Sandro Schwarz is keen to turn New York Red Bulls’ recent draws into wins heading into the business end of the season, starting with Philadelphia Union this weekend.
The Bulls returned from their disappointing Leagues Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Charlotte FC away from home, marking their 12th of the term, three more than any other side in the Eastern Conference.
Despite this, they sit fourth in the standings, four points behind Columbus Crew, and while Schwarz was happy with a draw in their last encounter, he acknowledged the momentum that comes with victories will be crucial for the playoffs.
“We have 12 draws this season and it’s too much, but this is what we have to analyse differently moving forward,” Schwarz said.
“I think the draw we had last time out was good against a solid team and especially in the first game after the break to come directly back into our rhythm.
“The whole team adapted but I don’t want to compare now this draw with other draws, especially in our home games. Our main goal every Saturday is to win games.”
Philadelphia, meanwhile, returned to MLS action in midweek against Columbus Crew, the side who beat them in the semi-finals on their way to lifting the Leagues Cup title.
And the same result transpired, with Yaw Yeboah’s 75th minute strike compounding them to a 1-0 defeat to leave them 10th in the Eastern Conference table and a point behind Atlanta United.
With the quick turnaround in matches, head coach Jim Curtin expressed his concerns about the level of fitness within his Union squad, revealing that rotation in the coming weeks will help aid his sides push for the playoffs in the final stretch of fixtures.
"We'll see how guys recover again tonight. Definitely took a lot out of our guys,” Curtin said. “We put a lot into the game. So did Columbus.
“Lot of tired bodies on the field at the end of the game. We'll have to assess things, see where guys are at, and then kind of go from there.
"Yeah, we'll need guys to step up for sure. We'll have a few changes, but not a ton, just because it's a big game again so we can't really afford to just rest and rotate a ton."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYRB – Elias Manoel
Elias Manoel scored the Red Bulls’ lone goal against Charlotte FC on Saturday, his seventh in six meetings with Charlotte (incl. playoffs), equalling the total from his other 57 MLS matches (incl. playoffs).
Philadelphia Union – Daniel Gazdag
After being so prolific for the Union this season, Daniel Gazdag did not attempt a shot or create a chance for a teammate in the Union’s defeat to Columbus Crew.
It was the first time Gazdag started a match but was not involved in a shot since May 2022 as he had recorded at least one shot involvement in his previous 69 MLS starts, and he will be hoping to have a bigger impact this time around.
MATCH PREDICTION: NYRB WIN
The Bulls extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches (W2 D9, incl. two penalty shoot-out defeats) with their draw against Charlotte FC. Only Los Angeles FC (13 straight in May-July) have a longer unbeaten streak in all competitions this campaign.
Philadelphia, however, are unbeaten in 13 straight matches against the Red Bulls in all competitions (W8 D5). New York’s last win over the Union was a 2—0 victory in the 2019 regular season.
The Union’s defeat to the Crew last time out was their 11th defeat of the regular season. They haven’t lost more than 11 games in any single regular season since losing 14 times in 2018.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 43.9%
Draw – 26.8%
Philadelphia Union – 29.3%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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