Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
Despite a dominant first-half and a brace from league-leading scorer Tai Baribo, a late surge from Inter Miami CF—powered by Lionel Messi and a stoppage-time equalizer from Telasco Segovia—saw Philadelphia and Inter Miami split points in a 3–3 draw.
How The Match Unfolded
Playing in front of an electric, sold-out Subaru Park on Saturday night, the Union’s early pressure paid off in the 7th minute when homegrown midfielder Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring. After a short corner from Kai Wagner, Sullivan found space at the top of the box and blasted home a screamer into the far corner.
Baribo doubled the advantage just before the break. In the 44th minute, after a chaotic scramble in the box, Mikael Uhre laid off a chance for Baribo, who finished for his 12th goal of the campaign—continuing his red-hot form and giving the Union a 2–0 lead at halftime.
Messi & Co. responded in the second half, when, in the 60th minute, Noah Allen delivered a cross that found Tadeo Allende, whose header snuck past 19-year-old keeper Andrew Rick to make it 2–1.
Minutes later, Miami looked to have equalized, but an offside flag kept the Union in front. Philadelphia capitalized on the momentum shift in the 73rd minute, when a long throw-in and a deflection fell to Baribo, who buried his second goal of the night to make it 3–1.
But the drama wasn’t over. In the 87th minute, Lionel Messi curled a trademark free kick past Rick to bring Miami within one. Then, in stoppage time, Telasco Segovia stunned the home crowd with a 95th-minute equalizer, salvaging a 3–3 draw for the visitors.
Philadelphia Union now head into a crucial two-game road stretch to close out May, beginning with a midweek clash against Toronto FC on Wednesday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
3 Points
- Captain America, is that you? Quinn Sullivan delivered a masterclass performance just days after earning his first-ever senior team call-up—putting the world on notice.
- Lucky number 13: Tai Baribo remains unstoppable, extending his lead in the Golden Boot race with his 13th goal of the season.
- Missed chances: The draw keeps the Union atop the Eastern Conference, but the two dropped points could prove costly depending on Cincinnati’s result Sunday night against Atlanta.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2): Andrew Rick, Olwethu Makhanya, Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean Jacques, Indiana Vassilev (Bruno Damiani–75′), Quinn Sullivan (Frankie Westfield–87′), Tai Baribo, Mikael Uhre (Jesus Bueno–63′)
Unused Substitutes: Oliver Mbaizo, Oliver Semmle, Alejandro Bedoya, Cavan Sullivan, Jeremy Rafanello, Chris Donovan
Inter Miami CF (4-4-2): Oscar Ustari, Gonzalo Lujan (Fafa Picault–78′), Tomas Aviles (Marcelo Weigandt–61′), Noah Allen, Ian Fray (Telasco Segovia–61′), Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright (Federico Redondo–40′), Jordi Alba, Tadeo Allende, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi
Unused Substitutes: Maximiliano Falcon, Hector Martinez, Benjamin Cremaschi, Allen Obando, Rocco Rios Novo
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Quinn Sullivan – 7′
PHI – Tai Baribo – 44′
MIA – Tadeo Allende – 60′
PHI – Tai Baribo- 73′
MIA- Lionel Messi- 87‘
MIA- Telasco Segovia 90’+5′
Disciplinary Summary:
MIA- Ian Fray (41′)
PHI- Indiana Vassilev (41′)
PHI- Jesus Bueno (75′)
MIA- Jordi Alba (76′)
PHI- Jakob Glesnes (86′)
MIA- Federico Redondo (90’+2′)
PHI- Danley Jean Jacques (90’+7′)
Not on Jay
Not on Tanner
Not on Carnell
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2 goal lead with 3 minutes plus stoppage to go, and Union concede 2 goals while missing 2 sitters that would have salvaged the win. Dropping the points tonight is 100% on the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the match.
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Not the end of the world, but the inability to close out matches is now an issue.
I knew it was coming. This is their weakness this year. Sure, one of those almost chances for us goes in just before the goals and even a win. But leaving the 2 pts on the table stings again
They let that one slip away a bit. That said at the start i was fine with a point tonight.
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Union played like they didn’t give a shit about Miami which was refreshing from the previous encounters. Union played very well tonight and are proving to be dynamic and resilient and at times abit green with room to mature which hopefully they do..
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Couple moments by Uhre again when his feet bottle moments or more importantly the ‘corta luz’ was on right outside the box and he wasn’t aware which thwarted an attack.
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Union were the better team tonight and have esrned their place looking down upon nearly the entire league.
