D.C. United vs. Philadelphia Union: Preview, time, and how to watch
D.C. United looks to continue their victory streak at Buzzard Point tonight as they take on Philadelphia Union.
The Black-and-Red are coming off an entertaining 2-1 win against the Seattle Sounders. Those same Sounders would go on to trounce Philadelphia midweek, slipping three statement goals past Union’s defense. Now, Philadelphia has seen two losses in a row and will be desperate to regain points and momentum.
Last week’s match saw the return of two high-impact players from suspension, Aaron Herrera and Mateusz Klich. Both featured in game-changing plays for the Black-and-Red, while captain Steven Birnbaum returned to the lineup in the 18 after a long absence. We are hoping he sees minutes tonight, as D.C.’s defense has certainly missed him.
Tonight will be all about finishing chances for the Black-and-Red, as Troy Lesesne’s men are still contending with converting copious opportunities into points on the board. Lesesne told the media that the team was excited about the challenge Philly brings: “We want to try to put in back-to-back wins at home.”
Hear what Lesesne had to say in the pre-match press conference here.
Let us know your thoughts about tonight in the comments!
Key Player: Christian Benteke
Benteke is key to the Black-and-Red’s bottom line in any match. The veteran striker scored a brace last week to secure D.C.’s win against Seattle and leads the team in goals for 2024.
Watch Out For: Dániel Gazdag
Philadelphia Union’s Dániel Gazdag just became the club’s all-time leading scorer, a major milestone for any player. He has also scored the most goals for the team this 2024 season. Gazdag isn’t complacent about going up against D.C., either. The Black-and-Red will need to stay alert to keep him at bay this evening.
Challenges: D.C. United will need to stay positive and focused to overcome Jim Curtin’s dangerous squad. Clinical finishing and defending quick turnovers are a must.
Previously, D.C. hadn’t had success against Philly since 2021, when Black-and-Red won 3-1 at Audi Field.
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Conner Antley (leg), Russell Canouse (not due to injury)
Philadelphia Union Availability:
Out: Markus Anderson (leg), Jamir Berdecio (illness), Andre Blake (knee), Isaiah LeFlore (knee), Olivier Mbaizo (calf), Holden Trent (hand)
Location: Audi Field, Washington, DC
Kickoff time: 7:30 pm ET
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Yeah, Sarah, for correctly describing the home pitch as BUZZARD POINT! Also, I note that Philly keeper Andre Blake is out. Improved our chances.
All Commentariat please note that Spirit v Portland at 10 pm tonight is being broadcast on ION TV.
Happy match day, David!
Thanks, Sarah. I always appreciate DP. I just wish that more of the Commentariat would tune in on the excellent coverage that DP gives to the Spirit and Loudoun United. They don’t know what they’re missing.
Interesting wrinkle- Peltola is playing ina back three, and Stroud is supposedly playing more centrally in a 3-5-2. Lesesne often is a little deceptive with how the team actually lines up, will be interesting to see it in action
Gorgeous worked goal by DC!!! Dajome smashes it into the roof, and thank goodness
Dave Johnson on the corner that’s taking forever: I’ve had shorter relationships…
Casanova memes make themselves
Peltola has added some real steel to that left side. Sucks that we can’t have a CM sub, apparently, but he’s handling the responsibility well
Man, Philly not putting up much of a threat, but we gotta put in another while the going’s good
I’m thankful Blake is out, and we’re keeping Philly’s feet to the fire here!
Crossbar saves us on a bad turnover that led to a free kick. We gotta put em away
Jacob Murrell!!! Gooooaaaallll!!!!
2-0
Dave Johnson’s companion makes a good point. Stroud did a great job of actually running onto Benteke’s predictably won flick on, and Murrell benefits
Another great passing sequence that Murrell can’t convert
Fuck. Pretty simple ball on the floor set piece for Bedoya, who chips it, Bono maybe stepped on by a DC defender. Hope Bono can stay in, though Miller appears ready to hop in.
2-1, and Bono is a doubt
TKD on for Murrell. Let’s finish them
The good news is, Peltola is a fantastic player. The bad news is, there’s no way we keep him forever, or even that long
And that behind the leg retention proves it. He’s basically Declan Rice
Hopkins just got gooned by Carranza. No second yellow
Ref’s discretion, but Philly wouldn’t have stopped the play for us.
Birnbaum coming in for Hopkins, assuming Peltola moves up
Nope, looks like Peltola is now left back
Maybe McVey is in the midfield now? Curious
Incredibly low percentage shot from Jack Mcglynn makes it 2-2. Just absolute crazy shot
After his goal against Seattle (I think), they were talking about how he’s got one of the best left feet in MLS. He certainly showed it there.
This is a bit like the Columbus game (letting in the equalizer on a damn fine strike), and also the Portland game in reverse (being up two goals, then finishing with a draw). I really wanted that win, but it was an entertaining game.
I’ve largely been on the side of low expectations and patience this season, but this game indicates we don’t have the composure to create strong chances. Full stop. Disappointing when Philly were largely pretty bad
It came to mind during this game that the underlying stats really like this club, but that actual onfield results aren’t really following.
Who did that describe last year? The Red Bulls, coached by none other than Troy Lesesne.
I don’t know that it means anything, and I’m very bullish on the job that Lesesne has done so far. But something to keep an eye on.
Pirani on for Dajome, Fletcher on for Stroud. Both had to be gassed
We’re just not good at the moments part of what is, at the end of the day, a moments game. Still time, but how have we not crafted more meaningful ones with the time we had before?
Ted gets a yellow for dissent
Gotta say, Klich had options on that one, and chose not to decide
Very soft foul called for the goalie who came way out and didn’t do much
Oh look more points dropped from a winning position.
Can’t blame this one on lack of availability. We absolutely should have found the win, the golazo shouldn’t have been able to deny us on the balance of play.
Caranaza also should’ve been off with a second yellow.
Yep. However, do we create much more if we do go up a man? We would have been up a goal, but I think we need to focus on creating key moments in a sea of overall good numbers and dominance.
We attack too much down the right and not enough down the left. So opposing teams set up to prevent attacks from the right and challenge us to attack from the left. We fail to do so a lot.
True, if we had a comparable left back to Herrera, we’d be much harder to defend with condensing that space. I still just find our lack of composure just plain unfortunate
If we had a comparable left back we wouldn’t be giving up so many goals.
I’ve been harping on that point recently, for sure. Peltola defensively made that side pretty secure, but we need him elsewhere probably, and my goodness, we need a good two way option there
Jeahze must really be a cancer.
I was kind of surprised how little of our play centered around Herrera and Benteke tonight. They were both certainly involved, but not nearly as much as usual.
On the bright side of things OGDC finally got their first win at home at the Maryland Soccerplex this evening 13-10 over expansion side Miami Sharks (who also wear pink and black).
Goff notes that United has gotten only 10 of a possible 18 points at home. Audi Field (apart from its opening season in 2018) has never really been a fortress for United. Part of that is having bad teams pretty much from the jump, but getting results at home would help make those teams a lot better.