The Red Bulls won two of their three meetings with Columbus in 2021 (L1), including a 1-0 home win in August 2021. New York had won just one of its previous nine meetings with the Crew (D2 L6, including playoffs) from September 2017 through the end of the 2020 season.
The Red Bulls suffered just their third loss in their last 16 games (W9 D4, including playoffs) when they fell, 1-0, to Minnesota United on Sunday, a result that also ended New York’s seven-match home unbeaten run (W3 D4). New York hasn’t lost consecutive home matches since losing three straight in September 2020.
For the fourth time in the last five seasons, Columbus has seven points from the first three matches of the season (5 in 2021). The nine goals the Crew have scored in the first three matches are a club record, having never before scored more than seven times in the opening three matches of a season.
The Red Bulls’ 1-0 loss to Minnesota on Sunday marked the 16th consecutive game that New York has allowed fewer than two goals, the fourth-longest such streak in MLS history (including playoffs). The only longer streak in the last decade was a 17-match run by the Crew from August 2019 to September 2020.
Lucas Zelarayán has scored in his last six MLS matches dating back to the end of last season, equaling the longest such streak in Crew history, matching Stern John’s run in September-October 1998.
