New York: When Frank Lampard, the decorated English star, jogged onto the field at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon, he found himself in unexpectedly antagonistic territory. After being sidelined for more than two months at the beginning of the season, he was finally making his debut for New York City FC in the 75th minute of their 13th game. His reception was unwelcoming: a chorus of boos from the crowd. It was hardly the worst indignity of the day for the home team.

Lampard's return came in the Red Bulls' 7-0 rout of New York City. As the local matchup tries to gain footing and lustre - headlining Major League Soccer's rivalry week - it has barely been much of a rivalry at all. The Red Bulls have won all four games between the teams and have outscored NYCFC by 12 goals.

Saturday's victory was embarrassingly easy. The Red Bulls took the lead in the third minute, led by 3-0 at halftime and kept scoring even as they cycled in their reserves. Four goals came on set pieces - another humiliation for New York City.

"It was a disaster for us," David Villa, New York City's captain, said.

The victory held up a mirror to the divergence in team-building between the clubs. The Red Bulls' roster is composed mostly of players who have spent considerable time in the MLS and includes a significant element of home-grown talent that matriculated through the team's development academy. Last year, the team posted the best record in the Eastern Conference, and it has moved into the top half of the standings after a slow start to the season.

New York City has continued MLS' penchant for stargazing and big spending. They brought in Andrea Pirlo, Villa and Lampard. In 2015, their inaugural season, they finished eighth in the conference, although until Saturday their approach had brought them better results this season.

Lampard has drawn a particularly outsize portion of attention from the fans. He finished the Premier League season in England with Manchester City last year and was injured when he joined New York City. He ended up playing in only 10 of 34 games.

When this season began, he sustained a calf injury and with it even more criticism. Earlier in the week, the disclosure of players' salaries by their union did him no favours, either. It revealed that Lampard had the fifth-highest salary in the league this year, at $6 million.

Still, Lampard played down the jeers he received when he entered the game Saturday as little more than dissatisfaction with New York City's play to that point.

"I came in at 5-0; it's not ideal to come in," he said, striking a defiant tone. "But I don't think the fans are aware of the injury I had. If I'm getting booed for being injured, then there's not much I can do about that. I had a nice injury, which is an eight- to 10-week injury. At the beginning, the doctors thought it was a small injury, which it didn't turn out to be. I've been training morning and afternoon to get fit. People don't see that. So if they're going to boo for being injured, then, as I said, there's not much I can do other than get fit, play, show up and go on the pitch."

New York City's strong start has given it a cushion against Lampard's absence. It sits second in the conference, behind Philadelphia, and a point ahead of the Red Bulls. Although Villa and Lampard tried to diminish Saturday's loss, it has significance. New York City now has a league-worst minus-6 goal differential.

The Red Bulls demolished NYCFC quickly. Dax McCarty headed in an out-swinging corner kick from Sacha Kljestan to open the scoring, and the two connected again in the 51st minute. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored two goals as well, including a highlight-worthy bicycle kick in the first half.

It was a microcosm of the disparity between the two teams when they have played each other, and it gave the Red Bulls an opportunity to crow again. Their fans were no less vocal. Their supporters chanted "Who's your daddy?" as the lead grew. When the game ended and an announcement over the loudspeaker declared Villa the star of the match, laughter crackled from the stands.

"Not in our wildest dreams," Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said, "would we have predicted 7-0."