ONLY IN AMNYEWYORK
Perhaps Emil Forsberg was feeling diplomatic when asked about his feelings toward NYCFC, the arch rival of the New York Red Bulls that will be traveling to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday in a crucial late-season clash.
“I want to beat them,” Forsberg gritted through steel reserve in a one-on-one conversation with amNewYork.
NYCFC is the first of three remaining matches separating the Red Bulls from a potential 16th-straight MLS playoff berth, which is anything but secure at this late stage of the season. The Red Bulls sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Chicago Fire, who have a game in hand, for ninth place and the final postseason spot.
It’s getting awfully late, and for a team that made the MLS Cup Final last season, missing the playoffs would be a considerable whiff.
“It’s a tough league. There are a lot of good teams,” Forsberg, now in his second year with New York after a decade with RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga, said. “I think this team, we know what we can do. We know how good we can be, just that we gave way too many points, too many easy mistakes throughout the year. And if you do that, it’s going to be possible [to miss the playoffs].”
The competition has ramped up, though. With three games remaining, the Red Bulls already have just four fewer points (43) than they did all of last year, and that was good enough for them to finish in seventh.
The objective remains the same. Anything can happen in the playoffs, as made evident by their Cinderella run last season that featured postseason upsets of the Columbus Crew, NYCFC, and Orlando City before falling to the LA Galaxy in the final.
They just have to get there, first.
“I have the most confidence. I am fully convinced that we can make [the playoffs],” he said. “We’re having a good week now coming into the to the derby against NYCFC. I’m feeling good as of now, and I’m fully confident we’re gonna make it. That’s the only thing I have in my head.”
The Red Bulls snapped a three-game winless skid with a 2-0 victory over Montreal last weekend, but have not beaten NYCFC — coming off a 4-0 loss to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Wednesday — in regular-season play since May of 2023.
That drought has to be broken if they want any chance of catching Chicago.
“With football, pressure comes,” Forsberg said. “We’re trying. We’re doing everything we can to solve [our issues], but we have to stay positive, work hard in training, believe in what we’re doing, believe in ourselves as a group, take it day-by-day, and focus on getting better and doing better personally and as a team.
“I’m just looking ahead to Saturday.”
Kick-off from Sports Illustrated Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
