Bruno Damiani, second from left, of the Philadelphia Union celebrates with teammates after scoring the team’s first goal of a 6-0 win at D.C. United on Saturday night.
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Philadelphia Union manager Bradley Carnell insisted his immediate following Saturday night’s 6-0 thrashing of D.C. United was on the health of his squad.
An early leg injury forced Quinn Sullivan off in the first half. Indiana Vassilev, one of the night’s heroes with his first MLS brace in more than two years, had to be removed in the 65th minute.
“We’re not going to over-inflate and over-evaluate this,” Carnell insisted. “I’m more concerned about the follow-on of this result with a couple of guys who had to be substituted and forced out. Right now my mind is not even on the result. It’s not even on the three points. It’s not on other results. It’s on the status and health of the team.”
Carnell’s approach is the correct one for a manager who can’t afford to take any triumph for granted until it’s completed.
However, the rest of us who viewed the Union’s masterclass, only an hour Lionel Messi and Inter Miami settled for a frustrating 1-1 draw at Toronto FC, would be wise to interpret this as a statement of intent. Not only did Philadelphia retake firm control of the Supporters’ Shield race, they did so in a manner that suggested a side fully prepared to be in Messi’s crosshairs for the last weeks of the regular season and beyond. And they showed an adaptability no other Eastern Conference side – even Miami – appears capable of matching at the moment.
“Of course we know that they’re behind us and they have games to make up,” said Milan Iloski, who scored and had two assists. “So we were paying attention before. But as soon as we got into our locker room, our focus was on ourselves and on our match. We can’t pay attention to what they’re doing, because if we don’t take care of business ourselves, it doesn’t really matter what they do.”
Control Of Their Destiny
The Union departed D.C. five points clear of Cincinnati in the Shield race, and seven in front of a Miami side that still has two matches in hand. The Herons’ 1-1 draw in Canada returned control of destiny to Philadelphia, meaning they’re guaranteed to take the Shield if they win their last two matches.
And D.C. had been playing better than their currently lowly standing in the table since new manager Rene Weiler took charge last month. Last week, the Black-and-Red narrowly lost 3-2 at Miami. On Saturday night, they started brightly only to completely unravel after Philly’s second goal.
But maybe the most impressive aspect was how easily Philadelphia adjusted to the absence of leading scorer Tai Baribo and Sullivan’s early departure. Those kinds of casualties would’ve ruined the tactical plan of most MLS clubs – even, arguably, Miami’s.
For Philadelphia, the adjustment was almost seamless, with Iloski sliding from second stiker into Sullivan’s midfield role and Mikael Uhre entering to take up the other striker position next to Bruno Damiani.
Deja Vu from 2022?
It was a night that reminded Union fans of some of their best performances in a 2022 campaign that was qualitatively the best the club has ever played, even though it ended without silverware.
The Union’s current +23 goal differential is only half of what the 2022 team posted. And nine of Philly’s 19 league wins have come by a single goal. But at this moment, Carnell’s group looks like it could be evolving into a side with the 2022 squad’s dynamism.
Bruno Damiani finally looks like he is getting more comfortable with the high-press setup Carnell employs. The acquisition of Iloski this summer – who proved too expensive for San Diego to keep after a dynamic loan spell that expired in the summer – gives Philadelphia a high-caliber attacker with nearly unmatched versatility few others.
“Some of the wins this year have been a little bit more scrappy, whereas in 2022 we found that momentum in July and we just absolutely annihilated teams,” said Uhre, who scored a goal, had an assist and had the final Union touch on another tally credited as an own-goal. “But it’s a good group, and one of the things that we have in common is the (ability) to grind out also the hard wins.”
Nashville SC, FC Cincinnati and Charlotte FC will also have a say in the postseason, and the Shield still isn’t entirely locked up. But looking ahead, if it does come down to Philadelphia and Miami in the Eastern Conference side of the MLS Cup Playoff bracket, the Herons have the recent historic edge, playing to a 4W-0L-1D record in five meetings across all competitions since Messis’s arrival.
However, there’s also a credible argument that Messi’s group has been exceedingly fortunate in their 2025 meetings.
In Philadelphia’s 2-1 loss at Miami back in March, Bruno Damiani, Nathan Harriel and Chris Donovan all missed promising chances that would’ve resulted in a share of the points. In a 3-3 draw in Philadelphia, the Union finished only one of four big chances and allowed Miami to steal a point with a late rally.