New York City FC v. New York Red Bulls 2025 MLS Regular Season
New York City FC v. New York Red Bulls
2025 — HEAD COACH PASCAL JANSEN
Thoughts on the New York Red Bulls…
“I think [pressing] is part of their DNA…because you see it with all the Red Bull teams—they have this approach. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how much energy they will have, coming off so many games. I expect high intensity and a lot of energy in this match. On the other hand, it’s also going to be interesting to see how we will evolve our positional play, coming back from the Wednesday game [against D.C. United] and the FC Cincinnati game. You can see that we’re able to control the ball better at times, get more bodies forward, and create some seriously good attacking play as well. That will be the challenge for us going into this game against [the New York] Red Bulls. But we have to make sure that, at the very least, we match their intensity, aggression, and the energy that’s required in this derby.”
On if Coach has talked with the team about the rivalry…
“Emotions are always there in each and every game. A derby always brings something extra with it. We’re fully aware of that, of course, going into this game. Conversations have been about past games, but we try to focus on the present. We came back from a game on Wednesday [against D.C. United], and once that game was finished, our thoughts went straight to the New York Red Bulls. Now we have our plan ready to try and beat the Red Bulls in this next game. But thinking back and bringing up memories from games played in the past always helps—because, like you described, emotions are there, and we have to learn from those moments to be better prepared going into the next game.”
NEW YORK CITY FC MIDFIELDER AIDEN O’NEILL
On where he can help the team the most…
“I definitely think [I can help the most] in the buildup phase — in terms of getting out of pressure situations, driving with the ball, and creating those opportunities where the forward players can play that last pass. I want to improve on that as well. I want to be playing that last pass, getting more assists, and pre-assists, like they say here. That’s something I want to improve on. I’m here to improve myself and get the best out of the team as well.”
On what to expect in the derby this weekend and how his experience helps him prepare for it…
“Derbies across the world are all big games and they’re the ones footballers really want to be involved in. There’s that extra bit of energy, we’ve talked about it as a team and in the office, about how important this game is for us and for the fans. They’re the best games to play. So, we’re all really looking forward to it… [My previous experience] definitely helps [when it comes to the derby]. There’s going to be excitement, there’s going to be emotional times—and you have to control your emotion and your excitement, especially in derby games, because it’s all heightened. I’ve experienced that before; they’re the most exciting games and the ones that you look forward to the most.”
ALL-TIME VS NEW YORK RED BULLS
New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls are gearing up for the first Hudson River Derby of the 2025 MLS Regular Season, marking their 26th meeting in league history.
New York City FC holds an all-time record of 10-11-4 (W-L-D) against the Red Bulls, totaling 32 goals scored and 38 goals conceded.
The team’s most recent victory over the Red Bulls came on September 28, 2024, with a commanding 5-1 win at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
This marks the most goals New York City FC has ever scored on the road against the Red Bulls.
This match, along with the one on November 11, 2020 (5-2 at Yankee Stadium), stands as the highest-scoring performance against the Red Bulls in the history of the rivalry.
The most recent home victory over the Red Bulls came on May 18, 2024, with a 2-1 win at Citi Field.
That match marked the first ever Hudson River Derby played at Citi Field.
New York City FC has outscored the Red Bulls across two 15-minute intervals: 8-6 from the 1st to 15th minute and 6-4 from the 61st to 75th minute.
In home matches against RBNY, New York City FC has a record of 7-3-2, with 19 goals scored and 18 conceded.
New York City has scored in nine of their 12 home matches against the Red Bulls, including six games where they netted two or more goals.
New York City FC has been held scoreless at home three times against RBNY and has recorded four clean sheets in those matchups.
New York City FC’s last clean sheet against the Red Bulls came on September 16, 2023, in a 0-0 draw at Yankee Stadium.
New York City FC allowed their most goals at home on May 21, 2016, suffering a 7-0 defeat to the Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium.
The ‘Boys in Blue’ have posted a 3W-1L-1D record in their last five home games against the New York Red Bulls.
