NYCFC seal season sweep of Hudson River Derby with wild win

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.

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.

HRB Database: Hudson River Derby

New York City FC vs NY Red Bulls H2H, All Comps GP W D L GF GA GD 31 11 4 16 34 49 -15 New York City FC vs NY Red Bulls H2H, MLS League Games GP W D L GF GA GD 26 11 4 11 34 38

Hudson River BlueOliver 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.

Perea's head makes the difference

Andrés Perea's first goal was mesmerizing, a glancing header that seemed to come out of nowhere and seemed to move in slow motion, drifting over an off-his-line Carlos Coronel and nestling perfectly into the top corner.

He told our Matthew Mangam after the match that he'd scored with a similar header during training this week, so while Perea wasn't surprised he pulled it off, that goal still left Sports Illustrated Stadium stunned and completely sucked the wind from the sails of the Red Bulls right after they'd pulled level and provided themselves with a lifeline.

The midfielder didn't get credited with the winning goal either, that was bundled home by Thiago Martins, with the club captain and central defender scoring just his second career goal with NYCFC. It was Perea's excellence in the air and strength with his head, though, that got Thiago the goal.

It's normal stuff for Perea, who statistically is one of the best midfielders in MLS this season when it comes to the number of aerial duels he wins per 90 minutes played. He ranks in the 98th percentile of MLS midfielders with 1.98 aerials won per-90, according to FBref.com's scouting reports. Perea won six aerials in this match, most of any New York City player.

After the win, Pascal Jansen praised Perea's aerial strength but also his engine, saying he covers lots of ground and gives New York City "the fluidity that we need in midfield."

"It's a good pair, where Aiden [O'Neill] is one of the first options in the build up sequences. Pepe [Perea] is starting to see better and better when he has to join in as a second one, or stay away," said Jansen. "He's also capable of getting himself into the box. And I, for one, I'm very happy that he has joined the set pieces as well, because he's been so close throughout the season."

Playoff implications

With the win, New York City washed away any lingering stench from the 4-0 loss to Inter Miami CF at midweek, and the club also created some separation with one of their biggest rivals in the race for home-field advantage during at least Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Charlotte FC lost resoundingly to CF Montréal, so coupled with the NYCFC victory, three points now separate NYCFC in 3rd Place from both Charlotte in 5th Place and Nashville SC in 6th Place. Inter Miami currently sit in 4th Place, but they still have two games in hand on both NYCFC and Charlotte, so NYCFC has far less control over finishing above Miami in the standings – they'd need Messi and Co. to drop more points (like they just did against...Toronto FC?) to make those games in hand moot.

Heading into the final two matches of the regular season, home-field advantage is right there for NYCFC to grab. The questions around the team now revolve around the health of arguably their two most important players, since Alonso Martínez missed this game entirely as he battles a lingering leg injury, and since Matt Freese couldn't complete the match after suffering what might be a concussion.

A trip to Philadelphia, then a home match against Seattle Sounders FC on Decision Day, are not the two easiest fixtures to close out the regular season. The good news is, there's wiggle room to work with for NYCFC as they've clinched a spot in the playoffs and have some separation from rivals below them in the table.

That's in stark contrast to the Red Bulls, who with this loss are almost assuredly headed for their first season missing the MLS Cup Playoffs since 2009. NYCFC look to have ended the Red Bulls's season in 2025 after the Red Bulls knocked NYCFC out of the playoffs in 2024 – the circle might be complete, for now.

New York City also won the Hudson River Derby Trophy for another season with this win in New Jersey, capping off what's been one of the most dominant stretches of success for New York City against the Red Bulls in the 11-season history of the rivarly.