The Philadelphia Union may be approaching the first inflection point in a long MLS season. The club started with wins in its first three games under new coach Bradley Carnell, two of them on the road. It’s followed up with just one win in five games, a stretch that saw the club’s all-time leading scorer Daniel Gazdag traded to Columbus.
The next month holds both promise and treachery, a difference made evident by the first month and a half of the MLS season.
On paper, the next month figured to be a tricky one for the Union, starting with Saturday night’s visit from Atlanta United to Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., AppleTV). In the next five weeks, bookended by meetings with the Five Stripes, the Union will play their first midweek game and four league games at home.
The slate is, somewhat surprisingly by preseason prognostications, filled with stragglers. Despite a free-spending winter that saw it break the MLS transfer record by shelling out $22 million on Emmanuel Latte Lath, Atlanta United (2-2-3, 11 points) is off to its worst eight-game start in franchise history. It sits 11th in the East.
Following them on the schedule is D.C. United, with one win in 13th in the East, then a trip to Montreal, still winless and dead last. Between Columbus and the trip to Atlanta on May 17, the Union welcome MLS Cup holder LA Galaxy to town, though the injury-ravaged Galaxy are the West’s lone winless side, stuck in the conference basement.
What appeared to be a tough stretch when the schedule was released has morphed into a chance for the Union (4-3-1, 13 points) to make headway, especially if the fifth-place team is as fundamentally sound as Carnell feels it to be.
“I think the team is right where it needs to be, and I think we should be going into each game with confidence, because the team’s in a good way,” Carnell said Thursday. “… I think it’s the standard we set on ourselves, just in terms of the four walls and the pressure we put on ourselves.”
Carnell is correct to take the longer view. With their delayed winter acquisitions and the coaching change, sitting with 13 points from eight games is something most would’ve signed up for in January. By Carnell’s view, the team’s level has been consistent. When goals went in regularly, they railroaded teams. When goals dried up, they haven’t maximized their return of points, especially in the 0-0 draw against Orlando City and last week’s 1-0 loss to New York City FC.
The Union have been shutout the last two games and have just three goals in five games. Tai Baribo’s fast start with six goals in three games has slowed, and the rest of the available players for this weekend have just four total goals, excluding the injured Ian Glavinovich and the departed Gazdag.
The fact that they’ve been in so many games but unable to finish them off indicates to Carnell that the onus is on his roster to execute the final steps.
“I’ve told the team this is not about any opponent that comes to our building,” he said. “I think we’re having our own standards, and we feel a certain way about a certain run of form and games as well. This is about us, despite the opponent.”
That even applies for the sleeping giant of Atlanta. It has three eight-figure players in the roster, including Latte Lath, fellow Premier League returnee Miguel Almiron and Aleksei Miranchuk. That’s a lot of creativity to pack into an ineffectual side, one that seems lacking in structure, even under MLS Cup-winning coach Ronny Delia.
So the warning lights are blinking for Carnell. But he also sees opportunity, that a coherent team performance with a few tweaks can lead to results.
“They spend a lot of money and they are a competitive powerhouse in the league,” he said. “So, we have to approach the game with caution. There are some gamechangers, for sure. They’re very threatening in the transitions. They have high quality in their attack through their possession phases. It’s danger.”
NOTES >> Andre Blake is “looking better” but still day to day after an adductor strain kept him out of last week’s game at Citi Field. If he can’t go, Andrew Rick will get the start again. … Jesus Bueno picked up a hamstring strain in training and was kept out Thursday. Olivier Mbaizo (hamstring) is likely out again, though he is progressing. Glavinovich (knee) is off the crutches from his meniscus surgery and walking freely. Carnell framed it as “progressing ahead of expected” for the Argentine center back. … The Union’s May stretch includes a return to the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2023, when they host Indy Eleven on May 7. If they win, they’d host the winner of Pittsburgh Riverhounds and New York City FC in the Round of 16. It’s the Union’s first home game in the Open Cup since the 2018 semifinals, which led to a third finals appearance in five years. The Union lost in the Round of 32 in 2023 at Minnesota United and at Orlando City in 2022. In 2019, they fell in the fourth round at D.C. United. The competition was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and the Union were not one of the MLS teams participating in 2024. They are among the 16 MLS clubs taking part this year.
