Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union picked up right where they left off before the international break, earning a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake at Subaru Park on Saturday night to extend their unbeaten run to 13 consecutive MLS matches. Bruno Damiani opened the scoring in the first half before Milan Iloski doubled the advantage late in the second, giving the Boys in Blue some much-needed breathing room before Real Salt Lake found a late consolation goal.
First Half
After a two-week pause for international duty, the Union returned to Subaru Park with five players back in the starting lineup, including homegrowns Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield.
Goalkeeper Andre Blake was called into action early, making a save on Stijn Spierings’ long-range effort in the fourth minute. Philadelphia responded with chances of its own, but neither side could find the breakthrough immediately.
In the 31st minute, however, Philadelphia put together a seven-pass sequence down the right side, with Westfield and Sullivan combining to create the opening. Damiani finished the move with a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner, giving the Union a 1-0 lead. Damiani nearly doubled his tally before halftime, but his headed effort in the 39th minute was saved by Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Rafael Cabral.
Second Half
Real Salt Lake made two substitutions at halftime in an attempt to change the momentum, and the visitors came out searching for an equalizer. Noel Caliskan fired wide in the 52nd minute, while Aiden Hezarkhani also missed an opportunity as Salt Lake pushed forward. The Union’s defense remained organized, limiting the visitors’ ability to turn their possession into clear-cut chances.
The Union finally found their second goal in the 82nd minute; Philadelphia broke forward on the counterattack, and after a chaotic series of touches, the ball ricocheted off Iloski and crossed the goal line. The play went to VAR for an extended review, leaving players and supporters waiting anxiously for a decision. Eventually, Iloski was credited with the finish, while Sullivan picked up his second assist of the night.
As time expired, Real Salt Lake managed to pull one back in the 96th minute when Lobjanidze finished from inside the box. Ultimately, the Union managed to hang on for the 2-1 victory.
The Union will look to keep that momentum going when they travel to face Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday, October 14, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV.
Three Points
- Building from the back: Philadelphia’s opening goal was a product of patience and teamwork rather than an individual moment of brilliance. The seven-pass buildup down the right flank showed how effectively the Union can move the ball and create openings without forcing the attack.
- The bench made its presence felt: With a busy schedule ahead, getting meaningful contributions from players beyond the starting XI could prove increasingly important, especially for a Union franchise that has historically struggled with depth.
- A dicey finish: While the Union ultimately secured the win, conceding so late turned what could have been a routine closing stretch into an anxious finish. Managing those final minutes more cleanly will be an important area of focus, particularly as the stakes rise toward the postseason.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2):
Andre Blake; Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Neil Pierre, Frankie Westfield; Jovan Lukić (Jesus Bueno — 74’), Danley Jean Jacques (Alejandro Bedoya — 90’+2’), Indiana Vassilev (Quinn Sullivan — 64’), Cavan Sullivan (Ben Bender —90’+2’); Bruno Damiani, Milan Iloski (Malik Jukapovic — 90’+2’)
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Rick; Geiner Martinez, Jeremy Rafanello, Ezekiel Alladoh
Real Salt Lake (5-4-1):
Rafael Cabral; Sam Junqua (Juan Manuel Sanabria — HT), Kobi Henry, Philip Quinton, DeAndre Yedlin (Luc De Fougerolles — HT), Dominik Marczuk (Zach Booth — 70’) ; Morgan Guilavogui, Stijn Spierings, Noel Caliskan, Aiden Hezarkhani (Saba Lobjanidze — 65’); Sergi Solans (Ariath Piol — 79’)
Unused Substitutes: Mason Stajduhar, Luca Moisa, Alexandros Katranis, Colin Guske,
Scoring Summary:
PHI: Bruno Damiani (Frankie Westfield) – 31′
PHI: Milan Iloski (Cavan Sullivan) — 81’
RSL: Saba Lobjanidze (Luc De Fougerolles) — 90’+6’
Disciplinary Summary:
PHI: Danley Jean Jacques (Yellow – Foul) – 2′
RSL: DeAndre Yedlin (Yellow — Foul) — 13′
PHI: Frankie Westfield (Yellow — Foul) — 23’
RSL: Dominik Marczuk (Yellow — Foul) — 62’
PHI: Jesus Bueno (Yellow — Foul) — 80’
PHI: Bruno Damiani (Yellow — Foul) — 89’
Somehow with all the hype around Cavan, it has flown under the radar that he now leads the league in assist with 14. Also Peirre & Harriel had one hell of a game even though the defense fell asleep on RSL’s goal in stoppage time.
