HARRISON, N.J. – A packed house at Red Bull Arena took in an wild, high-scoring affair on Wednesday night as the New York Red Bulls shocked English giants Chelsea 4-2 in the International Champions Cup.
Fielding an entirely different lineup than the one took the field against the Philadelphia Union on Tuesday afternoon in the US Open Cup, head coach Jesse Marsch turned to reserves and New York Red Bulls II players to face the reigning Premier League champions. The mismatch on paper was evident, but a scrappy New York side proved worthy opponents on the evening.
The visitors set the tone early, putting pressure on the Red Bulls defense and testing goalkeeper Kyle Reynish early and often. Chelsea winger Victor Moses had the first real chance of the match in the seventh minute, but Reynish was up to the task, keeping the game scoreless.
But the Blues struck first in the 27th minute, as Moses sprung Chelsea on the attack down the wing. Brazilian international Oscar collected the ball from a wide area and centered to forward Loic Remy, who calmly finished from inside the 18-yard box to put the visitors up 1-0.
Chelsea continued to push forward, looking the far more dangerous of the two sides, but the Red Bulls nearly capitalized on a gaffe in the 42nd minute. Red Bulls II's Daniel Bedoya managed to cut out a back pass intended for Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgian was able to recover to save Marius Obekop’s ensuing shot.
- Find more coverage of this game at NewYorkRedBulls.com
The equalizer came in the 51st minute, as Red Bulls II winger Franklin Castellanos, minutes after having a shot cleared on the goal line by a defender, was able to capitalize on yet another mistake at the back. This time, an errant pass from former England national team defender John Terry was picked off by Castellanos and finished into an empty net.
In shocking fashion, the Red Bulls managed to take the lead through 16-year-old Red Bulls II midfielder Tyler Adams in the 69th minute. Castellanos turned provider on the move, finding Adams in the box, where the US U-17 international deftly headed home to put New York up 2-1.
The next eight minutes saw an additional three goals fly in to delight the 24,076 in attendance. The New York lead was extended even further in the 73rd minute as midfielder Sean Davis (pictured above) pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and slammed it past Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Just two minutes later, Belgian superstar Eden Hazard cut into the New York lead as his laser shot from just inside the penalty area beat Red Bulls goalkeeper Santiago Castaño to the near post.
The scoring concluded with yet another Davis strike, as the 22-year-old capitalized on another loose ball, this time with his left foot, to give New York their 4-2 winning scoreline.
The Red Bulls return to the pitch at Red Bull Arena in another ICC match on Sunday night as they take on Portuguese side Benfica, while Chelsea will face off with Paris Saint-Germain in North Carolina on Saturday night.
Scoring Summary:
CFC - Loic Remy (Oscar) 26
NY - Franklin Castellanos (unassisted) 51
NY - Tyler Adams (Franklin Castellanos) 69
NY - Sean Davis (unassisted) 73
CFC - Eden Hazard (Oscar) 75
NY - Sean Davis (unassisted) 77
Misconduct Summary:
NY - Sean Davis (caution) 20
NY - Roy Miller (caution) 61
Lineups:
New York Red Bulls: Kyle Reynish (Santiago Castaño 70); Shawn McLaws (Jamie Thomas 71), Roy Miller (Bolu Akinyode 71), Karl Ouimette, Marius Obekop (Victor Manosalvas 71), Daniel Bedoya (Franklin Castellanos 46), Konrad Plewa (Michael Da Fonte 46), Leo Stolz (Colin Heffron 71), Tyler Adams (Devon Williams 71), Sean Davis, Chris Tsonis (Dan Metzger 46)
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3.
Chelsea FC: Thibaut Courtois (Asmir Begovic 46); Branislav Ivanovic (Ola Aina 46), Cesc Fabregas (Ramires 46), Kurt Zouma, Oscar, Jon Obi Mikel (Nemanja Matic 46), Bertrand Traore (Ruben Loftus-Cheek 46), Loic Remy (Diego Costa 46), Victor Moses (Eden Hazard 46), Gary Cahill (John Terry 46), Cesar Azpilicueta (Dominic Solanke 71)
TOTAL SHOTS: 21; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2.
