By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Associated Press
New York Red Bulls rallied and defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Sunday at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Cameroon’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals for the Red Bulls. It was a different Red Bulls team in the second half. If the coach gave them some words of wisdom during halftime, then it paid off—a remarkable come-from-behind victory for the Red Bulls.
Before the comeback, Real Salt Lake had the momentum in the first. Xavier Gozo got things started when he scored the first goal of the game against Real Salt Lake. It’s Gozo’s third goal of the season.
However, despite their victory being satisfying for the Red Bulls, the game was marred by some controversy. The officiating wasn’t consistent, especially in the second half. Soccer fans were in displeasure with the officiating.
Diego Luna got ejected from the game after he received his second yellow card. Referee Ricardo Fierro handed a red card to Duncan for violent conduct. It didn’t stop there because Fierro gave Choupo-Moting a penalty. Fierro didn’t have a proper camera angle to see if there was another VAR review. Players and coaches were confused and baffled by some of these calls.
Red Bulls put in 24 shots on the net compared to Salt Lake’s seven shots. Red Bulls won 55 percent of the possessions. This is Real Salt Lake’s first meeting against the Red Bulls since 2019.
Salt Lake will play against Charlotte FC in another road game next Saturday. The Red Bulls will stay home as they take on Philadelphia for the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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