Match Recap: Philadelphia Union Secure a Comfortable 3-0 Win Over Atlanta United
Sullivan, Jean Jacques, and Baribo Score as Union End Three-Game Winless Streak
Chester — The Philadelphia Union returned to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Atlanta United, with goals from Quinn Sullivan, Danley Jean Jacques, and Tai Baribo.
Andre Blake returned to goal after missing last week's game against NYCFC due to an adductor injury. The backline consisted of Kai Wagner at left back, Frankie Westfield at right back, and Jakob Glesnes and Nathan Harriel as the two center backs. Danley Jean Jacques and Jovan Lukić started as the two No. 6s, with Indiana Vassilev and Quinn Sullivan making their second consecutive start together as the two No. 10s. Bruno Damiani and Mikael Uhre started up top together for their second game this season.
Mikael Uhre took the Union's first shot of the evening in the 8th minute after the Union’s press forced a turnover in Atlanta's half. Uhre received a pass from Bruno Damiani, but his shot was blocked.
Uhre had the Union's next two chances in the 16th minute on a play initiated by Kai Wagner's clearance to Damiani, who won a 50/50 aerial duel. Damiani found Uhre streaking down the left, where he dribbled past Atlanta's Stian Gregersen. Uhre's shot was saved by Brad Guzan, but Indiana Vassilev kept the play alive, beating Guzan to the loose ball. Vassilev passed back to Uhre, who missed an open goal.
Quinn Sullivan gave the Union a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute after Atlanta failed to clear the ball multiple times. The goal marked Sullivan's first of the season.
In the 29th minute, Uhre had his fourth chance of the half, hitting the crossbar after Danley Jean Jacques won the ball from Atlanta's Tristan Muyumba.
The Union led 1-0 at halftime, thanks to Sullivan's first goal of the season. The Union outshot Atlanta 8 (2 on target) to 7 (1 on target), with Uhre leading the team with four shots. This was only the third time this season the Union held a halftime lead.
In the 50th minute, Danley Jean Jacques gave the Union a 2-0 lead after Wagner won possession in Atlanta’s half. Uhre found a sprinting Danley to his left, with the Haitian international nutmegging Brad Guzan for his first career Union goal.
The Union went down to 10 men in the 56th minute, with Jovan Lukić earning his second yellow card of the match after standing in front of Atlanta to prevent a quick restart.
Bradley Carnell made his first change in the 61st minute, with Olwethu Makhanya replacing Mikael Uhre, as the Union opted for a five-man backline.
Carnell’s second change came in the 74th minute, with Tai Baribo replacing Bruno Damiani.
Atlanta United had their best chance in the 76th minute, with second-half substitute Saba Lobjanidze hitting the crossbar with a right-footed shot.
Andre Blake made his biggest save in the 77th minute, denying Alexey Miranchuk’s header. That marked Blake’s third save of the game.
Tai Baribo put the game to bed for the Union in the 84th minute with a thunderous header from a Quinn Sullivan cross, making it 3-0. This marked Baribo’s league-leading seventh goal of the season.
Carnell made his final two changes in the 85th minute, with Jeremy Rafanello and Alejandro Bedoya replacing Indiana Vassilev and Quinn Sullivan.
With the win, the Union now sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-3-1 record (3-1-1 at Subaru Park). The victory ended a three-game winless run.
Key Moments
16th minute - Mikael Uhre had two chances to put the Union ahead.
27th minute - Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring after Atlanta United failed to clear the ball multiple times.
28th minute - A minute after scoring, the Union had a chance to double the lead, with Mikael Uhre hitting the crossbar.
50th minute - The Union doubled their lead with Danley Jean Jacques’ goal, making it 2-0, after Kai Wagner won the ball in Atlanta’s half.
56th minute - Jovan Lukić was shown a second yellow card for stopping Atlanta from taking a quick free kick. Lukić had earned his first yellow in the 45+3rd minute for kicking the ball away.
76th minute - Saba Lobjanidze hit the post after Alexey Miranchuk laid the ball off to him.
77th minute - Andre Blake made a crucial save on an Alexey Miranchuk header to keep the score at 2-0.
84th minute - Tai Baribo made it 3-0 with a header after Kai Wagner led a counterattack, crossing to Quinn Sullivan, who kept the ball in play and crossed it back to Baribo.
Union Defensive Efforts
Atlanta spent $10M to bring Miguel Almirón back from Newcastle United and $22M to sign Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough FC. Coming into the game, Latte Lath had five goals and two assists in eight appearances for Atlanta this season, while Almirón had two goals and one assist in seven appearances. Stopping those two players was always going to be a difficult task for the Union, which is why Bradley Carnell started Nathan Harriel at center back to counter Latte Lath’s pace. After the Union went down to 10 men in the 56th minute, the task became even more challenging, but the Union kept Atlanta off the scoreboard.
