Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
Inter Miami defeated the Philadelphia Union 2-1 thanks to goals from Robert Taylor and Lionel Messi. It was a chippy affair that saw 34 fouls called and 8 yellow cards handed out, mainly to Miami. The Union out-shot Miami 20 to 6 and their 2.5 xG was greater than Miami’s 1.9. Nevertheless, a composed and highly efficient Herons side were able to weather the Boys in Blue’s pressing, and see out the win.
First Half
It would be the Herons who had the first real chance of the match. In the 5th minute, former Union man Fafà Picault leapt over Nathan Harriel to head a cross towards Andre Blake’s net. The Jamaican net-minder could only watch but the ball clanged off the upright, preventing Miami from taking an early lead.
The Union had a good counter attacking opportunity in the 13th minute. Daniel Gazdag was hacked down and Frankie Westfield collected the loose ball as the referee signaled for advantage. The LB found Mikael Uhre, who carried forward to just outside Miami’s box. His cut back pass found Jovan Lukić but the Serbian’s strike was saved by Miami keeper Oscar Ustari.
Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi was the first player to enter the referee’s book in the 21st minute due to a late tackle on Gazdag that left the Hungarian international’s ankle bloody. This level of intensity would continue throughout the match, from both sides.
Shortly after, Miami would score the opening goal of the match. The Heron’s calmly played around the Union’s press and broke through the Philly defense. Despite slipping near midfield, Sergio Busquets was able to play a penetrating pass that put Jordi Alba in behind the Union’s backline. His cross to the back post found Benjamin Cremaschi, who passed to an open Robert Taylor for a tap-in from just inside the 6 yard box.
After a period of back and forth possession, the Union had a great opportunity to level things up in the 34th minute, but were unable to finish the chance. After great work from Gazdag in midfield, Tai Baribo found Quinn Sullivan on the wing. His cross came in too high for Uhre, but Danley’s header across kept the play alive. Miami’s Falcon cleared but only as far as Baribo. The Israeli international’s strike was blocked by a Miami defender, and Sullivan’s follow up cross sailed over everyone in the box.
Second Half
Feeling the need to make a change, Bradley Carnell inserted Indiana Vassilev into midfield and withdrew Lukić at halftime.
In the 52nd minute, Miami had a dangerous chance. Lackadaisical defending from Glesnes allowed Picault, who is well known for his speed, to chase down a long pass from Suàrez. The Haitian’s lofted cross found Cremaschi who nearly picked out Taylor again, but Danley’s sliding block allowed Blake to collect the ball.
Miami would break through again in the 57th minute. Second half substitute Lionel Messi coolly slotted home from a tight angle following a Miami counter attack. Glavinovich was mere inches away from blocking his fellow Argentinian’s shot, but the World Cup winner’s finish was too precise.
The Union had two fantastic chances to score, both headers from corner kicks. First, in the 60th minute Baribo’s point blank shot was saved by Ustari and bicycle kicked away by a Heron defender. Then, in the 64th minute Harriel had a wide open header, but his run took him too far and the shot skewed well wide of the net.
A late Gazdag strike in the 80th minute gave the Union hope. Jesús Bueno, Harriel, and Chris Donovan combined to get Sullivan on the ball. His cross had the perfect angle to find Gazdag, who settled and ripped a powerful shot past Ustari.
Though Philadelphia had a few chances to tie the game late, it just wasn’t meant to be. After 9 minutes of added time the final whistle blew and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Miami.
3 Points
- Individual Errors: Too. Many. Mistakes. Far too often the Union were undone by only themselves. Whether it was a poor touch, an inaccurate pass, or lack of communication, many of Philly’s better looking attacks were ruined by a costly individual blunder.
- Press vs Possession: The Union’s reliance on the press was exposed by a Miami side that was composed and clinical on the ball. Although the Herons didn’t have a majority of shots, their attacks were usually a result of passing through the Union’s press. Once that happened, Philly was very vulnerable, and they paid for it in this game. How will Carnell and the Boys in Blue respond in future games against opposition that is comfortable in possession?
