Photo: Marjorie Elzey

The Union beat New York City FC on Saturday, 2–0, earning their first-ever away victory over the Cityzens. Finally mastering Yankee Stadium’s tiny sandlot surface, the Union methodically sapped the New Yorkers of their collective will to live. The win went some way toward avenging last season’s playoff loss but, more than that, was also a demonstration of the potency of the Union’s current tactical setup.

Can you win without touching the ball?

“Here in Philadelphia, we don’t care about possession.”

That was the headline quote from Jim Curtin’s postgame presser, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. In this game, the Union maintained possession just 28% of the time (all stats according to FBREF.com). That’s an astounding number, the sort of thing one would associate with lower league teams playing Man City in the FA Cup. It’s the kind of difference that implies a big gap in talent, and frantic, backs-to-the-wall defending.

And while NYC may have an overall talent advantage, it’s not significant—or at least not relevant—because the Union weren’t parking the bus and defending with desperation. Giving up the ball is what the Union want to do. Their goal is to manipulate space through pressing, ensuring that they give themselves meaningful opportunities to score in those times when they do have the ball.

It is a tried and true formula, at this point, but even the most ardent admirers of the Union and other teams like them must wonder how such an extreme disparity in possession can be effective. The reasons are multiple, but the truth of the matter is that, in 2022, the Union have handily outperformed their opponents in expected goals (they lost that battle by 0.1 against Minnesota, but have since been +4.9), scored seven, and allowed two. They are undefeated, and second in the Supporters’ Shield table to LAFC by virtue of goal difference. They are without question one of the top teams in MLS to begin the season.

Having watched similar Union teams of the recent past struggle to score, what is different about the team this season?

Set piece dominance

The Union know they have yet to catch fire with the ball on the ground, but once the whistle blows the ball dead, they are leveraging their advantages better than nearly any other team in MLS.

Against NYC, both goals were the result of set plays (one a free kick and the other a throw-in). The same goes for the goal against Minnesota and one of the goals against San Jose. That’s four out of seven goals scored. Now consider that with Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott in defense, joined by the surprisingly aerially dominant Nathan Harriel, the Union give up very little when it comes to set plays. In the battle of the dead ball, the Union are near the top of the heap.

The first goal against NYC was a thing of beauty. A free kick on the left side, some 25 yards from goal, Glesnes set up on the far right side of the field. NYC set a high line, which worked to the Union’s advantage. Glesnes bent his run to remain onside as the ball was whipped across the face of goal. With Glesnes looming at the back post to clean up anything that made it through, NYC was forced to commit hard to making the clearance. They missed, but Julían Carranza got a touch, blocking the ball back the way it came, where Alejandro Bedoya had a clear run at the ball, finishing first time. NYC had to worry so much about the first line of Union attackers that it gave Bedoya the time and space to hit a clean shot.

The second goal was similarly well constructed. Friend of PSP Kevin Kinkead made a useful video breakdown of the goal, linked below, but the short version is the Union drew the entire NYC team to one side of the field, quickly switched the play, then the quality and timing of the balls from Bedoya and Harriel made the goal almost indefensible.

Philadelphia Union breakdown

We're gonna count the second NYC goal as a dead ball/restart goal. They move the entire pack sideways and weigh these passes perfectly. New York actually defends this properly, but the Bedoya/Harriel passes are too good. Too smooth: pic.twitter.com/OejCNkk2FX

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) March 21, 2022

Gazdaggers and the Bedoyaissance

Along with set plays, the other big part of the Union’s offensive improvement is the play of Dániel Gazdag and Bedoya.

Gazdag has three goals already, nearly equaling his 2021 total of four, and though he has yet to record an assist has contributed seven key passes. In 2021, he only recorded 13. His shot-creating actions per 90 have increased from 2.43 in 2021 to 3.38 in 2022. He’s passed the eye test in that regard, too. There have been multiple Gazdag through balls duffed by Union strikers.

Perhaps even more promising than that is his movement. He appears noticeably fitter than last season, and both of his non-penalty goals, including that against NYC, came as a result of hard, well-timed running to get into the box and finish. By any measure, 2022’s Union is getting a more dangerous and effective Dániel Gazdag.

The true hero of the Union’s offense in the first four games, though, is Ale Bedoya. Bedoya is quietly having one of his best seasons in a Union shirt, at the ripe old age of 34. Against NYC, he had the first goal and a secondary assist, feeding Harriel for the cross. He’s performing 3.79 shot-creating actions per 90 in 2022, eclipsing his previous high of 2.96 per 90, from 2020. See the key pass stats collected by another friend of PSP, Joe Tansey, below.

Following up on this.

Key pass leaders in #MLS (via FBRef):
Lucho Acosta – 17
Carles Gil – 15
Zelarayan – 14
Shaqiri – 13
Higuain – 12
Maxi Moralez – 12
Douglas Costa – 11
Bedoya – 10

All the other players are 10s, FWs or wingers. Bedoya is a No. 8.#DOOP https://t.co/Mte6OggT7m

— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) March 20, 2022

In MLS, Bedoya has never had more than four goals in a season, and never more than five in any league. With two already, he’s poised to have his best-ever offensive campaign. It’s obviously early in the season, and managing Bedoya’s fitness will be important for Jim Curtin as the games continue, but for all the worry that Bedoya might be on the decline, so far he has shown the opposite.

And now, your moment of Zen

Barring a few dangerous moments from Talles Magno, who was well marshalled by Harriel, the Union frustrated NYC so thoroughly that it was noticeable the extent to which NYC gave up. By about minute 70, it was clear to everyone that the game could continue for another hour and NYC wouldn’t overturn the deficit. A few half-chances in the final minutes were all NYC could show for their possession dominance.

Now, NYC FC has been on the Concacaf Champions League travel train for several weeks, so it makes some sense that they weren’t at their very best against the Union. And their fanbase has already raised that and other reasons as excuses for their loss.

But I think it was the poet Dániel Gazdag who said it best:

Hey @SonsofBen @PhilaUnion twitter. Enjoy. 😎

Thanks to @SoBSanjaya for the suggestion and to @Kevin_Kinkead for the video. pic.twitter.com/qjo44XuTdL

— Trevor (@TrevorsBeard) March 19, 2022