HARRISON, N.J. — The New York Red Bulls are going to go as far as Emil Forsberg and his partnership with Lewis Morgan can take them.
A preseason certainty grows more and more definite with each passing minute — it has been just three games into the 2024 Major League Soccer season.
Forsberg and Morgan both scored in the Red Bulls’ 2-1 victory over FC Dallas in their home opener on Saturday night with each player taking on a prominent role in the goal tallied by the other midfielder.
Forsberg — the Swedish international superstar — scored his first goal with New York after making the high-profile move from RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga in the 30th minute via the penalty spot, which was won by Morgan after he was pulled down in the box.
In the 59th minute, Forsberg returned the favor, feeding Morgan with a cross-box pass that the Scottish midfielder poked home with one touch for his second goal in as many matches. Saturday night was also Morgan’s first start of the season after recovering from a nagging hip injury that limited him to just five games last year and required offseason surgery.
He was New York’s leading scorer in 2022 with 18 goals in all competitions.
“You have Lewis who makes fantastic runs and is a fantastic player,” Forsberg said. “So for us to link up in that way… the connections are growing stronger every day. He’s a key player for us. I’m happy for him that he’s back. He was away a long time… he’s finally back and he’s such an important player for us. He’s going to be that for us this year.”
Morgan, who played 78 minutes on the left wing, has already shown a deep understanding of Forsberg’s game as the two appear to work seamlessly in the Red Bulls’ midfield. Saturday was their best game yet with Forsberg lining up in the center of a three-man midfield rather than on the left wing of a four-man unit deployed by manager Sando Schwarz in the first two games of the season — a change sparked by FC Dallas’ decision to line up with three at the back.
Forsberg, however, rarely stays in his designated central role. He meanders throughout the midfield — “I can move free a little bit more and find spaces,” he said — oftentimes dictating play through Morgan’s left side.
“He does like to float out to the left-hand side and I think we have a good connection where when he does that, I come in inside,” Morgan said. “He’s almost playing as a left-winger and I’m playing through the middle… It’s about having that freedom and when you have a player of that quality, it makes everything a bit easier.”
Of New York’s five goals scored this season, Forsberg (1 goal, 1 assist) and Morgan (2 goals) have had a direct hand in four of them, only further proving how much of a difference these two can be.
With Morgan injured last year and Forsberg still in Germany’s top flight, the Red Bulls didn’t score their fifth goal of the 2023 MLS campaign until their seventh game. They also had just one win and seven points during that difficult opening stretch.
They have two wins and seven points in their first three matches in 2024.
“He’s a top player,” Morgan said of Forsberg. “We all knew that coming in and not just for the forward players, but for the whole group… Hopefully this is a partnership that can keep thriving. I think we’re starting to see a bit of a connection between me and him.”
For more on Emil Forsberg, Lewis Morgan, and the Red Bulls, visit AMNY.com
