No Answers in LA: Red Bulls’ Second-Half Season Struggle Intensifies After LAFC Defeat
September 9, 2026 BMO Stadium Los Angeles, CA
The New York Red Bulls fell 2-0 to Los Angeles FC, extending their winless streak to six matches. The costly defeat drops New York down to 12th place in the Eastern Conference, officially pushing them out of a playoff spot with time running out in the season.
New York, needing points in this match to maintain a tenuous hold on a playoff spot, began the match with a rotated side. Red Bull II short-term call-ups Dennis Nelich appeared as a starter, and Sekou Kone began on the bench. While the two may be talented, the fact that Bradley had to turn to these players at a crucial point of the season is an indictment on the roster put together by Julian De Guzman.
The match began with New York controlling possession but not generating any chances, with Los Angeles looking like the likely side to score first. The breakthrough would come for LAFC in the 21st minute. Following a costly Red Bull turnover in their own half, LAFC attacked down the left flank. Yevhen Cheberko found Son Heung-min, who maneuvered by two Red Bull defenders. Son fired a powerful shot that forced a diving parry from Ethan Horvath. The rebound fell directly to 17-year-old homegrown midfielder Jude Terry, who cleanly slotted it home through traffic from just inside the penalty box. Terry's first professional goal would give Los Angeles a deserved early 1-0 lead. Things would get worse for New York as midfielder Adri Mehmeti was forced off in the 33rd minute with a leg injury and replaced by Sekou Kone. The rest of the half would be evenly contested by both sides, and New York would struggle to get into the final third, only managing one total shot on target in the first half. LA would go into the break with the 1-0 advantage.
The second half began for New York with much of the same: possession but no chances. Looking to inject life, head coach Michael Bradley used all of his remaining substitutions early in the half—including bringing on Julian Hall, Mijahir Jimenez, and Jorge Ruvalcaba in the 56th minute. Not much changed with the moves, and in the 75th minute, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty was forced off due to an injury. Having used all of the allowed substitutes, New York was forced to play with 10 men. Defender Justin Che would exit in stoppage time due to an apparent injury, so the Red Bulls would be down to nine players and the result practically wrapped up for LA.
Deep into stoppage time, the exhausted and short-handed Red Bulls pushed forward in vain. LAFC wingback Ryan Hollingshead launched a counter-attack up the left wing. He then squared a precise ball across. German forward Armindo Sieb, signed recently from Bayern Munich, gathered the pass and hammered a first-touch strike past Horvath to record his first MLS goal. The match would end with another loss for New York, this time by a 2-0 score.
This defeat pushes the Red Bulls' current winless streak to six consecutive games (0-4-2). The second-half slide has officially cost them control of their postseason destiny, dropping the club to 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings—leaving them three spots out of a playoff position with time running out. With the roster as currently constituted, missing out on another playoff place is a realistic possibility. The team is now closer to the bottom 5 in the league than a playoff spot.
Red Bull New York 0, LAFC 2
Scoring Summary:
LAFC – Jude Terry 2 (unassisted) 21’
LAFC – Armindo Sieb 1 ( Hollingshead, Cheberko) 90’+6’’
Misconduct Summary:
NY – Dylan Nealis (caution, foul) 18’
LAFC – Kenneth Nielsen (caution, foul) 42’
NY – Julián Bazán (caution, foul) 52’
Red Bull New York: Ethan Horvath; Devin Padelford (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, 66’), Julián Bazán, Justin Che, Dylan Nealis, Adri Mehmeti (Sekou Kone, 33’), Mohammed Sofo (Julian Hall, 56’), Emil Forsberg ©, Dennis Nelich, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Mijahir Jiménez, 56’), Cade Cowell (Jorge Ruvalcaba, 56’)
Unused Subs: John McCarthy, Cameron Harper, Tim Parker, David Ruiz
LAFC: Hugo Lloris; Ryan Hollingshead, Aaron Long ©, Kenneth Nielsen (Ryan Raposo, 75’), Nkosi Tafari, Jude Terry (Igor Jesus, 61’) , Yevhen Cherberko, Mathieu Choiniere, Heung Min Son, Denis Bouanga (Tyler Boyd, 90’), Jacob Shaffelburg (Armindo Sieb, 61’)
Unused Subs: Sergi Palencia, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cabral Carter, Christian Diaz, Tommy Mihalic
Match Statistics:
Possession: RBNY 57% - LAFC 43%
Total Shots: RBNY 8 - LAFC 15
Shots on Target: RBNY 1 - LAFC 8
Fouls: RBNY 13 - LAFC 11
Corners: RBNY 3 - LAFC 9
Saves: RBNY 6 - LAFC 1
Comments