This wasn't supposed to be a demolition. The pre-match odds even had this as a coin flip contest with Charlotte being slight favorites at home. Red Bull coming off a wave of momentum from Choupo-Moting's last second strike to steal a point off of Toronto, they looked to ride that into Bank Of America Stadium. And yet, by the time referee Allen Chapman blew the final whistle, Charlotte FC had recorded their largest victory in club history. Six goals from five different scorers that highlighted the fragility behind the depth, or lack thereof, of Michael Bradleys Bulls.
For Charlotte this was a statement. After a frustrating 0-0 draw against a Messi-less Inter Miami and a sluggish overall start to the season (1-1-2), Dean Smith's side looked like a team that had been building toward eruption. Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, tonight was that night. It was the worst defeat in modern franchise history, since Red Bull took over the franchise, and a harsh reality check about the inherent risks in Bradley's high-tempo, press heavy system.
Coming into the match many supporters questioned how Bradley would field a back four that would be lacking standout Justin Che. Especially if Dylan Nealis still was not ready to go. Tim Parker was the only other player on the first team with the natural ability to play the center back position, but he wasn't the man named to the starting eleven, that honor was handed to Gustav Berggren. A man who to this point has played fifteen total minutes in the starting campaign and, as far as we can find, has never started a game at center back.
Bradley's Red Bulls started bright, controlling the opening ten minutes of the match. Coming out pressing aggressively as expected, pinning Charlotte deep and completing more passes than the host during this phase. They were winning the territorial battle and looking sharp in transition. Charlottes edge began to show, especially on set pieces. In the 14th minute, Diani won a free kick down the right side. Pep Biel whipped in a dangerous delivery and Tolklomati beat his man marker, Robert Voloder to push through his header inside the left post from roughly seven yards outs.
Looking at the scoreline, someone who didn't watch the game might think this was the beginning of a Red Bull collapse, but that was not the case at all. Horvath made a key kick save on Vargas in the 35th minute. On the other end, Kahlina had to deal with a ferocious strike By Ronald Donkor that rattled the crossbar. The first half story was one of relative balance, RBNY held 62% possession and had nine shot attempts to Charlottes five. Most importantly though, the game is won by goals and not possession, and in that stat, Charlotte was up one to zero.
What the first half revealed was a tale of consistency. The Red Bulls have no problem generating volume (shots, possession, corners) but struggle with quality in the final third. Charlotte, like previous opponents, were happy to cede the ball, stay compact, and hit on the counter or through dead ball situations. The key for Charlotte was their veteran midfielder, Ashley Westwood. He sat deep, recycled possession calmly, and released the ball quickly into Zaha and Vargas sitting in the wide areas so they could run at the isolated full backs. Westwood wasn't mentioned much on broadcast, but he would finish with three assists. The quiet engine behind the tactical masterplan.
Twenty-nine seconds. That was all Charlotte needed to make Bradley pay for whatever tactical adjustment he made during his halftime team talk. Matthew Dos Santos Was substituted off for Omar Valencia, Valencia was instantly called into action needing to defend an attack by Charlotte winger Vargas, one he ultimately could not deal with. Before the Red Bulls could even settle into the second half shape, or even see the tactical plan and adjustment go into play, it all fell apart.
Things went from bad to catastrophic seven minutes later. Gustav Berggren brought down Toklomati near the top of the box, he wasn't inside the penalty area yet, but Berggren was the last man back. Referee Alan Chapman showed him a straight red without hesitation and now the 2-0 trailing Red Bulls, were playing a man down. This was Berggren's first start of the season, many questions were asked if Bradley just didn't see enough in him to be a starter in his system. This doesn't seem to be something that will help his case. One mistake shouldn't bury somebody, but it definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth for someone who was already seemingly struggling for game time.
Ten men Red Bull stepped up to defend Pep Biel's free kick. He stepped up more determined. He took the chance and used his left foot to put the shot to Horvath's bottom right. The score now showed three to nothing, and being down to ten men, there wasn't much to inspire any sort of confidence in the Red Bull camp.
For Charlotte, Zaha scored in the 68th, and Archie Goodwin scored in the 77th and 93rd minutes. To Bradley's credit (depending on who you ask) he never parked the bus. Red Bull just didn't stand a chance being down to ten men, and definitely didn't stand a chance with embarrassed teenagers on the field.
Julian Hall did score a consolation goal in the 81st, netting his fourth of the season. He know has four of all five Red Bull goals this season. The main discourse around the fan base is abut how they're tap ins. As far as we are concerned, goals all count the same. Whether they go in from 2 yards or they go in from eighteen yards, you get the same amount of points on the board. This team needs more people scoring goals, that is the bottom line. The final third creativity and quality has been abysmal.
Bradley described it as a "really strange game." He acknowledged the strong start before detailing the rapid collapse. "I thought we started really well, had a really good, big chance. After two or three minutes, we were pushing things in a good way. Go down 1-0, a free kick that we're not able to deal with in a good way."
On the pivotal sequence that broke the match open. "The game changes drastically at the beginning of the second half. We go down 2-0 after less than a minute. Then not long after that, we go down to 10 men, and they score on the ensuing free kick. That's a challenging part to the game."
Despite the scale of the defeat, Bradley struck an optimistic tone. "We're building something. We're on the path to becoming a really good team. But unfortunately, nights like tonight are part of it. Sometimes, we have to be able to take the lessons we have to be able to learn, and we have to be able to move forward."
He added, "We're trying, one day at a time, to build a team that can hold up in the biggest moments, that can play football, that can compete, that can really, really challenge for things in every way. I said to the players, unfortunately, nights like this are a tough part of that road."