Among the current New York City FC roster, Midfielder Maxi Moralez has played the most matches against RBNY (14).
Moralez logged the most minutes (1248) and Midfielder Keaton Parks recorded the second most minutes (783).
Moralez recorded the most shots (25) and Parks recorded the second most shots (seven).
Maxi Moralez has scored four goals against RBNY, the most for a player on the active roster.
Forward Alonso Martínez netted twice, while Forward Mounsef Bakrar, Defender Tayvon Gray, Midfielder Andres Perea, and Forward Hannes Wolf each scored once.
Moralez, additionally, has also recorded the most assists on the current squad against the Red Bulls with seven.
The following players have registered assists against RBNY: Gray (two), Parks (two), tDefender Malachi Jones (one), Defender Thiago Martins (one), Kevin O’Toole (one) and Midfielder Hannes Wolf (one).
Goalkeeper Matt Freese has faced the New York Red Bulls four times (one with Philadelphia Union), facing 12 shots, making 10 saves, conceding two goals and averaging 0.55 goals conceded per game.
Freese holds a 2-0-1 record against RBNY and has recorded one clean sheet.
One of those appearances (not included in the record) was with the Philadelphia Union, on July 8, 2021, where he faced three shots and made three saves. He received a red card in the 57th minute.
In his last game against RBNY on September 28, 2024, he recorded three saves and faced 14 shots with four of those shots on goal.
New York City FC hosts their rivals for what will be the Club’s third match played at Citi Field this season.
This match will be the 21st match in Regular Season play to take place in Citi Field for the Club.
Other opponents to have played New York City at Citi include Columbus Crew, Toronto FC, Sporting Kansas City, Chicago Fire FC, Nashville SC, FC Dallas, Philadelphia Union, Charlotte FC, Minnesota United, Orlando City SC, Atlanta United, D.C. United, Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls, CF Montréal, and FC Cincinnati.
The first ever opponent was Columbus Crew in October 2017, where the two sides drew 2-2.
Conversely, the most recent match occurred this season, where New York City beat FC Cincinnati in a slim 1-0 victory.
New York City FC has scored 30 goals at Citi Field in over 20 games.
That amounts to an average of 1.5 goals scored per game at Citi Field.
The Club has only been held scoreless three times (v. Kansas City, Minnesota and Colorado).
Subsequently, the team has scored at least one goal in 85% of their matches played in Queens.
Alonso Martínez and Former Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez are tied for the most goals scored at Citi Field, with five apiece.
Martínez has six goal contributions at Citi (5G, 1A) while Rodríguez leads with 10 (5G, 5A).
Players on the current roster that have scored at Citi Field include Keaton Parks (two), Mounsef Bakrar (two), Forward Julián Fernández (three), and Wolf (one).
As for assists, 29 have been recorded of the 30 goals scored.
On the active roster, Hannes Wolf has the most with four.
Parks has three, and both Moralez and Defender Tayvon Gray have two, which rounds out the top three.
Other players who have assists are Mounsef Bakrar (one), Defender Mitja Ilenič (two), and Forward Malachi Jones (one).
In the last five games at Citi Field, Martínez has the most goal contributions (5G).
Fernández scored the most recent goal (v. FC Cincinnati).
Aside from Fernández and Martínez, the only other players to score in the most recent five in Queens include Wolf and Bakrar.
New York City FC goalkeepers have recorded eight clean sheets at Citi Field.
In ten appearances at Citi Field, Goalkeeper Matt Freese has kept six clean sheets.
Freese has recorded 900 minutes, faced 35 shots against, and made 29 saves.
He conceded six goals, averaging 0.6 GAA in ten matches.
The most Freese conceded in a single game was two, which happened on two occasions (v. Colorado and Chicago).
His win record at Citi Field is 7W-1L-2D.
The team’s overall win record at Citi is 11W-3L-6D.
When the team scores first, their record is 10W-1L-2D.
In these 13 matches where they scored first, they had more possession and more shots in nine of them.
