Philadelphia Union Still Top The East But Lack Cutting Edge In Attack Against Montreal

Philadelphia Union remained top of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference following a 1-1 draw with CF Montreal.

The point also edges them ahead of Los Angeles FC in the overall standings, with the west coast side due to play FC Cincinnati on Sunday.

This was a game in which the Union struggled to make the most of their attacking opportunities, failing to convert any of the good field position they achieved into chances on goal.

Jim Curtin’s side have been the early frontrunners in MLS this season, and deservedly so, following some performances filled with quick, incisive counter-attacking play, and good defensive organisation and proactivity throughout the team.

They have sat top of the standings early in the season despite being the team with the lowest average possession numbers across the opening eight games of the 2022 campaign.

Their first game of the season—a 1-1 draw against Minnesota United—is the only game in which they have finished with a higher possession percentage than their opponents (seeing 53% of the ball).

There are a number of reasons for these low possession numbers. The first is their trust in the defensive organisation of the team from goalkeeper to strikers means they are more than happy to let the opposition have the ball.

When the opponents are playing out from their own defensive third, the Union will try to force errors, which has seen them become one of the most active pressing sides in the final third along with New York Red Bulls.

On other occasions, when the opponents are building the play around the halfway line, there is a sense of waiting for them to make the next move, awaiting an error or a stray pass.

Another reason for the low possession numbers is that once the error has been forced, the attacks are swift—whether they start from the goalkeeper Andre Blake or playmaker Daniel Gazdag.

The passes can be direct, often seeking out one of the two strikers in the 4-4-2 diamond formation, or whoever happens to have taken up a position in space out wide.

If the players in possession make the right decision and the passes are quickly played into attacking areas, this can create good chances.

Against Montreal, the Union lacked a cutting edge when it comes to the final ball or shot. It led to many anticlimactic attacks and the only real shot of note came from the penalty spot.

Julian Carranza was fouled by Kamal Miller after being sent into a dangerous position in the area by a Gazdag pass. The Argentine forward, on loan from Inter Miami, picked himself up to take the penalty, sending Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza the wrong way with a cool spot-kick.

There may not have been many other Union shots of note, though there were chances.

A Leon Flach cross with the scores at 0-0 fizzed behind both Mikael Uhre and Carranza. If one of the strikers had held their run they would have had a good chance of scoring, and Flach himself may wish he’d had a pop at goal himself having got into a good position in the first place.

A similar cross from Uhre later in the game just evaded Carranza who was inches from tapping home his second goal.

Montreal equalised through half-time substitute Kei Kamara, who was able to latch on to Romell Quioto’s cross. It was the type of opportunity the Union had themselves been unable to make the most of.

The Union created little in terms of shots in open play, but weren’t lacking chances to do so. This made it feel more like two points dropped than a point gained.

Curtin described the second half as boring for both teams and said his side “dribbled when we should’ve passed, and passed when we should’ve dribbled.”

Philadelphia Union may top the standings but they don’t yet feel like the best team MLS.

This is a much a positive for the team as it is a negative. Still having room for improvement while also being top of the standings isn’t a bad position to be in.