- No Kai, No Party: Kai Wagner’s abductor injury kept him from dressing for this game. Going into this game week, Wagner led the league in assists with 4. The German’s absence was felt, as the Union could’ve benefitted from his two-way abilities. The last game the 2x All-Star missed was an October 4th showdown with Atlanta back in 2023. He has started every league game since.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake; Frankie Westfield (Olwethu Makhanya 90+2’), Ian Glavinovich, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jovan Lukic (Indiana Vassilev 46’), Danley Jean Jacques ( Jesus Bueno 75’), Quinn Sullivan, Daniel Gazdag; Mikael Uhre (Bruno Damiani 59’), Tai Baribo (Chris Donovan 75’).
Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, Alejandro Bedoya, Cavan Sullivan
Inter Miami CF: Oscar Ustari (Drake Callender 86’); Jordi Alba, Maximiliano Falcón, Tomás Avilés, Ian Fray; Federico Redondo (Yannick Bright 70’ ), Sergio Busquets, Fafà Picault (Noah Allen 87’), Benjamin Cremaschi (Telasco Segovia 70’), Robert Taylor (Lionel Messi 55’); Luis Suárez.
Substitutes not used: Gonzalo Luján, Julian Gressel, Santiago Morales, Leo Afonso
Disciplinary Summary
MIA – Benjamin Cremaschi – 21 ‘ (Yellow Card)
PHI – Tai Baribo – 45 ‘ (Yellow Card)
MIA – Bright – 76 ‘ (Yellow Card
MIA – Falcón – 79 ‘ (Yellow Card)
PHI – Glesnes – 88 ‘ (Yellow Card)
MIA – Busquets – 90 + 2 ‘ (Yellow Card)
MIA – Alba – 90 + 4 ‘ (Yellow Card)
MIA – Suarez – 90 + 5 ‘ (Yellow Card)
Scoring Summary
MIA – Taylor – 23 ‘ (Cremaschi)
MIA – Messi – 57 ‘ (Suárez)
PHI – Gazdag – 80 ‘ (Sullivan)
( Vs all opponents ) 3 questions. What’s the win loss record when Wagner does not play? What’s the win loss record when Blake does not play ? What’s the win loss record when they both don’t play? The Union have not beat Miami in the Messi era. Don’t remember a game when the Union was not missing key players vs Miami in the Messi era. I did not expect a win when it was announced Wagner was out and Blake was questionable.
Great question Joe.
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I took a look on Transfermarkt and here are the final stats:
For simplicity’s sake I only looked at MLS regular season and playoff games. I also discounted the 2014 and 2015 seasons for Blake since he wasn’t established as the starting GK until 2016.
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Union’s record without Wagner (23 games):
7 W – 5 D – 11 L for a 30% winning ratio
Union’s record without Blake (57 games):
19 W – 15 D – 23 L for a 33% winning ratio
Without both (6 games):
2 W – 1 D – 3 L for a 33% winning ratio
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Major takeaway is that both players appear to hold near equal value to the team’s winning chances, although Blake is slightly more important, at least purely based on those numbers.
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Until 2023, the Union had solid backup GK options (McCarthy and Freese). The majority of those loses without Blake came in the 2023 (Joe Bendik) and 2024 (Oliver Semmle and Andrew Rick) seasons. Though it should be noted that Andrew Rick has put in several good performances when called upon since the end of 2024 and his lone appearance this season.
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Additionally, those 2 wins without either key player both came against Cincinnati, one in 2019 and one in 2021. The Union have not had to play a game missing both since July 8th, 2023 when they lost against the LA Galaxy.
Poor Glavinovich.
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Imagine how many times that inside sweep— which toppled Kevin Boateng like the Great Wall of Berlin has been watched and mentally prepared for only to have a nearly 40 year old man bust you up with it.
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Tripping Billies? or Trip Through Your Wires?
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Team had its chances last night. Regressing to the mean with gols after scoring at will on phases as simple as the push pass. As in all things we’ll see how they respond.
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I like Lukic over Vassilev.
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I find it interest The Cavan Sullivan conundrum article from Goal.com and am bound to agree a bit with its premise.
