Come Sunday, a roaring crowd will fill up Red Bull Arena, one might assume the exciting pulsations come from a rivalry that has roots embedded deeper than this one match. This is not so much the case. Despite the fact that both the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls feel like the dominant force in MLS, they do not have one of those fierce rivalries in which we revel and claim anger over the other team’s mere existence. The players will tell you that there is an East Coast versus West Coast vibe, which helps make this type of game exciting and give it mass appeal, but there is no rivalry. One of the reasons being that these two teams rarely meet up, once a season in recent years – that a rivalry does not make.
Previous 4 Meetings Between LA Galaxy & NY Red Bulls (Includes Playoffs)
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.28.2014 | LA | 4-0 | NY |
| 5.19.2013 | NY | 1-0 | LA |
| 11.3.2011 | LA | 2-1 | NY |
| 10.30.2011 | NY | 0-1 | LA |
The Red Bulls have won four out of the five previous games with the Galaxy (MLS Regular Season). Maybe because last season was electric or maybe as a send off for our #LegenD, the Galaxy took a 4-0 win against the Red Bulls. It was an anomalous performance and not without it’s faults. Going back further to the 2012 season, an underwhelming performance by the LA Galaxy led to a 1-0 win for the Red Bulls.
In 2013, the Galaxy had the same unfortunate end, resulting from the Red Bulls’ strong defensive line and a lackadaisical first half. The Galaxy is often able to pull up from a situation in which they haven’t played at their own level in the first half, and in fact, Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, and Gyasi Zardes opened more opportunities in the second half . Ultimately though, the Red Bulls’ striker Tim Cahill saved their game in the last minute.
The times when both teams have performed well have been when they have something to prove. Last season, the Galaxy was saying goodbye to a player that will forever remain in the history of MLS, so perhaps that’s why they outperformed their East coast counterparts. This season, The Red Bulls haven’t experienced any losses and the Galaxy are in an upswing, hopefully this match-up will deliver interesting results. Here are the highlights from last year’s win.