The New York Red Bulls defeat Inter Miami CF, 4-0, at Red Bull Arena after an incredible performance from the entire squad.
New York are back to their winning ways thanks to a Lewis Morgan hat-trick and a goal from Wiki Carmona. Forward Dante Vanzeir assisted on all four goals, becoming the first player to record four assists in a match in club history. The Belgian striker is also only the eighth player to accomplish the feat in MLS history.
The Red Bulls started the scoring early, after defender Dylan Nealis played a ball to Vanzeir, who laid off a perfect touch pass to find a streaking Lewis Morgan for the far post finish. With the goal being the eventual game-winner, Morgan has now recorded the game-winning-goal in all three wins for New York this season.
New York’s second came early in the second half, starting with midfielder Frankie Amaya capitalizing on a Miami turnover and playing a quick ball to Vanzeir. The forward then played a short pass with one touch to Morgan, who found the bottom right corner to double the home side’s lead.
While the Red Bulls’ third goal wouldn’t come from Morgan himself, the Scottish midfielder played an integral role in the setup. Chasing after a loose ball, Morgan made a sliding save to keep a rush going where New York had numbers. Morgan led the attack into the opposing eighteen and found Vanzeir, who played yet another one touch pass, this time to Wiki Carmona, who blasted one home from the middle of the box.
To cap everything off, it was more of the same from Vanzeir and Morgan. After a defensive stop, defender Andres Reyes played a 50-yard pass over the Miami defensive line to find a sprinting Vanzeir. The Belgian, as he had done three times prior in the match, played a simple, but perfect, pass to Morgan to complete his hat-trick and seal the victory in front of the home fans.
Morgan’s three goals and Vanzeir’s four assists now puts them at five for the 2024 MLS regular season, which is the current league lead in both respective categories.
A performance that cannot be overlooked is the one from veteran goalkeeper, Ryan Meara. The Yonkers, New York, native posted two saves and the clean sheet against one of the most potent offensive clubs in the entire league. The shutout was the eighth of Meara’s MLS career and his first since October 28, 2020, against New England Revolution.
The club has now recorded 90 clean sheets at Red Bull Arena since 2010, which is the most in MLS during that span.
New York hits the road to face Orlando City SC on Saturday, March 30. Kickoff at INTER&CO Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish and New York Red Bulls Radio in English via TuneIn, the New York Red Bulls app and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