Martínez is the most likely player on the current roster to score first in a game that results in a win, as he’s done that three times.
Parks scored first once, as has Bakrar, Wolf, and Fernández in victories.
When the team does not score first, the record shifts to 1W-2L-3D.
The most recent two games where the team did not score first resulted in losses.
The only win occurred in 2022 against Toronto, where New York City did not score the first goal but still secured all three points in a thrilling 5-4 result.
The most recent two Hudson River Derby matches that took place in league play occurred last year, first in May and then in September.
New York City FC swept the Red Bulls in regular season play last year, keeping an unblemished record of 2-0-0 over the pair of matches.
The match played in May 2024 took place at Citi Field, which marked the first ever Hudson River Derby to be played there for the Club.
The opener was scored by Hannes Wolf in the third minute of play, with assists from Malachi Jones and Santiago Rodríguez.
That would be New York City’s only goal of the first half, with the Red Bulls equalizing just prior to halftime.
Mounsef Bakrar was subbed in during the 58th minute and scored what would be his first goal of the season and the game winner only six minutes later in the 64th.
Bakrar’s game winning goal broke a streak of 15 games without a goal scored.
Tayvon Gray and Wolf were credited for the assist on Bakrar’s goal.
Wolf assisted and scored in the same game.
New York City won the game with 56.5 possessions, 12 shots, 4 shots on goal, two blocked shots, 544 total passes, and a passing accuracy rate of 91%.
The second match was played at Sports Illustrated Stadium in September, where New York City FC won dominantly 5-1.
Maxi Moralez and Martínez combined to score the first two goals, with Moralez’s in the fifth and Martínez’s two minutes later in the seventh.
It was the second Hudson River Derby in a row where New York City opened the scoring within five minutes.
Three more goals would come in the match from Midfielder Andrés Perea, Martínez, and Gray.
Assists would be credited to Defender Kevin O’Toole, Gray, Parks, and Moralez.
New York City FC ended the match scoring five, conceding just one, and wrapping it up statistics wise with a 47% possession rate, 11 shots, six shots on goal, two blocked shots, 375 total passes, and a 78.4% pass accuracy rate.
New York City FC v. New York Red Bulls: The post-match press conference will start approximately 10 minutes after the final whistle. The presser will feature New York City FC Head Coach Pascal Jansen.
If you’d like to attend the virtual press conference, please RSVP. The form will close by 5:15pm ET on matchday and no late applications will be accepted. You’ll receive the link to the digital press conference ahead of the scheduled time.
If you have any questions, email [email protected]CLICK HERE TO RSVPABOUT NEW YORK CITY FC
New York City FC is an American professional soccer team that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference of the League. It was announced as the League’s 20th franchise on May 21, 2013 and is the first and only MLS Club located within the five boroughs of New York City. New York City FC kicked off its inaugural MLS season in March 2015 and is majority owned by City Football Group (CFG). In 2021, New York City FC won MLS Cup in the Club’s first ever appearance, becoming the first professional sports franchise based in New York to win a championship in a decade. In 2022, New York City FC added to its trophy cabinet by winning Campeones Cup, the annual clash between the champions of MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
New York City FC’s affiliate team, New York City FC II, plays in MLS NEXT Pro, a professional soccer league that completes the pro player pathway from MLS NEXT, the youth academies associated with MLS, through to MLS, the top U.S. domestic league. New York City FC II plays their home matches in Belson Stadium at St. John’s University in Queens, NY and at Icahn Stadium, in Randall’s Island.
New York City FC’s Academy currently features teams from the U-12 to U-18 age groups and became the first Academy in the country to win back-to-back national titles at the U-19 level. New York City FC proudly supports City in the Community (CITC) foundation to use the power of soccer to uplift communities. One of the programs, New York City Soccer Initiative (NYCSI), is a first-of-its-kind public-private community partnership to open 50 mini-soccer pitches in NYC neighborhoods in five years. In 2021, NYCSI opened its 50th pitch and committed to install 26 more mini-pitches across NYC in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ which will be hosted across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
