D.C. United hold on to beat New York Red Bulls 2-1 at Audi Field

D.C. United got a penalty in the fifth minute and never looked back. Mostly.

Tai Baribo stepped up early and put his right-footed shot to the bottom right corner to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The stadium had barely settled in and United already had what they needed to work with. Then, in first-half stoppage time, Baribo got involved again, this time with a headed pass off a corner that found Silvan Hefti at the left side of the six-yard box. Hefti headed it to the bottom left corner. Two goals. Half over. Audi Field was happy.

The second half was a different story. The Red Bulls pulled one back in the 71st minute when Eric Choupo-Moting took a through ball from Emil Forsberg and tucked a left-footed shot into the centre of the goal from the left side of the six-yard box. Just like that, it was 2-1 and United had to hold.

They did.

Baribo finished as the team's leader in both shots and accurate passes, with 17 of the latter. The forward was all over this game in ways that don't always show up cleanly in the box score. Kye Rowles anchored the back line and led the team with 15 defensive interventions, which mattered a lot once New York started pressing after Choupo-Moting's goal.

For New York, Mohammed Sofo led the team with four shots, and Julián Bazán completed 100 accurate passes. The Red Bulls came in at 10-6-13, a club that moves the ball and creates, and Forsberg's assist showed they had enough quality to make United sweat. But two first-half goals proved too much to climb back from.

United's record moves to 7-12-9. Hefti's header, set up by Baribo's flick at the near post, was the goal that made the difference.