Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union

A rotated Philadelphia Union squad ground out an effective – if ugly – win against their famous rivals Atlanta United. With the victory, and results around the league, the Philadelphia Union have now moved into first place in MLS. Lets’ get into the ratings.

Player Ratings:

Andrew Rick – 9

Wow. Rick put in a massive performance for the Boys in Blue. While he only made 3 saves, all required cat-like reflexes on difficult shots to keep a clean sheet. He’s only 19, but the Union are safe in his gloves for as long as Blake is out. What’s more – his passing and distribution bring a modern element to the position, the likes of which the Union have not seen before to my recollection. Long live Pickle Rick!

Kai Wagner – 6

Solid as usual from the star German left-back, even though he may not have reached the spectacular highs he is capable of.

Nathan Harriel – 8

Great defensive performance from Harriel. He racked up defensive actions including 4 interceptions, won 2 tackles, and made 11 clearances to help keep a clean sheet.

Olwethu Makhanya – 7

Solid on defense, the young South African showed some skill on the ball as well, picking out a couple nice passes.

Frankie Westfield – 6

Consistently involved in the build-up, Westfield did a good job keeping the Union’s lines linked and progressing the ball from the defense.

Jovan Lukic – 6

Great defensively, fine on the ball aside from one or two mistakes.

Jesus Bueno  – 7

Great showing from Bueno especially on the ball, seems to be a more complete player than when he last got an extended run. He typically puts in strong challenges so it was surprising to see him lose out against Amador in the 70th minute – which led to one of the best chances for Atlanta.

Alejandro Bedoya – 6

Old Man Ale showing up and putting in a damn solid shift in 2025. Who would’ve guessed?

Bruno Damiani – 5

Damiani is gonna have a breakout game at some point. He passes the eye test and the underlying numbers are there (5.0 xG on 2 goals and 14/29 Shots on Target). Great effort early on but quieted down after that.

Mikael Uhre – 6

The speedy Dane had an active shift. He led the team in shots with 3, one of which crucially won the penalty kick for the Union.

Christopher Donovan – 4

The former Drexel Dragon didn’t have much of an impact on the match, but he spared Baribo’s legs without making any mistakes. Can’t really complain there.

Substitutes:

Tai Baribo – 7

Converted the winning goal from the PK spot. Golden Boot leader.

Danley Jean-Jacques – 6

Came in and did his thing to help the Union see out the win.

Quinn Sullivan – 6

Kept the attacking unit fresh and Atlanta’s defense on their toes.

Indiana Vassilev – 5

Glue guy doing glue guy stuff to help his team close out a victory on the road.

Jakob Glesnes – N/a

Player of the Match – Andrew Rick

3 massive saves to keep a clean sheet and help get the team an away win. What else is there to say?

Geiger Counter 

Chris Penso – 6

Got the penalty right, after a VAR check, which is what that mechanism is for, and was probably correct in opting to go for a yellow to Abram. Could complain about some other foul decisions but Penso and his crew did a fine job without noticeable affecting the flow of the game too much.

What’s Next?

The Philadelphia Union return to US Open Cup action midweek against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. It will be the first ever meeting between the two sides. Should the Union win they will advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2018 – the same year the Boys in Blue reached the Final.