Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union played Liga MX side Club América in the first-leg of the Round of 16 Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday night, falling 1-0. Club América took the lead in the 20th minute when Raphael Veiga scored the lone goal of the match. Philadelphia pushed for an equalizer throughout the match, outshooting Club América 12-7, but were unable to find the back of the net.
How The Match Unfolded
First Half
Both teams opened the match cautiously, trading possession and probing for early opportunities. The Union attempted to build through midfield while América looked to exploit space on the wings with quick transitions.
The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when Raphael Veiga fired a powerful shot from just inside the 18-yard line that beat Andrew Rick and gave América a 1–0 lead.
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage moments later as Alex Zendejas created a dangerous chance cutting in from the right side, but his effort drifted just wide of the post.
The Boys in Blue struggled to generate clear scoring opportunities as América controlled the tempo and defended compactly. The half was further disrupted in the 37th minute when América goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón suffered an apparent lower-leg injury while attempting to clear a back pass. He was stretchered off and replaced, creating a lengthy stoppage before halftime.
Second Half
The Union emerged from halftime with greater urgency, pressing higher up the field and committing more players forward in search of an equalizer. The home side increased the tempo and began delivering more balls into the penalty area, forcing América to defend deeper.
América responded by tightening their defensive structure and focusing on managing the game. The Mexican side slowed the pace when possible and limited The Union’s chances to shots from distance and crosses from wide areas.
The Union’s best stretch came in the final 20 minutes as they pushed numbers forward and applied sustained pressure in the attacking third. Several dangerous deliveries into the box created tense moments for the América defense, but the visitors remained organized and cleared the threats.
Despite the late surge, Philadelphia was unable to find a breakthrough, and Club América held on to secure the 1–0 victory.
Three Takeaways
PSP’s Three Points
- Veiga’s Goal Was the Difference: Raphael Veiga’s strike in the 20th minute ultimately separated the teams in a match with few clear scoring chances.
- América Managed the Game Well: After taking the lead, the Mexican side controlled the tempo and defended effectively, limiting Philadelphia’s ability to create high-quality opportunities.
- The Union Must Respond in Mexico: Philadelphia showed promise during their late push, but they now face a difficult challenge in the second leg in Mexico City where they will need a strong attacking performance to overturn the deficit.
With the first leg complete, the series now shifts to Estadio Azteca, where the winner on aggregate will advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-2-2-2):
Andrew Rick, Nathan Harriel, Olwethu Makhanya, Geiner Martínez (Danley Jean Jacques 63’), Philippe Ndinga (Japhet Sery Larsen 81’), Agustín Anello ( Indiana Vassilev 63’), Jesús Bueno, Jovan Lukic, Cavan Sullivan (Frankie Westfield 45’), Ezekiel Alladoh (Bruno Damiani 45’), Milan Iloski.
Substitutes not used: Andre Blake, George Marks, Alejandro Bedoya, Ben Bender, Jeremy Rafanello, Malik Jakupovic, Stas Korzaniowski.
Club América (4-2-3-1):
Luis Malagón (Rodolfo Cota 42’ ), Cristian Borja, Sebastian Cáceres, Israel Reyes, Aaron Mejía, Érick Sánchez, Rodrigo Dourado, Brian Rodríguez (Raúl Zúñiga 80’), Raphael Veiga (Lima 67’), Álex Zendejas (Alexis Gutierrez 67’), Patricio Salas (Jonathan dos Santos 80’).
Substitutes not used: Fernando Tapia, Kevin Álvarez, Néstor Araujo, Ramón Juarez, Miguel Vazquez, Alan Cervantes, Thiago Espinosa.
Scoring Summary:
AME – Raphael Veiga (B. Rodríguez) 20’
Disciplinary Summary:
PHI – Geiner Martinez (caution) 18’
PHI – Olwethu Makhanya (caution) 44’
PHI – Agustín Anello (caution) 47’
AME – Rodrigo Dourado (caution) 87’
23 minutes passed on the clock for the first “Ole’s” to sing out… in a scatter shot sea of yellow —-> 23 minutes.
