The New York Red Bulls run in Leagues Cup has come to an end, falling to the Philadelphia Union in penalties.
New York jumped out to an early lead in Pennsylvania, with a goal from Elias Manoel, crossed by Omir Fernandez. Luquinhas' dribble help set up the goal.
Manoel’s goal was his third of the season and the fifth of his career with New York across all competitions.
"I was really pleased with the way we started the game and I'm disappointed we didn't find the second goal in that time period," Head Coach Troy Lesesne said. "I think that would have greatly helped our position."
Fernandez’ assist was his 4th in 2023 and the 9th of his career across all competitions, his second against Philadelphia. Fernandez has recorded a goal or an assist in six of his last nine matches across all competitions.
The Union battled back and scored in the 68' off a corner kick.
The match went to penalties, with the Union coming out on top, 4-3.
"The way our front four and five work together to try to eliminate some of their dangerous players and just disrupt them high up the field and then create chances off of it," Lesesne said. "This is what we wanted to do, and we have to do that a lot coming out of this Leagues Cup competition. We're going to have to do that a lot against many opponents. When we play here again, we're going to have to figure it out as well to try to get a lot of results and turn our focus towards the MLS regular season now."
New York's run in the inaugural Leagues Cup match comes to an end after topping New England Revolution in penalties, beating Atletico San Luis and New York City FC.
The Red Bulls return to MLS action on August 20 vs. D.C. United at Red Bull Arena.
"We need to make a run in these league games, and that starts there with D.C.," Sean Nealis said. "We'll have a day off to regroup and we reset our focus into this final few games."
