Union come from 2-nil down to remain undefeated

The Philadelphia Union took their three-game winning streak to Mercedes Benz Stadium Sunday afternoon looking to protect the zero in their loss column against Atlanta United. In a battle of Atlanta’s high-powered offense (3G/GM at home) versus the undefeated Union, MLS fans figured to be in for some fireworks.

The first half offered few chances with Atlanta owning about two-thirds of the possession and the chippy play producing four yellow cards. While the first half ended scoreless, the Union did suffer a loss when Andre Blake once again had to be subbed off before the orange slices had been distributed for halftime. After making a save on a Thiago Almada shot right at him, Blake stayed down and called on the trainers for treatment. Oliver Semmle was subsequently substituted to replace him. While the first half did not provide the excitement we expected, the second half delivered more than DoorDash.

Both teams created chances early in the second half but it was Atlanta who got the goal-scoring party started. In the 55th minute, Thiago Almada made his mark on the game with a tantalizing ball from the right-hand side of the attacking half. With plenty of space, he delivered his first touch cross right onto the head of Daniel Rios. With Semmle moving to his right on the cross, and having freed himself from Jakob Glesnes, Rios had the simple task of heading the ball back across goal and into the net.

Atlanta’s second goal was a strike of beauty from Caleb Wiley. A contested challenge saw the ball roll towards Wiley some 35 yards out, middle left of the pitch. Following one touch moving forward, his left leg swung forward like a pendulum through the ball. Just like a lefthander throwing a fastball that tails away from a righty, the ball bent left, skipped once, and snuggled itself just inside the goalpost. The Union were in BIG danger on the road (again).

Mikael Uhre was brought on for Jose Martinez in the 65th minute and, if he wasn’t enough on his own, Atlanta gift-wrapped momentum themselves for Philadelphia minutes later. A flubbed back pass (very leniently calling it that) went high in the air and came down right to Uhre. On the left 1 v 1 with keeper Brad Guzan, Uhre calmly roofed a short-side shot into the top left corner of the net over Guzan’s right arm. Business was about to pick up.

In the 77th minute, Kai Wagner may have equaled Caleb Wiley’s earlier strike with one of his own. A long Philadelphia throw-in, in the attacking third, was headed out by an Atlanta defender. The ball came down right at the edge of the 18-yard box where Wagner was there to meet it just as it hit the ground. With the in-step of his right boot, he guided a rising side-footed shot straight into the top left side netting. That quickly the Union were level and three points were up for the taking.

Mere minutes later, Uhre thought he had given Philadelphia the lead with his second goal of the game when he combined with Quinn Sullivan and Julian Carranza. He was ruled offside and it was upheld by VAR because, frankly, the refs were wrong, in this guy’s opinion. Atlanta then thought they had a winner when Saba Lobjanidze was found by himself in the center of the box but his shot rattled off where the post meets the crossbar.

The Philadelphia Union got themselves into some trouble again today yet they still remain the last undefeated team in MLS play. They will have some time to rest before getting back to MLS play. They will look to maintain their unbeaten stretch on Saturday, April 27th, in just under two weeks, when they host Real Salt Lake at Subaru Park. Gametime is 7:30 pm EST.

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