3 things we learned from NYCFC's emotional derby draw with the Red Bulls | OneFootball

On a beautiful Saturday night in New Jersey, New York City FC played in an emotional Hudson River Derby.  The real New York team and the one that is falsely called the New York Red Bulls earned a point after a 1-1 draw.  It was a comeback draw, too, but the result was clouded by an awful injury.

Maxi Moralez, a star and already a legend for NYCFC, badly hurt himself when he tried to poke the ball away from the opposition and regain possession for his team.  But his knee gave out, and he fell to the ground, more than likely ending his season due to a possible ACL injury.

The Red Bulls also scored toward the end of the first half to take the lead.  Thankfully, after a poor first half, the Boys in Blue played much better in the second, and Andrés Perea’s goal in the 52nd minute led to the draw.

It was great that NYCFC remains unbeaten in their last three matches, but losing Moralez makes the draw feel meaningless.  As such, here are three things we learned from NYCFC’s game with the Red Bulls.

It does not look good for NYCFC’s Maxi Moralez

Back in 2023, not too long after Moralez returned to the club after his initial departure, the midfielder tore his ACL.  At the time, nobody knew whether that was it for the player and what his future looked like.

After Saturday, those same questions will be asked by the fans and probably the front office of NYCFC.  Listen, every year there was the question about whether he would be back for one more season.  And he came back in 2024, where he was able to play.  Then, he signed another contract for the 2025 season.  And, as everyone knows, he came back for this campaign.

But the difference this time is that he was at an age where he could retire or continue back in 2023, and now he will be 40 by the time he will likely be healthy enough to play.

Again, there is no confirmation that he tore his ACL or has another knee injury.  But when one watches the video, it is clear that his knee is not okay.  He could not walk off the pitch.  Yes, some walking does not imply anything, since there are players who can walk on a torn ACL or knee injury.  But it looks bad.  It would be a miracle if the NYCFC player’s injury is not as bad as it looked.

Malachi Jones and Andrés Perea made a difference for NYCFC

The halves were night and day for the Pigeons.  They could barely do anything in the attack and were cornered into constant defending in the first half.  But in the second, the Bronx side played like a team that remembered they had the talent to compete with the Red Bulls.

Part of why the second half was a million times better likes with Perea and Malachi Jones.  Perea is the reason that NYCFC walked away with a point.  His jumping header was impossible to stop, and Nicolás Fernández Mercau’s free kick was on point, allowing Perea to score.

But Jones animated the attack when he came on for the second set of 45 minutes.  The young winger, who in a way is like a rookie since he was not able to finish his rookie year due to injury, had six shots.  He got the ball into the box and was threatening.  Truly, it is kind of remarkable that he did not score the winning goal, but that can come down to the lack of professional experience.

The NYCFC forward is starting to show glimpses of why fans were excited about him before he broke his leg in 2024.  Jones might turn into someone that Pascal Jansen relies on significantly throughout the rest of 2026.

The NYCFC defense still deserves a shout out

For the most part, the NYCFC defense held strong, especially in the first half.  The Red Bulls were consistent in the attack, and everyone had to work overtime to keep the team in the game.  It easily could have been a 3-1 or 4-1 loss, but Thiago Martins, Tayvon Gray, and the rest of the backline dug deep to keep the Red Bulls to just one goal.

Yes, it was a backline mistake that led to the goal for the home team.  However, Moralez had also exited the game, and likely the players were a little out of it until they went into the locker room at halftime.

And while the match changed for the better, NYCFC was still at risk in the second half.  But the defenders, and really everyone, worked hand in hand to eventually leave with a draw.