Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union remained undefeated against the New York Red Bulls with a convincing 2-0 win on Saturday night at Subaru Park. Indiana Vassilev opened the scoring in the 9th minute, finishing off a corner from defender Kai Wagner. Forward Bruno Damiani doubled the lead in the 24th minute, assisted by midfielder Quinn Sullivan and forward Tai Baribo. Goalkeeper Andre Blake earned his fifth clean sheet of the season.

Here are the ratings.

Player Ratings

GK Andre Blake – 6

Not called on to do much against a rather ineffective Red Bulls side, Blake didn’t face a shot on target until three minutes into injury time. He was never seriously challenged on set pieces, either hauling them in or clearing to safety. One of his easiest clean sheets in a while.

LB Kai Wagner – 8

Wagner had a solid game at left back. (I just left that in from the last Player Ratings I wrote. I think it goes without saying, but I like repeating it.) Perhaps more than a solid game – basically flawless on defense, he also did a fine job on corners and set pieces. It was a perfectly taken corner to the far post that led to Vassilev’s goal (though Wagner was not credited with an assist because Carlos Coronel swept it into Vassilev).

CB Olwethu Makhanya – 8

The young center back played a near-flawless game on defense. Probably deserved an assist on Vassilev’s goal as he was the one who bundled it into Coronel. For that reason, I bumped him up a point. I really liked his confidence taking the ball upfield at times. He saw space and dribbled into it.  

CB Jakob Glesnes – 7

A shut down game from the veteran center back. Is there any doubt that Glesnes is worthy of his MLS All-Star selection? Quite a turnaround from the 2024 season and the start to 2025. The pairing with Makhanya is beneficial to both center backs. 

RB Nathan Harriel – 7

I originally ranked Harriel a 6 for this match. He just didn’t seem in sync with the rest of the team, even on throw-ins. Perhaps it was the month away with the USMNT. But it may also have been the fact that Harriel was the most fouled player in the match on either team, so that is worthy of a scoring bump. 

DM Danley Jean-Jacques – 7

The Haitian’s stats on the night do not do justice to what he did – shut down NYRB captain Emil Forsberg. Another good game from the box-to-box midfielder who has admirably filled José Martínez’s boots. 

DM Jovan Lukić – 7

With Danley tasked with shadowing Forsberg, Lukić was integral to getting the ball up the field, something he did well with five completed passes into the final third (most on the team).

AM Quinn Sullivan – 7

In his first game back from USMNT duty, Sullivan added to his goal contribution tally with a beautiful pass to Damiani which the striker nailed for a goal. 

AM Indiana Vassilev – 7

Rightly criticized at times for not creating enough scoring chances, Vassilev scored a goal and generally looked more dangerous than he has in the past. His five touches in the NYRB box led the Boys in Blue. He also pressed the Red Bulls backline and got back on defense all night long, making seven recoveries. 

FWD Bruno Damiani – 7

Criticized for his lack of scoring, Damiani bought himself some goodwill with a perfectly timed run and shot into the far corner to double the Union’s lead. The forward also did what is always asked of Union strikers – he pressed, hustled, and played defense. 

FWD Tai Baribo – 6

I predicted a brace earlier in the week as I thought Baribo would get back to his scoring ways on Wednesday. That prognostication carried over to Saturday’s match, but the forward came up empty. He did press and was integral to keeping New York from getting into an offensive groove.

Substitutes:

(73’) Sal Olivas – 5

Brought on for Damiani, the young striker was put through on Coronel by a beautiful flick of the ball by Alejandro Bedoya, but he shot right at torso height for Coronel to easily push the shot wide.

(73’) Frankie Westfield – 6

Brought on for Sullivan, Westfield slotted into the right back role and Harriel moved to the midfield. He kept the pressure on the Red Bulls, making three passes into the final third in just seventeen minutes (plus injury time) on the pitch.

(85′) Alejandro Bedoya – 6

Bedoya deserves a ranking simply for the touch that led to Olivas’ breakaway.

(85′) Jeremy Rafanello – n/a

(90+4′) Chris Donovan – n/a

Geiger Counter

Marcos de Oliveira – 5

I turned to my friend after the second weak foul called on the Union and said, “I hope he calls it both ways.” He did. De Oliveira never let the game get out of control and he called lame fouls both ways, but I felt like neither team got into a groove because of the constant whistles on ticky-tack fouls.

Player of the Match – Bruno Damiani 

A beautiful touch and shot led to his first goal from open play since early April. 

What’s Next…

The Union continue their homestand on Wednesday, July 16, when they host CF Montreal (7:30 p.m. ET/ Apple TV).