Zlatan & the Galaxy are coming to Red Bull Arena

The New York Red Bulls very badly needed that victory last weekend against FC Cincinnati, as the only goal of the match was converted by Connor Lade as he smashed his volley into the near top corner of the net.

So obviously the Red Bulls need to continue to feel good and work hard, as they get ready for their next opponents, who are hungry, determined and at the same time want top prove a point after that horrible finsih in Houston, that got them knocked out of making the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Galaxy are having a great start to the 2019 season, as they are currently a single point behind Los Angeles FC for the top spot in the West. They are led by the Swedish Super star Striker in Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has been superior and shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 37.

“When I think of him (Zlatan) I don’t think of his age at all.” Said Luis Robles “I just think of what my dad said, I lion from Sweden who has scored a lot of goals. I know he is going to be a tough match up.

“All of us are excited for the challenge. Age isn’t something we considered, it’s not as if we game plan for that particular person and add the age of 37 next to his name. It has no baring to the approach that we have.

We need to approach it and show respect to that approach to the game, we need to go out there and perform well to make sure we improve ourselves after this 2-4-2 start.:

In eight games played for the Galaxy Ibrahimovic has converted eight times, as four of the eight goals have been game winners. Some of them have been converted from the penalty spot, so it’s a big moment for the Red Bulls not take down anyone inside the area. But what a challenge it will be for the back line to make sure they keep him off the scoresheet.

“He’s a great player. His pedigree shows that on how many goals he scores per game. He’s gonna be tough against so we need to limit time and space on him.” said Aaron Long “ Limiting time and space on a player like that is tough, because players like that are going to be very tough.

“They know how to get into spaces and get on the ball, I know he likes to go for headers and drift towards the back post. We just need to make sure that one of us has an arm against him when he’s in the box.”

This will also be a big test for Chris Armas as he will be matching wits with the head coach of the Galaxy in Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who has played for both Boca Juniors in Argentina and the Columbus Crew in MLS.

So far he is having a solid start getting the Galaxy to play dangerous. After his playing career, Schelotto began managing in his native Australia with Club Atlantico Lanus, before taking over the big club he played for at Boca Juniors. So what does this challenge do for Armas inside his technical area.

“I know the coach very well because I played against him in the league.” said Chris Armas “He’s intelligent, he’s an amazing player, creator, a very creative mind and you can see that they are playing more and more like him.

“With intelligence, with tactics, Identity and passion. It goes both ways, with or without the ball. You can see they care about the ball with their passing accuracy, They have spaced the field and defended very well.

Schelotto puts something on the field with Ibra that works very well. They have been fun to watch as they care about possession, tactics, they spread the field and it’s very clear on what they want to do, it’s going to be fun to face them.”

Bradley Wright-Phillips will be missing again due to the soft groin injury, and this is the final match of the added two match suspension Kaku received from the disciplinary committee. While the Red Bulls are able to plug in different players to fill that void, it’s going to be refreshing that Kaku will be back in the lineup in the next match.

This will be a difficult challenge fro the Red Bulls, but one thing is for sure, it’s gioing to be a lot of fun to try and prevent the top goalscorer of the Galaxy to prevent him from adding another tally in his impressive career.