THAT is the story of tonight.
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You are DREADFUL – every last one of you: owner, de facto GM, head coach, players —> and this is me less than six weeks into a season standing up …. and figuratively putting my back to it.
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The worst collection / run of play I’ve ever seen in Philadelphia and I will not accept it.
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You cannot pass.
You cannot score.
You cannot defend.
Every phase of play.
All of it.
Ongoing. Abysmal.
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In a proper footballing culture ‘a club’ would have to answer for this already…. from one (media) or another source (supporters standing outside the driveway.)
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The elephant signing off as my testimony.
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FIX IT.
Went to the game despite the sea of yellow and hoped for the best, knowing that a good result was unlikely. Have to say I have had worse fan experiences, mild compared to the drunk Pink Cow fans throwing beer.
Frustrating end as they had chances and failed to capitalize – Indy should have at least put his shot on net or Danley should have shot it instead. Damiani – smh. Once again the offense is sputtering and leaving any sense of urgency until it is too late. There were encouraging signs defensively – Ndinga played well as did Makhanya. Should have left Cavan on.
What I found particularly galling was the Spanish announcer acting as if this was a CA home game. Anyone else notice how excited he was when CA scored?
Danley should have shot.
1-0 isn’t the worst outcome. Give Rick and Sullivan the start down in CDMX. Team isn’t advancing, so you might as well give them some int’l experience.
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I do not enjoy CCC, because this is organization is not serious about winning. Same for Leagues Cup (extra dislike because it prevents teams from playing in USOC). Beyond the general turnover and re-build, Sugarman will prioritize business over winning each and every time. The strangest thing is a substantial part of the fanbase has bought into the “good business!” ethos. Enjoy the $8 bottles of water. I’ll watch and hope for a good result, but I won’t invest my money in supporting the ownership.
It looked like two 3rd grade teams just kicking the ball and chasing after it. Neither of these teams stands a chance against the Messi-Nashville winner so better the Union lose now than get embarrassed even more next round. Finishing for the Union was absolutely horrible. It was over 40 minutes until they took their first shot and they are still waiting for their first shot on goal.
Fan reaction…
I moved from my 17 year seats in Sec 114… just like last time when AME came to town… to Sons of Ben section. Standing was better than being surrounded by those yellow clad minions. A shame….such a beautiful night but no light show this match!
From a distance it seemed like there were a fair number of yellow clad fans in the river end. And towards the end someone was flying a Mexican flag. I had thought they weren’t going to be allowed there.
Yup… when I made the move I realized yellow minions were everywhere… and yes, a Mexican flag was flying, along with yellow and blue smoke bombs choking the air.
BTW many of the minions were Union fans in disguise.
Next time AME is in town, keep yellow minions OUT of the River End.
Either the young team has not had enough time to mesh or we are looking at a seriously bad year. I don’t know what the pass completion rate was but it had to be bad. Of course, 10 back passes between Harriel and other defenders while the midfielders stood around doing nothing and not positioning themselves for a pass will make the rate better than reality. Cavan played well. Yes, he missed some through passes but heck, at least he tried. First game I have seen Iloski play poorly but at least those guys were in the game. Can someone tell Milan that trying a dummy on every pass to him is not a good idea when you aren’t sure if there is someone behind you??? I don’t think you can seriously rate the last 15 minutes of panic as showing progress. At least Vassilev wasn’t the complete zero he had been in the previous games and Damiani was definitely energetic. On a VERY positive note, Ndinga was a total stud! Despite having new defenders, the future looks bright on that side. Now offensively, Cavan needs to start and put Indy on the bench. Lukic was marginally better but still is either slow to react, making poor passes, or slow in general. Not sure if it is from his injury or lack of practice time.
Red Bull Philadelphia is broken.
City will move Sullivan this year I predict. No way they let him rot in this mess of a team.
Can they move him to NYCFC? That would suck.
