of space for Fernández Mercau, who was starting at striker in place of the injured Alonso Martínez.
The early goal, the 14th goal scored by either team inside the opening 10 minutes across all 32 meetings between NYCFC and the Red Bulls, set things off at a frantic pace. Julian Hall and Andrés Perea's back-to-back strikes in the 23rd and 26th minutes, respectively, meant these teams packed an absurd amount into the opening half-hour, what was a wide-open and exhaustingly frantic stretch of this game.
