The Red Bulls did everything but score. Lather, rinse, repeat.
New York yet again dominated Charlotte FC on the road Sunday night. It garnered 60% of the possession, had eight corners compared to Charlotte’s two, and attempted 15 on target.
The problem was that just three went on target, and none provided much malice or found the back of the net, as the Red Bulls’ lack of attacking verve was once again on full display in a 1-0 loss.
“We could’ve played for three hours, and I’m not sure if we could’ve changed the result with our behavior in the final third,” head coach Sandro Schwarz admitted. “We have to play more with a clear direction to the goal, to play more forward… When we did it, we had our chances, we had our moments… We had so many moments to create more dangerous situations… we have to be more aggressive.”
The timing of such an effort could not have come at a worse time. The MLS transfer window closed on Thursday, and the Red Bulls did nothing to bolster their attacking ranks behind veteran striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has single-handedly been carrying the goal-scoring load for considerable stretches in his first year in the United States after making a move from German giants Bayern Munich.
They came up empty in their continued pursuit of German international Timo Werner, who, despite disastrous struggles at Germany’s RB Leipzig and England’s Tottenham, could still dominate in North America and would have provided New York with as good a one-two punch up top as any side in MLS.
After months of ineffective negotiations and an unwillingness to raise their price despite being owned by a company worth billions — Werner also appears content to collect $11 million from Leipzig this season and not play — the Red Bulls did not have a backup plan for their striking woes.
Instead, they will rely on Lewis Morgan, who is returning from a quad injury, and youngsters Mohammed Sofo and Julian Hall to provide enough support to get New York into the playoffs.
But postseason play is anything but confirmed. Their 15-year playoff streak is in serious jeopardy, as their loss on Sunday night has them sitting in the ninth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, though they are level on points with 10th-place Chicago, which has a game in hand.
For more on the Red Bulls, visit AMNY.com
