New York Red Bulls players Florian Valot and Kyle Duncan made the first round of the MLS Team of the Week on Monday.
At least one of them was going to be selected, but the New York Red Bulls received the best deal possible with both of them earning the achievement.
The Red Bulls’ two standout players from Sunday’s season-opening 3-2 win over F.C Cincinnati — Kyle Duncan and Florian Valot — made the MLS Team of the Week.
Duncan didn’t start the game on a bright note. He sent an open shot wide from the 18-yard-box in the 11th minute.
The Brooklyn-born redeemed himself five minutes later though. He was in a similar situation when Valot distributed him the ball in the box with an inch-perfect horizontal ground pass.
The fullback took an initial touch this time and then drilled the ball to the far corner of the net, scoring RBNY’s first goal of the 2020 season.
The American assisted New York’s last goal when he found an open Daniel Royer on top of the box on a counter-attack in the 70th minute.
Duncan also put up a breathtaking defensive display to match his goal and assist. The 22-year-old started RBNY’s second scoring play with an interception in the 27th minute.
According to Football Wonderkids, Duncan notched three tackles and won six duels.
?? Kyle Duncan (22) has the potential to be one of the best right backs in @MLS! ?
The @NewYorkRedBulls defender on his season debut ⤵️
✅ 90 minutes
⚽️ 1 goal
?️ 1 assist
? 3 key passes
⚔️ 3 tackles won
? 6 duels won
? 3-2 winSolid start. ?
?- @juanpenafoto pic.twitter.com/PXGkfbddpt
— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) March 2, 2020
As for Valot, he assisted the Red Bulls’ first two goals. The Frenchman’s first assist was to Duncan as mentioned. For his second, Valot found an unmarked Alejandro “Kaku” Romero in the box with a similar horizontal pass.
It was the midfielder’s first game since March 16, 2019. He missed most of last year’s campaign with a second straight season-ending knee injury.
Valot and Duncan’s next outing with the Red Bulls is against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET. The match will take place at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.
