Damiani’s Brace Powers Union to Eighth Straight Title Win
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union traveled to Soldier Field on Wednesday night looking to extend their club-record unbeaten streak and winning streak. Chicago Fire FC made the Union work for it, taking a late first-half lead, but Philadelphia answered with three goals after the break to earn a 3-1 comeback victory.
Maren Haile-Selassie gave Chicago the lead just before halftime. Jack Elliott, already booked, was sent off in stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card. The Union took advantage of the extra player: Milan Iloski equalized four minutes into the second half, and Bruno Damiani scored twice to put Philadelphia in control.
The victory extended the Union’s unbeaten run to 14 matches and their winning streak to eight. Interim head coach Ryan Richter also extended his record unbeaten start to an MLS coaching career to 14 regular-season matches.
How the Match Unfolded
First Half
The Union’s first-half challenge became more difficult late in the period. Haile-Selassie put Chicago ahead in the 45th minute, with Noah Allen and Jonathan Bamba credited with the assists.
Elliott had been cautioned in the 41st minute. He received a second yellow in first-half stoppage time, leaving Chicago with 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Chicago made a change at the break, bringing on Andreas Hanche-Olsen for Bamba. Philadelphia went into halftime trailing 1-0, but had a numerical advantage to exploit.
Second Half
The Union needed only four minutes after the restart to draw level. Iloski scored his 18th league goal of the season, with Damiani assisting.
Philadelphia moved in front in the 55th minute. Cavan Sullivan set up Damiani, who scored his 10th league goal of the season. Damiani struck again in the 67th minute, finishing a pass from Jovan Lukić to complete his brace and bring his season total to 11.
Sullivan’s assist on the go-ahead goal was his 14th of the season. With 21 goal contributions, he set a new MLS single-season record for a teenager. Iloski’s goal brought him to 18 for the season, the third-highest total in the league.
Philadelphia finished with 19 shots to Chicago’s eight and held 51 percent possession. The Union also had the edge in expected goals, 2.22 to 0.83.
The final whistle confirmed another comeback win for the Union. They have now outscored opponents 41-16 during their 14-match unbeaten streak.
Three Takeaways
PSP’s Three Points
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The Union keep making history: Philadelphia’s eighth straight win is a club record. The Union also became just the third MLS club in the post-shootout era to win eight consecutive matches in a single season.
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Damiani is in outstanding form: His two goals and an assist brought his season total to 11 goals. He has recorded eight goals and three assists in his last six league appearances.
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Sullivan keeps setting records: Sullivan’s assist on Damiani’s first goal gave him 21 goal contributions this season, the most ever by a teenager in MLS. He also has 14 assists.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2):
André Blake (C), Frankie Westfield, Neil Pierre, Nathan Harriel, Kai Wagner, Cavan Sullivan (Ben Bender 80’), Jesús Bueno (Indiana Vassilev 56’), Jovan Lukić, Quinn Sullivan (Japhet Sery Larsen 90+2’), Milan Iloski (Malik Jakupovic 90+2’), Bruno Damiani (Ezekiel Alladoh 80’).
Substitutes not used: Andrew Rick, Geiner Martinez, Jeremy Rafanello, Alejandro Bedoya.
Chicago Fire FC (4-4-2):
Chris Brady, Jonathan Dean (Leonardo Barroso 68’), Jack Elliott, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Noah Allen, Johan Gómez (Puso Dithejane 67’), Anton Salétros (Sergio Oregel Jr. 72’), Mauricio Pineda, Jonathan Bamba (Andreas Hanche-Olsen 46’), Robert Lewandowski (Philip Zinckernagel 67’), Maren Haile-Selassie.
Substitutes not used: Jeffrey Gal, Josh Cohen, Andrew Gutman, Dawid Poreba.
Scoring Summary:
CHI – Maren Haile-Selassie (Noah Allen, Jonathan Bamba) 45’
PHI – Milan Iloski (Bruno Damiani) 49’
PHI – Bruno Damiani (Cavan Sullivan) 55’
PHI – Bruno Damiani (Jovan Lukić) 67’
Disciplinary Summary:
CHI – Mbekezeli Mbokazi (caution) 34’
CHI – Jack Elliott (caution) 41’
CHI – Jack Elliott (second caution, ejected) 45+1’
PHI – Indiana Vassilev (caution) 85’
CHI – Philip Zinckernagel (caution) 88’
PHI – Neil Pierre (caution) 90+3’
The Union return to Subaru Park on Saturday, October 17, to face Charlotte FC.
WOW… this is real.
remove “interim” title…
any jinx is a joke,
RYAN DESERVES IT.
Random stat. In the 15 games pre world cup, 7 of the Union’s 10 losses were by 1 goal. So they weren’t being blown out. None were by more than 2. Since the break only 5 of the 12 wins were 1 goal wins. Plus they have 2 wins by 5. So not only are they winning rather than losing, they are doing it in a more decisive manner than they were losing before.
it’s the system… the kids who lived it from “birth”… and the “HEAD Coach” who raised them in the system.
