Let’s make a deal. After this newsletter today we won’t talk about last night again. Deal?

In the email today:

1. ⛰️ Union Embarrassed by Pachuca

Full of belief and confidence after a scoreless draw in the first leg, the Philadelphia Union were completely undone at altitude and knocked down a few pegs in the process as they bowed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup with a 6-0 loss to Pachuca on Tuesday night.

Playing at 7,814 feet above sea level at Estadio Hildago was always going to be a tough task but after conceding an early soft penalty and a deep in stoppage time second from Salomón Rondón the wheels completely came off for the Philadelphia Union in the second half.

Each goal felt seemingly more embarrassing than the next as Pachuca danced and weaved through overcommitting Union defenders and took advantage of rare mistakes to rack up a touchdown of goals.

The defeat wasn’t just unprecedented for the Union – their worst in franchise history – but nearly unprecedented for MLS as well. The loss matched Columbus Crew for worst defeat in a Champions Cup knockout game for an MLS team against a Liga MX side. That loss was 21 years ago to a team not currently in the Mexican top flight in Club Atlético Morelia.

If there is a silver lining from that embarrassing display, the Union won’t have schedule congestion to blame for an empty tank at least until they start playing games over an international break. They are done in Champions Cup, aren’t competing in the U.S. Open Cup and MLS is still giving teams a month off from the regular season for Leagues Cup.

2. ⁇ What Now?

As Pachuca was running up the score last night the conversation among Union fans online quickly turned to a familiar topic: Union ownership.

For good reason.

While the altitude was certainly a factor there was so little displayed in that game to suggest that the front office has done enough to continue building a roster that can win trophies.

While the MLS season is still only two games in the exit from Champions Cup and the lack of a U.S. Open Cup this year puts fans in an understandable state of angst.

The issue remains that the Union have been one of the best teams in the league over the past several years with little to show for it in terms of trophies. The investment has not been there to put the team over the top.

With the regular season now fully in focus the Union have a chance to instill belief in the fanbase again but it’s going to take a lot more than a top four finish in the league or another third place finish in Leagues Cup to do it.

They have their work cut out for sure, but as Stu Holden said on the broadcast during post-game last night don’t count them out just yet.

3. 🖼️ Tweet of the Day: Same Picture

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Biggest Concern

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Kyle Tucker and Frankie Westfield have been named Philadelphia Union II captains ahead of the MLS Next Pro season.

• Philadelphia native Zion Scarlett and former Villanova striker Lyam MacKinnon both made the USL League One team of the week for their performances for Greenville Triumph in Week 1.

• Columbus Crew advanced but Orlando City joined the Union in exiting Champions Cup play last night.

• Arsenal advanced on PKs and Barcelona also went through in UEFA Champions League action yesterday.

Thanks for reading! Have an item or suggestion for the newsletter? Email [email protected].

Want to support this newsletter? Upgrade your account 
for $1 per month or $10 per year.