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Andrew… gotta save that Messi kick and there are a few moments when you gotta put your foot on the ball and draw the other team forward instead of thunder clapping it forward; especially in those moments when we’ve had possession and are resetting through you. You’ve done beautifully so congrats.
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Carry on. Its all been much better then expected so. Right on.
SO Union.
An encouraging at times, but ultimately dissapointing performance and outcome.
The Union squandered opportunities to put the game away and sagged defensively late.
Unfortunately, they do get caught ball watching… especially late in matches… and it too often costs them.
Keep in mind that I’m insane, but after taking that two goal lead in the second half I was screaming for Carnell to sub in the fresh legged, agile baby Sullivan, for the elder.
My instructions would have been “Cavan, you have one job. Run with Messi, affording him ZERO free space. Just be a pesky, annoying, unshakeable little mosquito on him. PERIOD”.
Messi’s free kick was laudable, and incredible.
However, inexplicably, he was given a lot of space to make plays in the second half.
But what do I know?
This written, I’m not blaming Bradley.
He’s improved on critical managerial areas that had come to frustrate me with my beloved Curtin.
It will indeed be interesting to witness the trajectory and outcome of this season!
First Columbus, now Miami. Almost the exact same scenario except this time it was twice as bad. They leave a goal off the board not once but twice in this game and Miami just like Columbus made them pay. They need to learn the lesson of don’t give good teams any hope at the end of the game. It’s the demon of losing the Cup in this franchises soul that still hasn’t been exorcised.
Yes I was pissed off leaving the Soob after the game. What I feel has to be said is that Danley may be the most complete box-to-box midfielder in MLS. He may have been the best player on the field in this game. (Yes in their day the 4 Barca men were better) and they can still produce magic. Danley was fantastic on defense generally as the second man in as the ball carrier turned away from the press, or even just stepping into passing lanes. The OMG moments when he charges forward with the ball makes me wonder why is he playing in MLS?
Saw flashes of that with Danley last year. Either coaching/tactics change or his own confidence (or both), have made him a standout player this season.
Not only the missed chances that should have been goals, but several fine runs in behind lacked the final pass that was always too heavy. Imagine if the Union had just a little more of Miami’s quality in those moments.
Here is the view from Section 105:
1) The park was sold out and there were many pink GOAT jerseys in the house. That said, most of the regular season ticket-holders in our section attended this game, and I would guess that about 2/3 for cheering for the Union.
2) Our expectations for this team have been elevated. We should not have been surprised that the Union played well and established a lead in the first half.
3) Miami really do not defend well. I don’t know what the Union’s xG’s were, but every set piece seemed like a scoring chance for the U.
4) As a team, Miami are slow, which seemed to be on full display last night. For those of you who remember, Miami seemed like a team of Ilsinhos, and on those occasions when they established possession in the Union offensive third, they were dangerous.
5) SoccerDad’s observation about Danley is spot on. He is playing in MLS because he is Haitian and Europe has overlooked most of CONCACAF. Let’s enjoy him while he is here. His 2nd half run in overdrive was a thing of beauty, a gazelle with the ball.
6) Nate Harriel was back on the wing, and so took some long throws into the box which created a number of chances. Mostly I thought Makhanya had a good night at center back until very late in the game.
7) On the negative side, I do have to call out Coach Carnell’s puzzling substitutions and change of formation. First sub, Bueno for Quinn Sullivan. No! Quinn Sullivan has a 90 minute motor and good speed. Quinn did not seem gassed to me. Then, Carnell changed shape and went to a single striker set with Damiani as the single striker. Why? One of the things that I really appreciate about the Union strikers (including Donovan) is their willingness to get back behind the ball and help on defense. The combination of substitutes and change of shape made the Union more passive. The Union simply don’t defend their third of the field well when they concede possession, period.
Re: 5) Let’s not forget that Danley *was* playing in Europe when the Union signed him.
They are always architects of their own demise. Mascherano should be embarrassed to suck so bad with all that talent.
The Union are nothing but hacks and grunts. Slow ass brick masons with nothing going for them than doggedness. That said; they pissed in Miami’s face and deserved nothing less than the win.
I thought they were going to get it…… but then MLS decided:
You can grab a guy’s nuts-if you are Miami.
You can elbow a guy in the mouth-if you are Miami
You can throw yourself on the ground for an automatic FK goal -if you are Messi and Miami.
Sport is rigged in favor of the glamour clubs who spend.
Also-Rans like Philly will never be allowed to fairly compete.
Carnell: you are a good coach, but the subs didn’t help you.
You are carrying a ton of absolute bums.
Better get Tanner off the stick by July…….