Union lose 6-0 (6-0 agg.) to Pachuca ending their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Run. Plus Leagues Cup update and Austin FC Preview.
The Union suffer their worst loss in team history, losing 6-0 to Pachuca, as Salomón Rondón scores a hat trick in Pachuca's dominate performance.
Chester, PA — Well, it’s not everyday that you see the Philadelphia Union get punched in the face, but that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night against C.F. Pachuca in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From the very beginning of the match, the Union went down 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick converted by Salomón Rondón in the 7th minute after Kai Wagner had stepped on Miguel Rodríguez’s left foot inside the 18-yard-box. The Union would have to wait until the 42nd minute for their first shot of the night. Jack McGlynn unleashed a long left-footed strike from well over 30-yards from goal that was just off target to the goalkeepers right. One minute into stoppage time in the first half, the Union would get another chance, this time from a Dániel Gazdag header attempt that was saved comfortably by Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno. Five minutes after Gazdag’s header attempt, Rondón would have his second goal of the night after poor tackle attempts inside the 18-yard box by multiple Union defenders.
If you thought the first half was bad, look no further than the second half where The Union conceded four more goals, with three of them because of mistakes trying to play out of the back. Jim Curtin mentioned in his post game press conference that Pachuca’s “quality took over [in the second half], and embarrassed us.” And embarrassed The Union they did. Pachuca out shot The Union 13 to 2, out dueled them 27-20 and had more touches in the oppositions 18-yard box 26-5.
If you’re looking for a live reaction after the game, I hopped on with the José Nuñez and Mike Barrera of AAT Sports. And Kyle and Jillian Almoney from The One Team We Agree On hopped on the podcast the day after the game to give our thoughts from the humiliating loss.
Leagues Cup Update
The Union will kick off their first Leagues Cup match against Charlotte FC on Saturday, July 27th at 8:00 p.m, with their second match against Cruz Azul on Sunday, August 4th at 8:00 p.m. Both matches to be played at Subaru Park.
A friendly reminder on how Leagues Cup works…
All 29 MLS clubs and 18 Liga MX clubs participate every year
Each club will play a minimum of 2 matches in the Group Stage
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32
Regulation wins count as 3 points
No ties (straight to penalties if tied after 90 minutes)
Each team will receive 1 point if the game is tied after 90 minutes
Winner of the penalty shootout earns an additional point
Each game in the knockout round is single elimination
The winner of the Third Place Match will qualify for Concacaf Champions Cup
Both clubs in the Leagues Cup Final will automatically qualify for Concacaf Champions Cup
Leagues Cup 2024 Champion qualifies directly to Concacaf Champion Cup Round of 16
The dates for the knockout rounds are as followed: Round of 32 from August 7-9 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 from August 12-13 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals on August 16-17 (four matches) before the two semifinal matches on August 20 or 21. The Leagues Cup final will be played on August 25th.
If The Union were to advanced out of the Group Stage they would face teams out of Group E2 (Orlando City, Atlético de San Luis, CF Montreal) in the Round of 32.
Turing the attention to Austin FC
The Union head out to Q2 Stadium to face Austin FC for the first ever matchup between these two clubs. Austin is coming off a 2-2 draw at home against St. Louis City SC, after giving up a late equalizing goal to St. Louis’ Célio Pompeu in the 93rd minute. While The Union haven’t played a league match since their 1-1 draw at Sporting KC due to the fact last Saturday’s home match against Seattle Sounders was suspended due to a waterlogged pitch.
José Martínez had to exit the game at halftime against Pachuca due to illness, but is available for selection, while Julián Carranza played 45 minutes after recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Sporting KC, Pachuca first leg and Seattle Sounders match. Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin confirmed on Friday in his pregame press conference that Carranza will start against Austin.
Having Carranza back in the starting lineup makes The Union a better team, and it’s no secret to anyone that the front three have struggled this season. Carranza has 4 goals in 4 apps, though three of those goals came in one game against Saprissa. Mikael Uhre has 2 goals in 6 apps, while Dániel Gazdag has 1 goal in 6 apps. Jim Curtin knows that for the front three to start clicking, and for this team to have success, it starts with the press up top from those three players.
“If the front three is pressing good, the seven [other players] will follow,” said Curtin. “And what usually happens when that is good, they get their goals and they play confident. Right now I would say they’re not confident, which is natural when you have a tough result like we did [against Pachuca]. We have to get them going, and I think they’ll have a good response [against Austin].”
The Union have a great chance this weekend to get their front three going because of the way Austin likes to play. In their first three seasons in MLS, Austin has constantly been over 50% in terms as possession. They’re a team that likes to play out of the back, and play a lot of short passes, something that could play into The Union’s hands in terms of their counter press. We’ve seen The Union the last couple of years press high when their opponents have possession of the ball in their own half, hoping to force a turnover and generate a quick shot on goal. We saw how devastating of a tactic that can be from Tuesday night’s game against Pachuca, though it was Pachuca doing it against The Union. But the point is, if The Union can get back to that style of play, they’ll have plenty of chances against Austin FC this weekend.
Injury Report:
Philadelphia Union
Leon Flach - Shoulder (Out)
Isaiah LeFlore - Knee (Out)
Holden Trent - Finger (Out)
Austin FC
Leo Väisänen - Foot (Out)
Sebastián Driussi - Hamstring (Questionable)
Where to watch
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (All games are FREE this weekend) with kickoff set for 8:30 pm est. Saturday, March 16.
Video Credit: Fox Sports