Pigeons landing: NYCFC comes full circle with win over rival Red Bulls

New York City FC finally left its mark on Red Bull Arena with a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, a match that not only gave Patrick Vieira's men their first win at their rival's house, but also helped (somewhat) erase memories of a humiliating 7-0 loss suffered this time last year at Yankee Stadium.

Vieira's side has grown tremendously since that emphatic defeat, and the blue-clad fans from the Big Apple owe plenty to the 41-year-old French tactician, as his tireless work finally reaped a three-point reward across the Hudson River.

Vieira, who has been forced to evolve and adapt since taking over at the top of the 2016 season, finally enjoyed a bit of measured control over those changes in implementing a counter-pressing style that tipped the scales of balance on the Red Bulls' traditional high press.

It was a change Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch noticed, too, offering: "You have to give them credit. They adjusted certain things that they do, and they physically put a lot more into the game, which meant that we weren't able to overrun them like we often do."

As Marsch noted, it took a tremendous amount of physical effort from top to bottom to pull off a win, and it also took a clear deviation from Vieira's preferred back-to-front possession style. It's a system he rarely changed last season as a more one-dimensional NYCFC took its lumps, not just from the Red Bulls, who went on to defeat them 4-1 at the tail end of the season, but from Toronto FC in the postseason.

In any case, it's all come full circle for the Pigeons, as Vieira no longer has to make do with an inherited side handcuffed by aged, big-money talents like Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. Instead, one year on, he has assembled a significantly younger side that can not only play the sort of soccer he wants, but offers much-needed flexibility, especially in midfield.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The additions of Alexander Ring, Yangel Herrera, and Alexander Callens gave the team the right shape and energy to defend in both midfield and defense, while Rodney Wallace and Maxi Moralez - the latter absent with injury in this tilt - gave David Villa much-needed support in attack. This mix of talent allowed Vieira the options needed to finally flex his tactical muscles.

NYCFC is a team that's constantly forced to change. By virtue of its small home field, home and away trips demand the team play in drastically differing conditions. It takes Villa and his teammates far fewer strides to reach the box at home, where space comes at a premium. That disparity made past trips to Red Bull Arena tough for NYCFC, and doubly so with the hostile crowd.

Still, Vieira managed to add some much-needed dimension to the identity of this NYCFC side. With a 2-0 win, he also brought a touch of humility back to his cross-river rival Marsch, who opted to head to Europe to work on his coaching badges rather than stay and help his Red Bulls side prepare for this derby match firsthand.

There won't be any such absence for the second tilt.

NYCFC heads home with a seven-point lead over the Red Bulls at the midway point of the season. Two more meetings in the second half of the year will settle the score in this increasingly fascinating derby, which has seen the club taste victory just one time before. There's no doubt remaining, however, that the Hudson River Derby is one fought between equals.

The Pigeons have landed, and New York is painted blue ... at least, for now.