Philadelphia Union Sit On Top Of The MLS After 5 Games

All eyes were on the Philadelphia Union and St Louis City SC when the 2 teams clashed on Saturday. Both sides have had electrifying starts to the season as current Union head coach Bradley Carnell faced his former club for the first time since being dismissed in July 2024.

Through 3 games, St Louis had yet to give up a goal starting the season 2-0-. That changed when they came to Subaru Park. Ian Glavinovich's Header in the 8th minute was the lone goal of the game, lifting the Union to a 1-0 win, putting them at 4-1, and at the top of the standings for the Eastern Conference. They are tied with Toronto for the MLS lead at 12 points a piece.

The matchup vs St Louis tested their depth. They were missing 10 players thanks in large part to players taking a leave to play for their home country, including goalie Andre Blake and leading goal scorer Tai Baribo. Other players called away for international duty included Jesus Bueno, Daniel Gazdag, Danley Jean Jacques, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield

Despite a weakened Union roster, Carnell praised the Union for its performance during Saturday's game. "When we get it right — and we're not gonna get it right all the time. When we do, there's massive outcomes for us, and they're usually positive," he said post-match.

Philadelphia is expected to have its full team on deck for their 6th game, a crucial showdown at Inter Miami.

But a big name for Miami may not be there. Lionel Messi has been dealing with a left adductor. it kept him out of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. He returned to practice for Miami after that, but later left, and received treatment for his injury afterward.

That game takes place on Saturday, March 29 (7:30 pm Eastern on MLS Season Pass). it can be listened to on 97.5 The Fanatic.

Tuesday night, Philadelphia had a brush with soccer greatness. Lionel Messi became the best soccer player to step onto the pitch at Subaru Park since Sebastien Le Toux (real Union fans respect the legend). A packed crowd of Union fans, unfortunately, had to see him and Inter Miami tear our team apart in the Semi-Finals of the Leagues Cup. That part sucked. But still, getting to see one of the Goats of the sport up close, even later in his career, was a treat.

In the same way, we don't mind too much getting to see Barry Bonds deposit a Jon Lieber pitch into the 3rd deck of Citizen's Bank Park, you have to appreciate the greatness of Lionel Messi. Even while his team rips our team apart by a final score of 4-1.

Messi got involved in the scoring. With Miami already up 1-0 in the 19th minute, Messi got a little bit of open space. And that little bit was too much to give the Goat. He snuck a ball past Andre Blake on the ground, to put his team up 2-0 early.

Jordi Alba made it 3-0 in stoppage time just before half-time. In the second half, Alejandro Bedoya would get the Union on the board in the 73rd minute. But David Ruiz got that goal back for Miami 10 minutes later.

The Union did not cover themselves in glory. Andre Blake had a rare bad game. They looked like they were playing scared from the start, and showing way too much respect for Messi. And it all showed on the field. That much is clear from the results. But embarrassing loss aside, we did still get to see Messi's greatness in person.