Tied with Messi, Evander and Dreyer on 13 per MLS. Rusnak leads with 14. BUT still outstanding.
gets reeaaalllyy interesting now with the next 4 games against the teams above them in the table. yeah and Cavan leading assists is even more impressive considering how sparingly he was used before the world cup break. all these impressive stats are effectively in just half a season.
Not exactly the best effort we’ve seen from this team. Even though they had 59% possession in the first half (and pretty much the opposite in the second) it seemed to take awhile for the team to gel…almost as if half of them hadn’t been practicing with the other half for most of the last 3 weeks.
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It would have been a lot better if they had scored the second goal (or even more) earlier so they could have put more subs in earlier given the busy schedule this week. Chicago has an extra 5 hours rest and doesn’t have to travel. Then they have a very tight turnaround with Saturday’s game being 5 hours earlier so with the time difference about 40 hours between the end of Wednesday night and the start of Saturday. Everyone from 2nd down to 9th in the East except New England won yesterday so it was really a case of keeping pace.
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If the Union win 3 of their last 6, they will guarantee a playoff spot.
I think RSL sitting so deep was why the U struggled a bit. We know how much they struggle to score against teams packing it in. Encouraging that we could still get 2 and win – in what should have been a shutout, except for the late mistake to allow them to get one back.
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This week is going to be great to see if the momentum keeps rolling. Two tough games ahead
Credit to RSL who didn’t roll over and die they way so many Union opponents do.
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Credit to the Union for winning however they needed to, with special mention to the CBs and a revitalized Andre Blake. A vintage performance.
A good professional win. The ref sucked. Called almost every play wrong, both ways. On the Union’s second goal, I think he initially signaled a goal and then ruled it no goal for a hand ball. So by definition there was some uncertainty. So why wouldn’t VAR call him over to the monitor immediately to review with them? Whatever. In the end they got it right. But the game overall was a mess. Credit to the Union for keeping their heads and not going after him.
That is NOT how VAR works. Just because the ref is uncertain doesn’t make it a clear and obvious error. Let’s say he doesn’t see the play clearly but the linesman notices a handball and tells the ref who changes his call. VAR looks at it and sees the linesman was correct, handball. So no need for the ref to go to his monitor.
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Just because the ref did a lousy job doesn’t mean the rules for VAR should be changed.
Except that the ref went to the monitor. So either you don’t understand how var works or they should have sent him to the monitor earlier. Or both.
He went to the monitor AFTER the VAR reviewed it initially which is how it is supposed to work. There is NOTHING in the rules that says he should automatically go to the monitor and review it just because he changes the call. I DO understand how VAR works, so maybe you shouldn’t accuse others of not understanding it when suggesting they do something other than follow the rules.
He ruled it a handball right way. He pointed towards Iloski and then made the signal for handball. The play happened near our section. I don’t know what took VAR so long for the review because it was clear from the replay shown on the big screen that it hit his chest. Maybe they were looking for other fouls or offside as well. In the end I totally agree with you that ref sucked – and the appropriate chant was heard several times!
Who is this team playing in Chester. Blowing a team away after going a man up? And now scoring 2 goals from open play against a team that wants to park the bus?
NAME RYAN COACH GOING INTO CHICAGO… there is no JINX… that’s just silly.
He deserves it more than anyone else in Union HIstory.
PAY HIM JAY…. look what he has done!
Haven’t posted much since before the World Cup, but have been following the team game-to-game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kind of swagger and belief from the team — even the ’22 MLS Cup Final squad. Sky’s the limit. Really eager to see how far they can go.
I think this Wednesday is a real test. On the road against a pretty good team.
Truthfully, the remainder of the season is a test. They’ve got themselves into the thick of the playoff race. Now can they get a home seed? Can they beat teams in front of them? Or at least draw? Chicago and Nashville on the road. Charlotte and NE in Chester. Let’s see how they do in this stretch.
+1. Every team they have played during the streak except Messi is below them in the standings.
But were they at the time they played them?
Obviously not since when the streak started, no one was below the Union. But I think the way things worked out, most of the games have been against teams below them at the time. And except for the one game, no one was in the top 5 in either conference at the time the Union played them.
guess who was just signed by FCC?
Jose Andres Martinez
Yup….