Sandro Schwarz urged his New York Red Bulls team to go back to basics as they aim to respond to their defeat to the Philadelphia Union in midweek.
Schwarz watched on as first-half strikes from Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani sealed a 2-0 win for Philadelphia, who remained at the Eastern Conference summit.
It leaves the Red Bulls down in eighth in the division, while they are without a league victory since a 2-0 triumph against Atlanta United at the end of May.
And Schwarz said it was simple for his players to halt their poor run of form by going back to basics to help build momentum for a playoff push.
“When you miss the basics, then it’s not possible to win against Philly,” Schwarz said. “Philly did, especially in their counter press, very well.
“They were very sharp after the second ball, then directly deep. We lost, so many times, the ball.
“It starts [in] the first five, six minutes, when we have the transition moments, when we are passing back, and then not sharp enough, not to have the right focus at the beginning.
The Red Bulls welcome the New England Revolution to the Sports Illustrated Stadium next, and captain Emil Forsberg is looking for a response from his team.
“We have to show up and just have intensity, win every duel and play forward,” he said.
“We need to be strong, be fast, so I mean just show up and be 110-percent ready for that game.
“It does not have to be beautiful, but I want, we want everybody to be at 100-percent and win that game. We need to win that game, as simple as that.”
Final. pic.twitter.com/2lEdgY2FxJ
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) July 13, 2025
New England are enduring a similar stretch to their next opponents, with their goalless draw with Austin FC last time out making it six league games without a win.
In what was an entertaining stalemate, the Revolution registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.65 from their 14 shots to Austin’s 1.93 from their 19 attempts.
Luca Langoni also struck the woodwork in the first half for New England, who find themselves 11th in the Eastern Conference table and four points adrift of the playoffs.
Despite their recent stretch, Revolution boss Caleb Porter was pleased with his team’s effort last time out, and feels it is only a matter of time before things start to click.
“Honestly, coming into the game, we had lost two in a row, and yet we felt the play was good,” Porter said. “It feels like another game where the play was good, and we didn’t go from playing well and losing to playing well and winning, but to drawing.
“It’s not what we wanted. I thought there were chances there to get the three points. But in saying that, they also had chances as well. In the end, I continue to be encouraged.
“It is three games in a row where we play well, get good chances to put ourselves in a position to win the game. I’m not frustrated with the finishing. I have the belief that those goals will come in the next few matches.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYRB – Eric Choupo-Moting
Choupo-Moting has scored in each of his last four home appearances for the Red Bulls, equalling the longest streak by any Red Bulls player this decade.
The only Red Bulls player with a longer such run in the last 15 years is Bradley Wright-Phillips (five in 2018 and nine in 2024).
NE Revolution – Carles Gil
Despite seeing his four-game stretch of being involved in at least one goal in the MLS coming to an end against Austin, Gil proved his influence for New England once again.
He ended that game with team-high totals for chances created (three) and passes in the final third (20), while the Spaniard also has a good record against the Red Bulls.
Indeed, he has nine goal involvements (three goals, six assists) in 11 MLS outings against them, only registering more against Atlanta United (10) and Orlando City SC (12).
MATCH PREDICTION: NYRB WIN
The home team has won 19 of the last 24 regular-season meetings between the Red Bulls and New England, including the last six straight. In fact, the road team has won just four of the last 42 regular-season meetings between the sides dating back to August 2007.
And the Red Bulls have home advantage this time around. They are unbeaten in six straight home matches in all competitions (W4 D2) and have lost only one of their 11 home matches in 2025 (W7 D3). Going back to last season, New York have scored multiple goals in 11 of their last 13 matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
New England, however, have lost only one of their last 10 away matches in all competitions (W5 D4) following their draw with Austin. The Revolution have also kept clean sheets in half of those 10 games, including two of the last three.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 56.7%
Draw – 22.4%
NE Revolution – 20.9%
