This one should feel like a playoff game.
The Union and New York Red Bulls both have a lot to play for, and both clubs believe they have the talent to trounce the other if things go their way. A taut 0-0 draw in New Jersey earlier this season showed that Philadelphia Union could find holes in Red Bulls’ vaunted press-and-direct-play system; a 2-1 win in Philadelphia in the Open Cup confirmed it.
But since they last faced the Union, Red Bulls have undergone their first coaching change since 2015. Jesse Marsch departed for an assistant’s role in Leipzig and left Chris Armas to guide the team he had assiduously built into a field-compressing powerhouse.