6 Lessons Learned from the First Meeting of the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC

The buildup to Sunday's match between the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC was among the most interesting yet confusing in the history of Major League Soccer.

The league and New York media billed the match as a huge rivalry, a meeting of clubs with fanbases that simply did not like each other. Hatred between fans may well exist, but the question remained: Would the two teams, essentially strangers, play the match like it was a rivalry?

Thankfully for the league, media and neutral observers, the game had a rivalry feel from the opening whistle. Fans of both teams were loud throughout the match, an early goal set the pace for a frantic match and a first-half red card to Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga served to both give the match a level of controversy and grit, as well as level the playing field for an overmatched NYCFC side. 

The first half closed with the Red Bulls up 1-0 but down to 10 men. NYCFC held the ball for most of the second hal...

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