Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in spectacular fashion, defeating Chicago Fire FC 3-0 at SeatGeek Stadium to close out their Best-of-Three first-round series. Tai Baribo struck twice within the opening 20 minutes, and Bruno Damiani added a third as the Union’s relentless first-half performance sealed the result early. Andre Blake’s penalty save highlighted a composed defensive effort that saw the Supporters’ Shield winners comfortably advance.
First Half
From the opening whistle, Philadelphia looked intent on finishing the job quickly. Tai Baribo opened the scoring in the 8th minute, pressing Chicago’s stand-in goalkeeper Jeffrey Gal into a costly turnover before slotting home into an empty net. Just eight minutes later, Baribo doubled the lead with a textbook header off a cross from Kai Wagner. Chicago nearly pulled one back in the 32nd minute when Brian Gutiérrez earned a penalty, but Andre Blake denied him to preserve the clean sheet. The Union capitalized on the momentum only minutes later when in the 35th, Milan Iloski deflected a Jeffrey Gall clearance attempt into Damiani’s path, who capitalized with a one-touch finish to the lower left corner.
Second Half
With the result all but secured, the Union managed the tempo through the second half, absorbing Chicago’s pressure while maintaining composure. The Fire pushed forward, earning a handful of corners and long-range attempts, but none were serious enough to challenge Blake. Philadelphia rotated late, bringing on Indiana Vassilev, Chris Donovan, and Alejandro Bedoya to close out the match. The final whistle sends the Union home to Subaru Park for the remainder of their postseason, where they’ll host either Charlotte FC or New York City FC the weekend of November 22 in the conference semi-final.
Three Points
- Front-Pressing Masterclass – Philadelphia’s coordinated front press forced repeated errors from Chicago’s back line, leading directly to Baribo’s opener and setting the rhythm for the first half.
- Winning the Second Ball – Philly’s midfielders recovered numerous loose balls, sustaining pressure and denying Chicago transitions.
- No Let-Up in the Windy City – Even with a three-goal cushion, the Union’s defensive organization stayed sharp, limiting Chicago’s efforts later on.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2): Andre Blake, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukic, Frankie Westfield, Danley Jean Jacques, Milan Iloski (Indiana Vassilev – 68′), Tai Baribo (Alejandro Bedoya – 85′), Bruno Damiani (Chris Donovan – 85′)
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, Jesús Bueno, Cavan Sullivan, Ben Bender, Jeremy Rafanello
Chicago Fire (4-3-3): Jeff Gal, Jack Elliott, Joel Waterman, Andrew Gutman, Jonathan Dean (Maren Haile-Selassie – HT), D’Avilla Dje Tah (Tom Barlow – 65′), Rominigue Kouame (Mauricio Pineda – 26′), Brian Gutierrez, Hugo Cuypers, Jonathan Bamba, Philip Zinckernagel
Unused Substitutes: Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Justin Reynolds, Samuel Williams, Bryan Dowd, Samual Rogers
Scoring Summary:
PHI: Tai Baribo – 8’
PHI: Tai Baribo (Kai Wagner, Jovan Lukic) – 16′
PHI: Bruno Damiani (Milan Iloski) – 35′
Disciplinary Summary:
CHI: Jonathan Bamba (Yellow – Foul) – 19’
PHI: Danley Jean Jacques (Yellow – Poor Sportsmanship) – 31′
PHI: Milan Iloski (Yellow – Foul) – 40′
CHI: Dje D’Avilla (Yellow – Foul) – 63′
CHI: Maren Haile-Selassie (Yellow – Foul) – 69′
Man of the Match was clearly the ref who blew the final whistle just in time to switch over and see Union 2 take a 0-1 lead in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, they went ahead and blew that lead and lost 2-1.
Hellz yeah bitches!!
As a small point. I believe Rafamello did actually take the field for the final corner.
The announcers said it, but the box score on the Messi website (or is it the MLS website) doesn’t show it. So who knows what actually happened and, if he did come in, who came out?
I saw him on the camera in one shot
As a small point. I believe Rafanello did actually take the field for the final corner.
If I was to complain about this game, why did we stop aggressively pressing the keeper? Sure path to goals.
I think the best match of the season. Relentless successful press from the start disarmed their couple of good strikers. Quick run back our box when needed. Blake shows up big for a clean sheet.
Thank you for the match summary, Anna!
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A minor correction to offer: “Milan Iloski’s shot deflected into Damiani’s path…”
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Chicago’s keeper (Gal) made a second blunder. His attempted clearance from the left side of the box was challenged by Iloski and blocked/deflected into a high arching path to Damiani’s confident volley finish from about 12 yards out.
Baribo’s header was just beautiful. The replay in slow-mo: So nice.
Statement to roll through this one. I’m less worried about the rust between now and the next match than I was in previous playoffs. Like it or not, third lowest payroll getting it done.
Good time of year for Tai to get hot. Solid win as we move on.
And, while we don’t seem to do well with a lot of time between games, I’m glad for Tai that he’ll have more time to spend with his wife and newborn.
Thank you Anna for writing the review for all of us!
Really great form today, talk about starting on the front foot .
Stay healthy !
It’s your’s for the taking ~
DOOP!
A couple of comments. . .
1) MOTM for the Union, backup Fire goalkeeper Jeffrey Gal. Not so long ago (Can you say Bendik?), that was the Union where there was a huge difference between having Andre Blake in goal and whoever was his backup. Andrew Rick had a great season and IMHO is one of the two major reasons why the Union won the Supporters Shield (Makhanya is the 2nd.).
2) Though I still cringe when the Union play a low block, they play it much better with Harriel in than when he is out. Both of Chicago’s goals last week occurred with Harriel on the bench.
3) I think that is probably an unintended consequence of the MLS playoff system, but the 2 out of 3 matches in the first round definitely creates familiarity between the teams that translate to an ongoing rivalry. Personally, I prefer intensity without chippiness. I think that next year the games with the Fire will be much more interesting.
4) Winning the East/Supporters Shield has one really good benefit–the Union will avoid playing the Miami/Nashville winner in the next round. They should be able to handle the Charlotte/NYCFC winner.
Not to mention the benefit of being at home for every remaining match. With a team that lost only a single match at home all season.
You know it’s a beat down when you start to feel slightly bad for the opposing team.
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This team should make the conference finals at minimum. Playing at home, we have a good chance to make it to MLS Cup Finals. In Subaru Park. And then…
Man that Chicago goalie learned some harsh lessons. Good on Baribo and the whole team for the massive hustle and win!!
I am glad that the round is over and none of our guys were injured. I suspect we will see more of the same from NYC in three weeks.
I’m thinking Charlotte is more likely to win at home Friday with Zaha back.
Agreed. Keep Messi off our backs.