Defiant Red Bulls advance in Leagues Cup: "No one had us winning the group"

The New York Red Bulls provided the drama in Sunday night's Leagues Cup action, with goalkeeper Carlos Coronel saving a potentially tournament-ending penalty kick in stoppage time as RBNY claimed a wild 2-1 home win over Liga MX's San Luis to book their spot in the Round of 32.

The Red Bulls needed only to avoid a loss in regulation to progress, a result that looked fairly secure once Dante Vanzeir ended a month-plus scoring drought by heading in John Tolkin's corner kick and putting the hosts ahead in the 56th minute. But Jhon Murillo's 69th-minute equalizer brought San Luis right back into the match.

Matters only got worse for the Red Bulls in the 90th minute, when Tolkin was whistled for a foul inside the box on Léo Bonatini, resulting in a penalty kick for the visitors. Up stepped Unai Bilba to the spot, only for Coronel to guess correctly by jumping to his right and making the key save to keep his team's tournament hopes alive.

Red Bull Arena exploded into celebration, and the momentum shifted immediately on the pitch as well. Less than one minute after Coronel’s game-changing save, Tolkin sprayed a pass through to Vanzier and the Belgian striker made no mistake, scoring his second goal of the evening, helping secure all three points for the Red Bulls as they topped group East 4.

“He’s been a leader like that all year long,” said Red Bulls head coach Troy Lesesne after the match about the 26-year-old Coronel, the club's undisputed starter at 'keeper since his 2021 arrival from Red Bull Salzburg.

“Carlos is someone that has really grown and matured not only in terms of what you see on the field and some of the plays he’s been able to make, but how he is in the locker room, so I’m excited for him and the group.”

Vanzeir, RBNY's marquee 2023 signing who contributed his first brace since joining as a Designated Player from Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in a potentially club-record acquisition, also earned praise from the head coach.

“I think what we've seen over the last month is someone that when you look at all the chances that we create, he's usually on the end of them or he's the one providing the chances," Lesesne said of the 25-year-old Belgian. "So, he's getting more and more comfortable as someone that we depend on to be able to create chances for us, and tonight, I think was a huge moment for him to be able to get his first brace for the club.

“I think he's going to be able to continue to be in the form that he's in – if not take another big step forward.”

Thanks to Coronel’s save and Vanzeir’s game-winner, not only did the Red Bulls advance out of East 4, they did so as the group's top performers with five points – one more than the second-place New England Revolution.

Their reward? A date in the Round of 32 against Hudson River Derby rivals New York City FC on Thursday, Aug. 3 at Red Bull Arena.

“For the derby, look, this is a big challenge. I think we all know that," Lesesne said. "Coming off of the feeling we have right now, an emotional high – which I told the guys to enjoy it even though it wasn’t exactly the perfect script… we still won the group and no one had us winning the group, by the way. Everyone had us finishing third.

“But now, the next challenge comes in and it’s a challenge in a very talented New York City team, in a derby, that you know the [winning] team is going to progress to the Round of 16," Lesesne added. "So, I think we have to enjoy this for now, but move on tomorrow.”