The Red Bulls certainly looked commanding.

Early praise from head coach Jesse Marsch seemed odd and maybe a bit forced, considering the Red Bulls’ MLS season doesn’t begin until March 10, but the team backed up its coach’s talk Thursday night, dominating Honduran side Olimpia, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

“It’s still not our sharpest, but we were able to command the game,” Marsch said. “We were able to capitalize in moments, but you still felt that that game was pretty much in control the whole time.”

The Red Bulls looked fitter and more organized than Olimpia, which is midway into its season and combusted in the 54th minute on a rain-soaked night in Harrison, N.J.

That’s when Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips collected a loose ball in Olimpia’s half before taking it outside the 18-yard box and beating goalkeeper Donis Escobar, who seemed frozen, near post.

In the 64th minute, midfielder Sean Davis bent one from outside Olimpia’s box. The ball deflected off defender Johnny Palacios and found the net.

From the opening whistle, the Red Bulls looked faster and stronger, fighting against the physicality of Olimpia, who had much support at Red Bull Arena. The teams had tied the first leg, 1-1, playing at Estadio Nacional in Costa Rica last week because of political unrest in Honduras.

“Both games, we tried to be more compact and invite them to come a bit more,” Marsch said. “We thought [Olimpia] would play long.”

The Red Bulls had a few chances in the first half, thanks to their lively midfield of Davis, Alex Muyl, and newcomer Marc Rzakowski.

Those three looked a step quicker than Olimpia, especially Muyl, who threatened in the first half including in the 14th minute when he rocketed one at Escobar from just outside the 6-yard box.

After Wright-Phillips’ opening goal, Olimpia threatened a few times, but those chances were met by goalkeeper Luis Robles. He had four saves, helping to preserve the shutout down the stretch.

The Red Bulls showed some formational versatility, switching to a defensive 5-4-1 formation in the final stages of the match.

“We know that our group is more comfortable playing different formations,” Marsch said. “That’s a good sophistication to have in the group.”

“Our mindset … is there would be zero excuses going into these CONCACAF games,” Davis said.

The Red Bulls will face Mexican side Tijuana in the quarterfinals.

Marquee offseason signing Alejandro “Kaku” Romero Gamarra made his Red Bulls debut. The 23-year-old Argentine winger came in as a substitute for midfielder Alex Muyl in the second half.