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I said going into the week that 4 points would be fine but after beating up on NYC and DC United, Saturday night’s home draw against Atlanta United didn’t sit well at all. The Union had the lead but it didn’t come until after the hour mark and was canceled out 11 minutes later. The Union’s recipe for success has been scoring early and often and neither of those things happened against Atlanta. Now they need to find a way to get points in Orlando and Columbus before returning home for a Decision Day meeting with FC Cincinnati. If you aren’t getting nervous, have you not been watching all season?

In the email today:

1. ❌ Crucial Points Dropped

By Matt McClain

Saturday night’s matchup against Atlanta United signified an opportunity for the Philadelphia Union to set themselves up for the best possible route to the playoffs with three difficult matches remaining. A win and three points would bolster their spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. And they would be closer to avoiding the opening knockout round matchup between the eight and ninth teams.

But they couldn’t hold the lead created by right back Nate Harriel’s 61st minute blast from outside the box. Harriel’s goal, his first of the season, was the product of yet another key pass and assist from fellow outside back on the left side of the pitch, Kai Wagner.

The lead was short-lived, with an equalizer coming from Atlanta just 11 minutes later. Atlanta United’s Saba Lobzhanidze was left all alone on the back post in the 72nd minute and headed home a rather easy goal. Philadelphia struggled to find a game winner late due to Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan standing on his head at times. The match ended 1-1.

The Union garnered over 60% of the possession through the first segment of the first half. Atlanta absorbed the pressure and essentially invited Philadelphia to come break them down. All match long, Atlanta featured five or six players bunkered inside their own half and box when Philadelphia were in the attacking half. All Philadelphia action was routed to the wide areas, and forwards Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo struggled to get touches in the center of the pitch.

Instead of attempting to find creative and aggressive attacking moves, Philadelphia were content with attempting several soft hit lofted crosses into Atlanta’s box. With extra numbers in the box, Atlanta handled all of those attempts rather comfortably.

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2. 🇩🇪 Wagner the Assist Machine

Amidst the disappointment of dropping points at home in a tight playoff race, Kai Wagner set a club record for career assists.

The German left back’s assist on Nathan Harriel’s goal was the 51st of his Union career, which surpassed Ring of Honor member Sebastien Le Toux.

It’s a pretty incredible feat for a left back to surpass a player with Le Toux’s attacking ability on the club’s list, especially considering Wagner’s a left back but it underlines just how important Wagner has been to the team since his unheralded arrival ahead of the 2019 season.

3. 3️⃣ Tweet of the Day: Needed 3

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Phang Party Guests

Looks like there was a clear favorite at Phang’s Birthday Party last Sunday. No love for Franklin (as usual).

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Playoff scenarios for Wednesday’s matches. The Union can’t clinch or be eliminated in Orlando but they can contribute to some other teams’ misery depending on the result.

• Todd Lewis of The Free Kick breaks down the goals from Saturday night.

• CJ Olney played the hero in another comeback win for Union II on Sunday. They have one game left before kicking off the playoffs.

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