David Villa on his Hattrick
“I’ve scored a lot of doubles. I never did a hat trick. But it's important because we needed it today and we needed one more goal. And it's important because we were able to achieve all three points.
“I try to do my best always in the training facility or in the games. I try to show the young players [that] I arrived at where I arrived. If they show me like a leader, it is a pleasure to me.
“In this situation, you need to think so fast and the best thing was to go to the left and shoot with the left.
“I saw that Long followed the ball and blocked me very well and he did very well so I needed to do the other side and I took advantage.”
Sean Johnson on Villa's Performance
“Yeah, David is always hungry to, first and foremost, win games.
"He is not happy when he doesn’t score goals, but he is a guy who speaks with his actions and everybody kind of follows through his work ethic.
“Honestly, he has been a tremendous player. His work ethic, first and foremost, I see that every game and that’s what you want to see from your top scorer year after year. His quality speak is for itself and big games call big players to step up and he put the team on his back.”
Johnson on the Search for First Place
“We understood the importance not just for what it meant to the city in regards to the derby but where we were in the standings.
“I’m not sure in the past years how it has been in regards to how close to teams have been at the time of the derby but they were two points behind us so it was very important for us to come away with the win to create that separation and get closer to the number one spot.”
Khiry Shelton on Getting Back on the Pitch
“I didn’t think too much about it honestly. I didn’t think it was a bigger game. It’s another game, it’s a derby game. Some people will say it’s a bigger game, but for me, coming back from injury, this was my first game back, so I just do what I do.
“My body’s good. You know, I had to go through fitness and all this stuff to be able to play today. So I passed all that stuff, and I felt amazing today. I feel really good right now."
Khiry on the Team Performance
“When we were on the field, around the 80th minute, we started winning second balls and stuff like that. You could feel it in the team, just some type of vibe, you can say, goes through the whole team.
"You get confidence and everyone’s talking, and everyone plays a part. It was a big one today, especially this one. It’s the derby match and they’re a really good side.
“I’ve been here since the beginning with [David] and he gives 110 percent every single time. That’s not just on the field but off the field, too.
"If he’s trying to get stuff done, he’s going to do it with a full head and he’s going to attack you. He’s able to do it on the field as well and it’s impressed on me and the rest of the team that he’s going to do anything for them and it inspires me to do the same.”
Maxi Moralez on Consistency
“Getting consistent results is fundamental toward getting to the level that the mister said.
“But the other team that played had a good run of form but we got three important points at home against a difficult rival. We have to continue this against Los Angeles so we can continue climbing.”
Patrick Vieira on the Derby Performance
"I think, of course, when you are on the winning side, it is a bit more easy to say, but that was a big game. Not just because it's a Derby, but I think tactically, it was a really interesting game.
"This game today, I would put it in the top three best games we've played since I've been the coach of the team."
Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch on David Villa
“He’s a tough guy to deal with. Aaron Long had a big responsibility, and this was a big experience for Aaron. But in a second, what happens with high-quality guys is if you give them space they hurt you. He’s a quality player. There’s nothing else to say.”
Red Bulls Midfielder Sacha Kljestan on the Derby
“It’s good. It’s exciting. It’s definitely better than going somewhere else in this league and playing in front of 10,000 fans in an empty stadium.
“I think this rivalry has been good for MLS. I think it’s been good for both sides. I think it’s ignited both of our teams in certain ways and for the most part we’ve gotten the better of them. But this season they took two out of three so we know we have one more against them to even things up.”
