It’s not about how you start, but how you finish. We heard that a lot last season only to have the disappointment of the fall result in missing the playoffs for the Philadelphia Union but the Union illustrated many of the same qualities of that underachieving team last night recovering from a disastrous start to win 4-2. Call it a surprise if you want but even with three players making their MLS debut last night was a whole lot of the good with some of the lingering bad of the team from previous years.

In the email today:

1. ❗️ A 3-Point Statement

For all the talk of a new era in Philadelphia and the negativity from the fanbase and national media, the Philadelphia Union looked a lot like the Philadelphia Union of previous seasons in their 4-2 win over Orlando City to start the 2025 campaign on Saturday night.

From a disjointed and disastrous start conceding a goal in the 8th minute to newcomer Marco Pašalić to a quick recovery, equalizer off a turnover and 3-goal 16-minute span in the second half where they took advantage of Orlando City's mistakes to Andre Blake's heroics to deny a would-be goal the only real noticeable difference outside of three players making their MLS debuts were the new secondary uniforms.

Baribo led the way with an equalizer off a cross from Kai Wagner in the 23rd minute on a play made possible by Quinn Sullivan dispossessing Iván Angulo and taking a shot that was deflected into the path of Wagner. After the goal the Union maintained momentum and put the hosts on their back heel on a couple dangerous set pieces. The boys in blue continued that resurgence in the second half and Sullivan delivered a masterful ball to the back post to set up Daniel Gazdag's go-ahead goal three minutes in.

Three minutes later, Rodrigo Schlegel's heavy touch on a back pass fell to the feet of Mikael Uhre, who didn't hesitate and smashed the ball into the back of the net. Cue the shocked reactions.

Trying to find a way back into the game now suddenly down two, Orlando looked bright in possession and was able to create a number of chances but whether it was Blake or the woodwork in the way, the guys in purple weren't able to find a way back into the game, instead watching as the Union put a fourth goal in the back of the net when debutant Frankie Westfield got a deflected ball back and set up Baribo for his second in the 64th minute.

Five minutes later, Blake stretched out to deny substitute Luis Muriel a headed chance off one of several dangerous crosses from the left flank by Rafael Santos. It was Blake's second save in a three-minute span to deny the Orlando rally. The two saves would prove even more valuable when Pašalić scored his second of the night in the 79th minute. The goal came off a wild play that saw the Croatian get two cracks at the goal after Luis Muriel hit the crossbar. Orlando had some additional looks - including one on a danger zone free kick that hit the wall - but the Union were able to hold Orlando to earn all three points to start the season.

As it was often the case even when the Union won last season, the stats tilted heavily in Orlando's favor with advantages of 3.2-2.2 in xG, 10-4 in shots on goal and 55.6-44.4 in possession.

While by no means the Union at their best, it's hard to imagine a better way to start a season with a new head coach and several new players than a road win against an Orlando team that had never lost a season opener (all at home) in team history.

The next test will be to see how the team can continue to gel with a little bit of wind in their sails and another week of training as they prep for the test they too often failed last season - replicating their road form at Subaru Park and rebuilding the Chester venue as a fortress.

2. 📺 Highlights: Debuts, Milestones & More

• Bradley Carnell’s first starting XI had a couple of surprises with Frankie Westfield getting the nod at right back and Olwethu Makhanya earning his first start at center back while Jovan Lukic made his official Union debut. All three players struggled at times but found their footing as the game progressed. Westfield turned a fortuitous deflection into his first career assist on Tai Baribo’s second. Baribo’s brace was the sixth multi-goal game of his Union career and he now has 17 goals in 33 games all competitions. Yes, Julian Carranza being ahead of you makes minutes scarce but why again did Jim Curtin basically never play him?
  

• Scoring goals was never an issue last season so no one (shakes fist at the so-called soccer experts) should be even a little bit surprised that the Union bagged four goals to tie their record for most goals in a season opener with the 4-1 win over Columbus Crew in 2023. That opener was helped tremendously by two border line handballs but Orlando City mistakes were key last night and the emphasis of Carnell even more than they already were under Curtin. Quinn Sullivan delivered a beautiful cross but Pedro Gallese will want that one back and what on earth was that touch from Schlegel? Uhre’s birthday isn’t even until September. Kai Wagner’s assist on the opener was textbook Kai and exhibit A of why he’s another reason you should grossly underrate this team.
  

• Goalkeeper Andre Blake made his 300th appearance for the Union across all competitions tonight and while the save on Muriel was one for the highlight reel it wasn’t Blake at his best. He dropped a ball in the box he should’ve caught, struggled at times with the ball at his feet and in distribution but even Blake on an okay day is better than most. If Blake was playing for Orlando like it was suggested at one point in the game, the score likely would’ve been reversed.

3. 📱 Social Post of the Day: Over so Soon?

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Player Ratings

Rate the performances of the players and the coach from last night’s 4-2 win over Orlando City.

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Amit Maliik broke down the tactics of Bradley Carnell’s first game in charge.

• The Mane Land recapped last night’s match from an Orlando City perspective.

• Fort Washington, Pa. 15-year-old midfielder Deus Stanislaus has already committed to play college soccer at powerhouse UNC and she’s getting an early look at the professional level with Houston Dash. She came off the bench in their preseason win yesterday.

• Deus was playing down in Chester earlier this month with her club team PDA at the Best of Cup East girls weekend.

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