🏆 New York Red Bulls beat reigning champions Columbus Crew

We continue tonight with the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, with three more matches from around the league.

Here’s what’s happened so far.

New York Red Bulls 2-2 Columbus Crew (NYRB advance after penalties)

Scorers: Vanzeir 64′, Forsberg 80′ (P); Arfsten 55′, Ramirez 90+7′

The Crew looked keen to claw their way back into the series from the start and they pushed hard for the opener in the first half, but luck was not on their side. The reigning champion saw two shots hit the post within seconds in the final minutes of the half.

After the break, however, super-sub Max Arfsten made a big impact when he scored just minutes into the match to put the visitors ahead, but that advantage did not last long as the Red Bulls hit back through Dante Vanzeir in less than 10 minutes. later.

Red Bull Arena was brought back to life in the final 15 minutes when a Red Bull player was brought down in the penalty area by veteran defender Rudy Camacho. Emil Forsberg stepped up and sent the penalty to put the hosts ahead with just over 10 minutes remaining, leaving the champions on the ropes.

The Crew pushed for an equalizer deep into stoppage time, and they were rewarded for their efforts when Christian Ramirez stunned the home crowd with a header in the 7th minute of stoppage time, sending the match to penalties.

There was more drama during the shootout. Both John Toljin and Yevhen Cheberko saw their efforts saved for their respective sides, but misses from Max Arftsen and Alexandru Mățan deep in the shootout saw the champions fall.

The Red Bulls’ win represents the first real setback of this season’s MLS Cup Playoffs.

Check back later for more updates