The New York Red Bulls' road beyond the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals just got a whole lot tougher.
Diego Valdes' and Julio Furch scored just minutes before and minutes after halftime to give Santos a commanding 2-0 victory in Leg 1 Tuesday night at Red Bull Arena.
In the 42nd minute, Valdes took Furch's feed and drove a low strike beyond 'keeper Luis Robles and inside the left post.
Two minutes after the break, Furch doubled the lead when he hammered in a flick-on from Javier Correa after Brian Lozano's service from the right.
The Red Bulls now need a 2-0 victory in the second leg in Mexico next Tuesday to force penalties, or a win by three goals or more to advance outright.