Oh yeah… typical anti-American ref as well but it is to be expected and I liked Costa Rica when I visited….
Incompetence more than national interest, I think, that ref was dazed and confused from the start, never woke up the entire match.
Upside– Less boozing from the CCC semifinal in 2021 with all the beer tossing and a drunken brawl manslaughter later at Pat’s Steaks.
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Downside–Sugarman’s sabotage.
Last year’s squad would have beaten this version of CA. Instead of improve the team, Sugarman gutted it. It’s almost downright criminal for ownership to be the biggest opponent to success.
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This team couldn’t hit water if it fell out of a boat. They should know because they can hit the river with a so-called shot. When you can’t even convert on open nets, fuggedaboudit.
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I had fun watching the CA fans respond to Mexican Union fans (for real or for the day) who support other Liga MX clubs. The banter was good fun. Concerns regarding ICE lurking around also apparently tempered attendance again. I asked around with Mexicans before the match and that fear was repeatedly mentioned again.
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That’s a revenue hit plus an atmosphere buzzkill. We used to pack the place even with friendlies against Liga MX teams. That includes all the Mexican vendors, music, and food stands for tailgating. Latin American teams definitely bring the party.
Woeful is the only word that comes to mind. There does not seem to be an upside here. Will probably be seeing more and more of the Union logo in the stadium, just like the old days.
If i hear someone call Damiani energetic I’m going to lose it!!!!!! Fuck Damiani, energy with no skill or purpose means absolutely nothing !!!
36 games played 7 goals 2 assist our leading striker ?
+1
Hey, I had to give him something. LOL He is not the striker that we need and don’t think his countryman is any better.
Subaru Park Light Show report….
430pm vs Chicago March 21st
NO LIGHT SHOW, afternoon game.
730pm vs DC United April 18th.
SUNSET at 741pm
730pm vs. Columbus April 25th
SUNSET at 752pm
TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY…
thru September.
This team is not fun.
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Soccer teams can be effective but not especially fun, which the Union have been for chunks of their recent history. But winning games is also fun, so effective teams can get away with being less fun. Teams can also be fun but not effective (take your pick of any number of Leeds United teams over the last decade, for an example). For a brief, shining summer/fall in 2022, the Union were both effective and very fun, tormenting teams with a deadly and swift counterattack that poured on the goals while mercilessly snuffing out opposing teams’ best offensive weapons.
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This Union team is neither fun nor effective. And it’s not clear where any fun is going to come from, either. But they need to fix something fast, because lumping the ball into the box and hoping that someone accidentally bundles it over the line is a pretty hopeless strategy.
Some quick hits:
* Fauxribo stinks. Don’t even waste a bench spot.
* Vassilev…..no comment.
* Anello stinks. How is he getting these starts?
* Westfield shows actual regression.
* Harriel reached his peak, long ago, and amazingly plays better now as a small CB than his natural RB.
* None of them can pass.
* How do new guys step right into starter roles when guys like Cavan and Stas have quality bodies of work with Union 2?
* Ndinga showed nothing that indicated that he was so good he had to be thrown in ASAP.
* Alladoh is looking like Fauxribo V2.
* This week, I wouldn’t even let them shoot in practice. They should stand in a circle, like kids, and connect passes for 8 hours every day.
* Let’s upgrade our recent high dollar FWD signings and find some better guys, like Jay Simpson and Andrew Wooten.
Made me laugh today…
Andrew Wooten!!!!!!
Nice……
PS: Ndinga gonna be a stud… and IF they stay together, could be the best raw talent backline in MLS… might be all we have this year.
Garber and MLS should be embarrassed of this Union squad and pissed at Silverman. They win the shield last season and qualify for the CCC, but ownership is too poor/cheap to keep the championship team together and sends these minor leaguers out against one of the biggest teams in MX. Not a good look for MLS. Last year’s Union would have won last night and put up a fight in Azteca. It’s not going to be pretty when this team goes down there next week.