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Personally I don’t give a rip whether the kids\ succeeds or not. I’m certainly not rooting against him. I just am not super duper rooty rooty for the 2008 2009 2010 local age groups…
…. with a kid trying to make a go of this and the bubble gum under US Soccer’s shoe there are fine lines between jealousy and envy and to this I understand -> one is a natural human expression, one is a sin.
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What I’d like to know is if he’s that good…. as in the best 2009 in the world what in the fuck is he doing sitting on a bench behind chris donovan.
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I get it he’s not going to be a striker, but the kid has natural gol scoring instincts and he buries the opportunity with caustic warning #25 tried to dapple in to the goal.
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If he’s that good…. and he’s a Manchester City future player… you mean he can’t get end of game, go out there and run your ass off and see if you can get on the end of a sitter?
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Whatever. I care. Just not that much.
A legitimate point Pachy, a stupid cunundrum for sure, on one hand is they play him and he does good the value does not increase to the union ot if they damage the property the value may decrease. Maybe there is a clause that address it………Either way the coaching change did not do any good so far?
Man… Trip Through Your Wires—love that song.
Miami has the best payroll!!
In general, too many sloppy passes. Our new helter skelter system is going to lead to mistakes and smart teams, that can pass efficiently, will find them. Don’t like the Inq/Tannenwald laying so much at Glesnes feet. While he got caught out, he also didn’t make all the bad passes.
The Cavan conundrum will hover over the whole season. Please remember, we’re talking about a 15 yo boy. Gifted, yes. Young, still. In a game this chippy, with the rest of the team underperforming, seems harsh to direct any light his way or Carnell’s for leaving him on the bench.
And, please note, he played 64 minutes for Union II in Nashville the night before.
Soccer has its fair share of progeny burned out by over use and unreasonable expectations. Let’s hope his future will be as bright as is hoped. Protecting his present is a step in that direction.
12 pts in the first 6 games, +5 GD. I am as hopeful as the next fan, I didn’t see that coming. They lost a lot in the offseason, plus Carranza in the summer. We’ve seen them add quality, raise up some youngsters, actually play the new guys and the kids, and win. I am more excited now than I was in February.
Carnell has them playing hard and playing the full 90. They look professional and are showing what’s possible in the new system. I expect that to continue.
Now, if we could just get some better weather …
God bless Chris Donovan. He puts in the effort and I respect it… but please do not put him on the pitch.
+1
+1
We saw Cavan play at the end of the home opener. His positioning and instincts were excellent, but in virtually every duel, he was outmuscled. Why? Because he is 15 and he is playing against full-grown men. If he develops his brother Quinn’s physique when he is a late teenager, he will find playing time.
+1
Still, he buries that sitter Donovan soft shoed towards the net.
Several comments and thoughts not related to Cavan. One, how can the Union press so much when we have a slow centerback (Glesnes)? Whether it’s all his fault or not, he is not quick enough to press and recover. Bad planning. Miami was smart to basically start Fafa against him. I do think it’s time for him to sit.
Two, this was the first game I felt like Frankie was out of his element. Besides the obvious defensive challenges, his inability to cross with his left foot was very apparent. In space, he constantly had to cross over to his right foot which eliminated any chances for crosses. Something for him to work on…
Three, after looking like a world beater pair, Danley and Jovan looked very average until Indi came in. Smart move on Carnell’s part to recognize it and adjust, even if it meant taking out a hot scorer.
Four, okay, I lied. Why didn’t Cavan come in and move his brother up front????
Glesnes didn’t have a good game, but go back and listen to Danny H talk about why – he’s the only commentator on Apple who gives the game its tactical due. He spent the whole match describing what Suarez was doing to force Glesnes into tough decisions, and in turn making tough decisions for the rest of the Union backline. Sometimes a guy has a bad day, but sometimes a guy is given a bad day by a really savvy opponent.
+1
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Danny and Cangi should be the A Team for Season pass. They are far better than Jake and Taylor. And I’m a fan of Taylor due to his brief time in the Union Booth and how gracious he was with the fans when he was here. Danny is miles ahead of him as an analyst though.
Frustrating game. A point, at minimum, was there for the taking. I didn’t hate the effort, but they were sloppy and couldn’t connect passes together with any regularity. Have to be more clinical against a team like Miami. Chances were there… have to finish.