Philadelphia Union battled one of the continent’s best teams and picked up a gritty draw in regulation to claim the top spot in their group before falling in a pehalty kick shootout to Cruz Azul on Sunday night.
Midfielder Daniel Gazdag sent the match to the penalty kick shootout with a 88th minute goal to cancel out a first-half strike from the Liga MX side.
With tonight's result, Philadelphia Union will host CF Montreal on Friday, August 9th at Subaru Park in a Round of 32 matchup for the 2024 Leagues Cup. Tickets for the match are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here!
Eight days after their 1-0 against Charlotte to open Leagues Cup play, Philadelphia Union hosted Cruz Azul at home for a Sunday night showdown. Head Coach Jim Curtin had a fully healthy crew for his team’s first Liga MX matchup of Leagues Cup, only missing starters Nate Harriel and Jack McGlynn who concluded their Olympic campaign with Team USA on Friday. Otherwise, his full squad was available to play, including Andre Blake who made his fourth straight start since returning from an injury that’d left him out for the majority of the first half of the season. In front of him, Curtin sent out a defense featuring Kai Wagner on the left, Olivier Mbaizo on the right, plus Jack Elliott and Damion Lowe paired at centerback. In the midfield, he started team captain Alejandro Bedoya, Jose Martinez, Daniel Gazdag, and Quinn Sullivan, while pairing Tai Baribo and Mikael Uhre up top to complete the diamond.
Cruz Azul fans were abundant in the audience at Subaru Park and their excitement paired with Union faithful’s unwavering energy made for an intense environment from the start. The intensity translated to the field early as Union captain Alejandro Bedoya was booked three minutes after the opening whistle after a hustle play saw the midfielder clip the opposition’s boot.
The six-time continental club champions stuck to their offensive gameplan that has them atop the Apertura in league play as they dominated possession. The amount of time on the ball saw the Mexican side outshoot Philadelphia by an 11-1 margin in the opening half, starting with a pair of off-target attempts from Lorenzo Faravelli and Alexis Gutiérrez that went over the net early.
Pinned in their defensive third, set pieces were critical to the Union gameplan with the first coming in the 13th minute. Kai Wagner provided the service while Mbaizo and Lowe drew their defenders up toward centerfield. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but Lowe sprinted for the half clearance, quickly getting the ball back to Wagner for a second whip into the box. The German left back found Bedoya for a header, but nothing came of it.
Philadelphia Union found a stroke of good luck in the 20th minute when the left post stopped a powerful shot from distance taken by Alexis Gutiérrez, but their opponents continued to lay on the attack. Seconds later a shot came from the boot of former Atlanta United striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who signed with the Liga MX side at the start of the summer. It didn't stop there, Carlos Rotondi took an attempt in the 24th minute, missing right of the Union frame.
The Boys in Blue registered their only shot in the first half via Tai Baribo in the 26th minute, as the Israeli forward flicked a header toward the Liga MX side’s net but saw the effort go wide.
Needing a win in regulation to send themselves into the Knockout Round,Cruz Azul continued to apply pressure around the Union’s defensive third. A defensive mistake timed with a high press presented La Máquina a chance to beak through as Rotondi found himself 1v1 against the Union shot stopper. Rotondi opted for the centering pass to Giakoumakis but a recovery run from Lowe prevented the former Atlanta front man to get much power behind the shot. The ball dribbled right back to Rotondi for a second go. Once again the Argentine forward was selfless with a pass to the back post for captain Jose Rivero. The chaos continued as Mbaizo beat the forward and blocked the shot which allowed the Union’s Jamaican keeper the jump on the ball.
Blake was called upon to make a goal-saving stop in the 32nd minute as Rivero slowed his sprint toward the net, finding himself from far outside the box for a blast toward Blake. The three-time Goalkeeper of the Year adjusted and dive left just in time to get a hand on the shot.
The offensive pressure from Cruz Azul finally paid dividends just before halftime as Rotondi found the back of the net in the 41st minute. The Mexican side changed its attack launching a series of quick passes off a counter to create the overload scoring chance. A center pass to Giakoumakis was flicked backward to Gutierrez at the top of the box. Instead of attempting the long range shot, the midfielder put a perfectly weighted pass to Rotondi for the difficult far post finish that sent the Cruz Azul fans into a frenzy.
Despite the deficit, Philadelphia Union’s determination didn’t falter when they emerged from the locker room, and neither did the game’s physicality. Cruz Azul’s Luis Romo was shown a yellow in the 51st minute for poor sportsmanship, giving Kai Wagner a free kick chance.
Cruz Azul had a chance to double their lead in the 52nd minute when Jorge Sanchez darted up the right sideline in lock step with Wagner, finding a pass to Giakoumakis in the center of the box. A combined effort from Elliott’s tracking and Blake, who fell back to save the shot with his knees, nullified the attempt.
Intensity ramped up significantly with a string of scuffles before the hour mark – the first saw Lowe get a yellow for a foul just outside the box while moments later a second saw both Gazdag and Rotondi into the referee’s book after Baribo was fouled.
Buoyed by the uptick in the match, the Boys in Blue nearly bagged an equalizer on the ensuing free kick. Kai Wagner lined up from 45 yards out and ripped a hard cross to the far post where Bedoya made a darting run. With a defender at his hip to slow him down, the effort came up just inches short as the Union captain couldn’t get a boot to redirect it on frame.
Curtin made his first change of the match in the 64th minute, sending in newly-acquired forward Samuel Adeniran for his third-ever Union match alongside midfielder Leon Flach. The pair replaced Mikael Uhre and Alejandro Bedoya with fresh legs and added more physicality to the MLS versus Liga MX affair.
Opposite to last weekend’s match, which saw zero shots on goal from Charlotte, Blake saw no shortage of action in net. Giakoumakis continued to put pressure on Blake and his defense, powering through traffic to take a line drive that landed in the keeper’s chest.
The match continued to provide fireworks as the Union thought they had draw a point to the spot in the 69th minute. Tai Baribo chased after a long volley over the Cruz Azul defense and went to the ground after tangling with Erik Lira inside the box. The call from the official was only a goal kick much to the chagrin from the Union faithful as the video assistant referee didn’t intercede as well.
Cruz Azul desperately pushed for an insurance goal and thought they had it in the 79th minute once again with a patient counter attack. A trio of passes along the 18-yard-box saw substitute Carlos Rodriguez combined with Lira on a give a go. Rodriguez shot a pass to the right side and then rushed into the box where the pass sliced through a defender and had the speedy midfield 1v1 against Blake. Rodriguez went for the sliding finish but saw the shot blast off the Jamaican’s chest and stay a 1-0 contest.
The save proved critical as the Union got some magic of their own magic inside the box courtesy of a goal from Daniel Gazdag. It was more Philly hustle as homegrown Quinn Sullivan chased down a ball before it cross the endline midway between the box and corner flag. The midfielder ripped a shot that was stopped by the keeper but it crashed off his gloves and provided a rebound. The Hungarian jumped over the keeper and deposited it into the upper netting in the 88th minute.
In the penalty kick shootout with their Leagues Cup campaign on the line, Cruz Azul emerged victories as they converted all five attempts from the spot while the Union were saved on their first attempt before converting the rest.
Philadelphia Union turns its attention to the knockout rounds of Leagues Cup as they face off against CF Montreal in the Round of 32 on Friday, August 9th. The official kick off time for the contest will be announced upon the conclusion of all group stage matches on Monday evening. Tickets for the Union's home match are on sale right now and can be purchased by clicking here!