The system DOES WORK.
Curtin would not implement, for his own reasons, and it got him fired… Bradley too.
Chicago IS a good team, and the 2nd half they were made to look like a non playoff team.
Charlotte is NEXT… all three points.
DOOP.
15 total.points remain
3 Home Games
Likely results…
CHAR… all 3 pts
NE… 1 pt
@Nash… 1 pt
@FCC… all 3 pts
Tor… all 3 pts
Likely total 56 pts…
Head Coach Ritcher
Undefeated after the World Cup
Top 4 Team
Home Playoff Game
.. and after the start this year…
just AMAZING.
DOOP
I agree with you on Charlotte and Toronto, likely 3 points (unless for some reason the Toronto game is meaningless and they decide to give Bedoya an extended run as a farewell and thank you). I think NE should also be 3 points. They have been inconsistent of late and the Union should take care of business at home. For the 2 road games, I would put Nashville at likely 0 points with the hope to get a result. Hard to say a point is likely against a team that has one draw and no losses at home all season…even if they were the only ones to beat the Union in Chester during the regular season last year. I would say Cincinnati is a tossup between 1 and 3 points. So 55 or 57 points depending on the Cincinnati result.
While there are many reasons for this fantastic turnaround, I think the most important are the returns of Kai Wagner and Quinn Sullivan. When those two reentered the lineup, everything changed for this team.
I think you have to add the emergence of Neil Pierre. He has been as rock steady on defense as anyone can expect from an 18 year (at least for one more game before he turns 19).
Andy, you are correct, and that was a glaring oversight by me. He has been a revelation. I’m trying to appreciate him since none of us expect him to be in Chester for long. Wagner, Q Sullivan, and Pierre have been transformative for the team.
I would include Richter moving Iloski forward and allowing Cavan to be Cavan as important reasons for the turnaround.
It’s the system implemented properly.
PERIOD
And a GM who FINALLY understood what the owner shared from the start… and who got the key puzzle pieces to F*CKING WIN.
Dare I say MLS CUP 2027…
and MLS Cup Sprint Season too?
Dave, my friend, my seat mate for 17 seasons until you DIED YOU F*CK….
YOU’RE F*CKING MISSING THIS.
Haters stand in line…
been waiting for this since 2010
DOOP!!!!
Ernest… disappointing.
Ernie… you watching?
Jay…. YOU were right, I was wrong. JSF
It was very nice to see how effective they were 11 v 10. Go U!
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Wow that referee and var official sucked. How was the obvious hand ball in the box not even reviewed? VAR in this league does not function.
I’m going to argue that it was not the VAR per se but whoever was responsible for the camera angles (unless there we others we didn’t see). While I would put it at 90% that it was a handball, no angle they showed was definitive as to where on the arm it hit. If it was above the elbow which I think was tucked in, then no handball. If it was below, then handball. While it was likely below, if the VAR doesn’t have a conclusive view, they can’t recommend the ref go look no matter how “likely” it is.
Just because the ball hit an arm does not create a handball offense. Given the close proximity of the defender when the ball was struck, I’m assuming VAR did look at it and decided not to call the ref to the monitor.
I don’t think anyone has a clear idea of what the handball rule is anymore. There seemed to be at least three on Chicago in the first half – at least by some historical definition, none of which warranted so much as a second look.
I think the entire left arm was extended and the ball struck it in the box. If that play doesn’t result in a review either 1. the var official sucks, or 2. the mls var rules suck.
When they fired Carnell, I thought it was dumb. The problem was clearly that they didn’t have good enough players, and changing the coach — who got them a Supporter’s Shield last year! — was just excuse-making. But while there have been some notable personnel additions since the break, I definitely have to admit that I was wrong. Clearly Carnell had lost the locker room, and his inflexibility was holding the team back.
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Also, I was sad to see my boy Jack Elliott — whose jersey I own — make such a boneheaded play. Of course, he had to make that play because Iloski and Cavan put him in that position…
Carnell got Iloski wrong and Cavan Sullivan. Yet Wagner and Pierre have been game changing upgrades for the team. With those two additions Harriel has been able to be moved to the CB and for me thrived there.
.
Damiani is without a doubt the biggest surprise and his last goal wasn’t something I thought he was capable of doing. He actually looks like a DP player now. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that he doesn’t go down looking for the call anymore.
… and the mids are NOW providing good feeds he CAN convert. First half strikers were fed poor conversions, trouble converting. All factors led to this scoring, winning.
Remove INTERIM title. Ryan deserves FULL Head Coach status. Jinx is a joke. HE DESERVES IT.
great win. gone is the immediate “how do we blow it this time?” woe. it took until we scored in the second half for me to appreciate how well we played up a man.
Really looking forward to the Nashville match to see how far this team is capable of going vs a high-caliber team.
The U already have a draw against Nashville this year, if memory serves. One of the few teams they took points off of in the early days.