The Red Bulls had the best regular season of any team in MLS history. They captured their third Supporters’ Shield in six years with a league-record 71 points, despite coach Jesse Marsch bailing midseason to coach in Germany.
New coach Chris Armas deserves credit for keeping the Red Bulls focused and even making them better during his half-year tenure.
However, those accolades and accomplishments won’t mean much unless Red Bulls can find a way to not disappoint in MLS Cup playoffs, which seems like a tradition at this point.
In order to avoid that, Red Bulls will need at least two goals to move past the Columbus Crew on Sunday at Red Bull Arena, where Armas is banking on their home-field success to get to the Eastern Conference finals.