If there’s anything better than winning a derby match, putting your rival on the brink of elimination might just be it.
For New York City FC, that was the blueprint on Saturday night, as they defeated the New York Red Bulls 3–2 at Sports Illustrated Stadium, putting their rivals’ hopes of extending their 15-year MLS Cup Playoff streak into heavy doubt heading into the final two matches.
Thiago Martins scored the winning goal for NYCFC, heading home a free kick in the 65th minute, while Nicolas Férnandez Mercau and Andres Perea also found the back of the net for the visitors. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Julian Hall and Emil Forsberg scored for the Red Bulls in the losing effort.
The loss put the Red Bulls five points short of Chicago Fire FC for the final berth in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, while NYCFC rose to third in the Eastern Conference, putting themselves three points above fifth place. A top-four finish would secure home advantage in the best-of-three first round.
It also marked the fourth straight regular-season Hudson River Derby win for NYCFC, their longest-ever win streak in the matchup, and just the second time in the rivalry’s history, having previously fallen to the Red Bulls in 2015 and 2016.
“It’s massive,” said NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen of the sweep. “I was very pleasantly surprised by how many blue shirts I saw in this red stadium, because I was told in the beginning of the week that the people from New York, that is from our side, do not like to come to this stadium.”
“Winning the two games this season against the Red Bulls means a lot to our fans, obviously, but also, the response in the dressing room was massive, because we have a few guys at our homegrown as well, so they know exactly what it feels like to win this.”
