Last Saturday night, the Philadelphia Union faced off against CF Montreal looking to get revenge for the 3-2 defeat that occurred earlier in the season. The Boys in Blue were looking to make it nine matches unbeaten and four wins in a row, as they continued to look to move up the Eastern Conference Table. Philly was coming off of a dominant 3-0 win over the New England Revolution in their last match, with Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza scoring.
There would be similar fortunes in the match against CF Montreal, as Jim Curtin’s side would win 3-0 once again, using goals from Mikael Uhre and Julian Carranza. The Union supporters made sure to show their appreciation for the club’s recent success, as the atmosphere at Subaru Park was amazing throughout the night.
The usual Union formation with some rotation
Since Jim Curtin has switched to the 3-5-2 formation as his usual formation, Philadelphia has been unbeatable, looking like the team that everyone remembers from last season. Everything is clicking from the defense to the attack, so it makes sense that Curtin continues to run with the same formation that his team is dominating in.
But even though Curtin did still use the 3-5-2, there were a few changes to the Starting XI. Matt Real replaced Kai Wagner at LWB, as the German was replacing Damion Lowe in one of the three CB spots. Nathan Harriel came in to replace Olivier Mbaizo as RWB, and Jesus Bueno took over one of the CM spots for Jose Martinez.
With these changes, the Starting XI went as follows: Blake, Wagner, Elliott, Glesnes, Real, Harriel, Flach, Bueno, Gazdag, Uhre, and Carranza. The Union substitutes were the following: Bendik, Mbaizo, Lowe, Odada, Martinez, Perea, Torres, Rafanello, and Donovan.
Dominant offensive performance
Saturday night was a great offensive performance for Philly, as they would put three goals past Pantemis, leading them to the 3-0 victory. Julian Carranza would score a brace in the win, with Mikael Uhre adding the other goal.
Julian Carranza scored early on in the first half, with a beautiful shot from just outside the box. He received the ball from Matt Real and then proceeded to dribble past a Montreal player and shoot a curler right past the goalie. It was Carranza’s 8th goal of the season, and he is looking to insert his name into the Golden Boot race.
Later on in the first half, Mikael Uhre would double the Union’s lead with a goal off of a rebound. Julian Carranza would take a shot on target, saved by Pantemis, but he could not control the ball, leading to the rebound shot by Uhre to make it 2-0 for Philadelphia. It was a dominant first half for Philadelphia, as they went into the break up 2-0, looking like they would for sure be getting their fourth win in a row.
If there was any doubt that Philly would not hold on to a 2-0 lead, Julian Carranza would make sure that doubt went away in the 61st minute. He would score his second of the game to make it 3-0 to the Union, and that is how the score would look at the final whistle. It was an overall dominant performance from all sides of Philly’s game, but especially on the offensive side of the pitch.
Subaru Park is a Fortress
As everyone knows, Philadelphia plays all their home matches at Subaru Park and has been since the stadium opened up in June of 2010. But throughout the last few years, the Union has made Subaru Park a fortress. They do not often lose when playing there, and they actually do not really concede that many goals either.
The Sons of Ben and the Keystone State Ultras have made it a tough stadium for opposing teams to play at, and a recent stat shows just how good the Union has been at home. The club has just achieved the largest goal difference in a span of 20 home matches in MLS history.
The Union has scored 61 goals, while only conceding 11, having a plus 50 goal differential in the span of 20 home matches. That is an insane goal difference to have in a span of 20 matches, and it shows just how much Philadelphia enjoys playing in their home stadium of Subaru Park.
Up next for the Union
The Union will look to continue their winning streak as they head to California to face off against Jamiro Monteiro and the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at 10:30 PM EST.
The Earthquakes are currently sitting 5th place in the Western Conference with a record of 6-5-5, and 23 points on the season. They are coming off of a 0-0 draw against the Colorado Rapids, and have actually drawn their last three matches they have played.
Overall, the Union have had a favorable history against the Earthquakes, being unbeaten in the last eight matches where the two clubs have gone against each other.
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