While the lack of substitutions were questionable, Derrick Etienne Jr was the only attacking option on the bench for Armas. Just days into Chris Armas’ tenure as New York Red Bulls head coach, he already faces a new challenge to spark the Red Bulls midfield.
On July 5th, Red Bulls midfielder Florian Valot suffered a torn ACL at training putting an end to his breakout 2018 season. After standout performances in CONCACAF Champions League, Valot took over the starting right attacking midfield role and made it his own. Valot started 13 MLS regular season games and finished with 3 goals and 5 assists.