"It's massive because you're never going to be able to shut out a team like Atlanta, right? The chances that they created, and I think when it's 11 v. 11, we nullified and mitigated exactly what we were trying to do," said Bradley Carnell.
"And the game plan really worked in the way according to how it unfolded. When they go a man up, they're going to start creating an overload here and there. And then you need people to make big, big plays. I think blocking crosses from Lennon, stopping supply, which we couldn't do the whole night, and then it's duels in the box and winning your headers. If you don't, then you need a goalkeeper. So you need a lot of things and a lot of commitment to fall into place for you to keep that clean sheet. And everyone dug really deep tonight."
As he has often done throughout his Union career, Andre Blake came up with a big save against Alexey Miranchuk in the 77th minute, denying his header. Miranchuk drifted into space between Olwethu Makhanya and Jakob Glesnes, beating both defenders to the ball, but Blake was well-positioned at the right post and got a strong left hand to it, with Kai Wagner clearing the danger.
If Atlanta had converted that chance, it would have been 2-1 with 13 minutes plus stoppage time remaining, and Atlanta likely would have kept sending numbers forward, making it extremely difficult for the Union to defend.
With his clean sheet, Andre Blake earned his third of the season and the 100th of his Union career.
The makeshift backline limited Latte Lath to 30 touches, with only seven inside the Union’s 18-yard box. Latte Lath was restricted to two shots, neither on target. Almirón took four shots, with only one on target, all from outside the 18-yard box. The Union’s defense did exactly what they set out to do, limiting Atlanta’s danger men from creating or scoring.
Opting For Mikael Uhre Over Tai Baribo
Coming into the game, the Union’s three forwards—Baribo, Damiani, and Uhre—hadn’t scored in five games. Uhre’s last goal was in the first week against Orlando City, and Damiani’s was in the second week against FC Cincinnati. Despite creating chances, none of the trio had found the net recently.
Carnell opted for Damiani and Uhre to lead the front line, the first time since St. Louis CITY that the two started together.
Uhre had four chances in the first half and set the tone with his pressing, making it uncomfortable for Atlanta to play out from the back. He combined well with Damiani, made runs behind the backline, and was unfortunate to hit the crossbar after a blistering counterattack.
After the game, Carnell said that despite not scoring, Uhre’s tireless work rate set up the Union’s performance.
"The first 45 minutes, we set the platform for the rest of the game,” said Carnell. “He held up the play, he brought others into the game. He was a goal threat, [with] three big, big actions in the first half. One hit the crossbar with his left foot. So, three big actions, and he could have contributed with a goal as well.
I'm really happy, and like I say, we have to believe in each other, whether we start or don't start. It's my job to keep the harmony within the group because obviously there are expectations to start games and this and that… If you take time and space away and commit to each other, I think that's what the result can be like."
Carnell later elaborated a bit more on the decision to sit Baribo and start Uhre, and again insisted it was the right decision after the way the first half went.
"The first half showed that, right? If you're leading the way you lead and then you commit to the way we commit and create the chances we did, the turnovers we did, I think it was the [right] decision, and he gets his goal regardless,” said Carnell.
“I said to Tai after the game, you got your goal, and that's important, right? The striker wants a goal, and we have three very good strikers and usually two positions to compete for the way we play. So we wanted to be a little bit more intentional with our balls behind with directions; more verticality to put them under. And I think the stats show that we put them in a scrappy game. We gave them the ball there. The way they set up was to give us the ball. I think we gave it straight back to them and created turnover after turnover. So I'm happy with the way the game flow went, and I'm happy with the decision."
Uhre finished with an assist on Danley’s goal, and Baribo scored his league-leading seventh goal. Credit must be given to Carnell and his staff for getting their tactics and game plan right against Atlanta, even if Uhre didn’t score.
While a striker’s main job is to score, creating chances and getting into the right positions will go a long way for this group. As seen in the past with Uhre and Baribo, when they’re hot, goals usually come in bunches. Perhaps their performance against Atlanta will spark a strong run of form in the coming weeks.
What’s Next?
The Union will return home next Saturday to face DC United (2-4-3, 9 points), who are coming off their second win of the season, a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on the road. Prior to the game against the Red Bulls, DC United were on a five-game winless run. The Union are 4-0-2 in their last six meetings against DC United, including a 2-0-1 record at Subaru Park.
Video Credit: Apple TV/MLS Season Pass and Philadelphia Union